DARLINGTON, S.C. — The 2021 NASCAR racing season is off to a blazing start, as the first month has been full of surprise winners and close, door-to-door action. The DAYTONA 500 featured one of the event’s most unlikely winners ever, as Michael McDowell made the right move at the right time to capture The Great American Race on Feb. 14. McDowell was listed as a 100-1 longshot to win the 500 and his victory was celebrated throughout the sport. You won’t find a nicer guy than McDowell and in one memorable afternoon he went from being best known for his unbelievable crash at Texas Motor Speedway in 2008 to laying claim to NASCAR’s greatest prize.
McDowell’s triumph paved the way for a four-race stretch of improbable winners. A pair of youthful drivers, Christopher Bell and William Byron, won at the Daytona Road Course and Homestead-Miami Speedway, respectively. Kyle Larson, who was reinstated in January following his suspension from NASCAR, continued his comeback story with a victory last Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Combine that with NASCAR Xfinity Series victories by youngsters Ty Gibbs and Myatt Snyder, along with AJ Allmendinger’s win last Saturday at Las Vegas, and the 2021 campaign has been highlighted by intrigue and unpredictable outcomes. This kind of competition only bodes well for a thrilling regular season for the sport.
March has been a busy month at Darlington Raceway. We recently received approval from the state of South Carolina to have a limited number of fans for all three of our NASCAR national series races on May 7-9. This is great news as the new spring home of the Official Throwback Weekend of NASCAR promises to provide plenty of excitement and memories for those attending as well as watching and listening over the air waves. We also plan to have some limited RV camping in our infield and plans for that are currently underway. Many of the same protocols will be in place due to the pandemic; however, fans will be allowed to bring in coolers to the Mother’s Day Weekend events. It was recently announced that Cook Out will return as the entitlement sponsor for the iconic Southern 500 on Sept. 5. Cook Out is a fast-growing restaurant chain in the southeast, best known for its delicious burgers and shakes. If you haven’t visited a Cook Out; you don’t know what you’re missing, as they feature nearly 40 different milk shake flavors.