In the fall of 1949, when a crisp breeze toyed with the loose soil of an old cotton field on the west side of rural Darlington, S.C., Harold Brasington saw more than just dirt dancing around that patch of land.
Brasington, a local businessman, had a lofty vision that most of his peers dismissed as utterly ridiculous. His friends laughed at him when he returned home from the 1933 Indianapolis 500 and mentioned the idea of little Darlington having a paved superspeedway, a place to hold big-time stock car events.
They nearly committed him when he told them he was going to build it. Nevertheless, believing that Bill France's fledgling NASCAR just might catch on, Brasington set out in the fall of 1949 to shape a 1.25-mile speedway on land that had once produced peanuts and cotton.
To the chagrin of family and friends, Brasington and his crew toiled for a year. Brasington himself often manned the controls of bulldozers and grading equipment. His plan called for a true oval, but the racetrack's design had to be changed in order to satisfy the landowner, who did not want his nearby minnow pond disturbed. The west end of the track (Turns 3 and 4) was narrowed to accommodate the fishing hole, creating Darlington's distinctive egg-shaped design.
The first race was scheduled for Labor Day 1950. Brasington expected no more than 10,000 fans, but the crowd of more than 25,000 showed up.
Californian Johnny Mantz drove to victory that day in the first Southern 500. The race took more than six hours to complete. Still, it set a precedent for a series that would grow to be one of the largest spectator sports in the country.
Mantz started dead last in the field of 75 racers, many of whom had never raced on asphalt, but roared to the checkered flag averaging a blistering 76 mph. Over the next 50 years, names like Baker, Flock, Thomas, Pearson, Yarborough, Petty and Earnhardt became commonplace in Victory Lane.
Today the Darlington Raceway is known as the track "Too Tough to Tame" and "The Lady in Black."
It is still remembered as the original superspeedway and as one of the pillars of the NASCAR establishment. There is no other sporting facility in the world more steeped in history and tradition than Darlington Raceway, which has aged gracefully over the years but retained its feisty charm.
Still, nobody loves the challenging track more than the drivers. "You never forget your first love," said seven-time Cup champion Dale Earnhardt, "whether it's a high school sweetheart, a faithful old hunting dog or a fickle racetrack in South Carolina with a contrary disposition.
"And, if you happen to be a racecar driver there's no victory so sweet, so memorable as whipping Darlington Raceway."
The track "Too Tough to Tame" continues to keep pace with the booming NASCAR world, adding lights for a night race in 2005 and expanded seating in 2006. But even more, it's standing as a monument to the drivers and loyal fans who sowed the seeds of stock car racing 50 years ago.
