DARLINGTON, S.C. – Race week has finally arrived for the new spring home of the Official Throwback Weekend of NASCAR at Darlington Raceway. For the first announced spring race weekend since 2004, the Lady in Black will welcome competitors, legends and fans back for the fierce competition of NASCAR’s three premier series and a host of memorable moments on May 7-9.

This will be the first time the Official Throwback Weekend of NASCAR has featured all three premier series on its regular schedule with the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. To celebrate the return of spring racing, Darlington will welcome honorary guests Dale Inman, Leonard Wood, Bill Elliott, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Greg Biffle.

“As we welcome legends, competitors and fans back to Darlington Raceway, the track Too Tough To Tame is ready to offer a spring throwback race weekend experience like no other,” said Darlington President Kerry Tharp. “For the first time since 2004, the Lady in Black has two regularly scheduled weekend events that will be alive with fierce racing action. The upcoming throwback weekend will be a celebration of NASCAR history with our loyal fans cheering on the sport’s best in all three premier series.”

2012 NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Inman has been named the Honorary Starter to wave the green flag for the Goodyear 400 NASCAR Cup Series race on Sunday, May 9. Prior to the green flag, 2013 NASCAR Hall of Famer Leonard Wood and 2015 NASCAR Hall of Famer Bill Elliott will take parade laps. Wood will drive a 1971 restored Ford Mercury that 2011 NASCAR Hall of Famer and Darlington’s all-time winningest driver “The Silver Fox” David Pearson competed in. Elliott will drive a restored version of the No. 9 Coors Motorcraft Ford Thunderbird from his 1988 NASCAR Cup Series championship season.

For Mother’s Day, NASCAR and Darlington Raceway will hand out flowers to welcome mothers attending the Goodyear 400. The flowers will be distributed to the first 1,000 mothers who enter the gates for the Cup Series race at the Lady in Black. There will also be photo opportunities for mothers and children to remember their race day together.

Prior to the green flag for the Steakhouse Elite 200 Xfinity Series Dash 4 Cash race on Saturday, May 9, Dale Earnhardt Jr., 2021 NASCAR Hall of Famer, will drive his father’s restored No. 8 Chevrolet Nova for parade laps. Dale Earnhardt Sr. was a three-time Darlington winner in the Xfinity Series, and twice drove a GM Goodwrench-sponsored No. 8 to Victory Lane at the Lady in Black. To learn more about the restored No. 8, read this NASCAR.com article.

To kick off the Official Throwback Weekend of NASCAR on Friday, May 7, three-time Darlington race winner Greg Biffle will take parade laps in a vintage 1976 Ford truck prior to the green flag for the LiftKits4Less.com 200 Camping World Truck Series Triple Truck Challenge race.

On Wednesday, May 5, virtual Darlington Raceway will host the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series. The third event in the 10-race schedule will be broadcast live on FS1 at 8 p.m. (ET). For more information on the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series, along with other esports initiatives, visit eNASCAR.com.

As Darlington hosts fans back at the racetrack, it will also welcome the public back to the Darlington Raceway Stock Car Museum & National Motorsports Press Association Hall of Fame for the first time since the pandemic began last spring. The museum will be open on Friday from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Sunday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

The museum will offer free admission to fans who hold a race ticket. Face masks will be required and social distancing must be practiced. Entrance will be through the front door of the gift shop. There will also be a Legends Merchandise trailer located outside the museum exit.

The track encourages fans to wear their favorite NASCAR Throwback gear for race weekend to further engage with the race weekend experience. Darlington Raceway will have additional fan engagements including a Throwback paint scheme fan vote, Throwback concession items and much more throughout race week. To learn more about fan engagements for the Official Throwback Weekend of NASCAR, stay connected to Darlington Raceway on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

2021 NASCAR Season

The Official Throwback Weekend of NASCAR will unite generations of race fans to celebrate on Mother’s Day as part of the new spring weekend of action-packed racing featuring all three premier series on May 7-9. Darlington will host the LiftKits4Less.com 200 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Triple Truck Challenge race on Friday night, May 7 at 7:30 p.m., Steakhouse Elite 200 NASCAR Xfinity Series Dash 4 Cash race on Saturday, May 8 at 1:00 p.m. and Goodyear 400 NASCAR Cup Series race on Sunday, May 9 at 3:30 p.m.

The Tradition Continues as the famed Cook Out Southern 500® will launch the NASCAR Playoffs for the second consecutive year as part of a Labor Day weekend of racing on Sept. 4-5. The Xfinity Series will compete in the Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help A Hero 200 on Saturday, Sept. 4 at 3:30 p.m. The Cook Out Southern 500® NASCAR Cup Series Playoff race will once again compete at night on Sunday, Sept. 5 at 6:00 p.m.

NASCAR tickets are available for purchase via phone at 866-459-7223 or online at darlingtonraceway.com. Fans can view the full 2021 NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series schedules and purchase tickets at nascar.com/tickets.

About Darlington Raceway

Darlington Raceway, nicknamed The Lady in Black and the track Too Tough To Tame, is home to the award-winning Official Throwback Weekend of NASCAR and annually hosts two NASCAR Cup Series race weekends, along with the NASCAR Xfinity Series and/or NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Opening in 1950, Darlington Raceway is “A NASCAR Tradition” and NASCAR’s original superspeedway with its famed 1.366-mile egg-shaped oval, challenging the sports best in one of the most iconic NASCAR races, the Southern 500®. For more information about Darlington Raceway, visit darlingtonraceway.com.

About NASCAR

The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) is the sanctioning body for the No. 1 form of motorsports in the United States and owner of 16 of the nation’s major motorsports entertainment facilities. NASCAR consists of three national series (NASCAR Cup Series™, NASCAR Xfinity Series™, and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series™), four regional series (ARCA Menards Series, ARCA Menards Series East & West and the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour), one local grassroots series and three international series. The International Motor Sports Association™ (IMSA®) governs the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship™, the premier U.S. sports car series. NASCAR also owns Motor Racing Network, Racing Electronics and ONE DAYTONA. Based in Daytona Beach, Florida, with offices in eight cities across North America, NASCAR sanctions more than 1,200 races in more than 30 U.S. states, Canada, Mexico and Europe. For more information visit www.NASCAR.com and www.IMSA.com, and follow NASCAR on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat (‘NASCAR’).

Source: Darlington Raceway

Photo Credit: Wayne Thomas/TheFourthTurn.com