NASCAR s Most Memorable Moments at Darlington Raceway
It s the Lady in Black, Too Tough To Tame, and home to the Southern 500 May 7, 2021 Brian LawdermilkGetty Images
When Harold Brasington came back from the 1933 Indianapolis 500 and declared that he wanted to build a superspeedway in rural South Carolina, his friends and family thought it was an elaborate joke at best and utterly ridiculous at worst. Then he purchased an old cotton field and they thought he might be insane. Undeterred, the former dirt track racer had the vision and determination to make a far-fetched dream a reality.
Correctly calculating that the new sport of stockcar racing was on the ascendancy, Brasington gambled on being able to attract a race if he built a circuit. Working at his trademark small desk at home, he drew up plans for the new superspeedway. Speaking in 1993, he said his aim was to create an everyman s track: I wanted a race where a local grocer, mechanic or baker could driver the