![]() ![]() The event re-assumed the Southern 500 name in 2009, and in 2015, moved back to its traditional Labor Day weekend date. The race was held as a night race under-the-lights during this period. The 500-mile race was moved to the Saturday of Mother's Day weekend in May and renamed for the sponsorship of Dodge. The following year, as the result of a settlement in the Ferko lawsuit, Darlington lost one of its two dates. In 2004, the Southern 500 was moved to November and was run as the second-to-last race in the inaugural Chase for the Championship. Through 2004, Darlington held two Cup series races annually, the Southern 500 in the fall, and a 400-mile event in the spring. It is also the site of Darrell Waltrip's final career victory (1992). The Southern 500 has a storied history, including Bill Elliott famously winning the Winston Million in 1985, and Jeff Gordon doing the same in 1997. Darlington Raceway itself has a long and storied reputation as the "Track Too Tough to Tame." The Southern 500 is largely considered one of the Crown Jewels of the NASCAR calendar, and has been nicknamed NASCAR's "oldest superspeedway race." For decades, the race has been considered by competitors and media as one of the more difficult and challenging races on the NASCAR schedule, owing much to the track's unusual, asymmetrical egg-shape, rough pavement, and overall unforgiving nature. From 1950 to 2003, and again since 2015, the race has been held on Labor Day weekend. The race distance is 501 miles (806 km) and consists of 367 laps. The Southern 500, officially known as the Cook Out Southern 500 for sponsorship reasons, is a NASCAR Cup Series stock car race at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina, United States. For 14 dollars my wife and I were completely full with fries left over, and I had some delicious soda remaining for the long ride home.Auto race held in September in Darlington, United States Cook Out Southern 500ĭarlington, South Carolina, United States The taste matches well with the meal, but you could probably have said that about any soda or tea off their menu. Granted, that’s not the highest hurdle to clear as most of its competition resides on the bargain shelf at the grocery store, but the carbonation mixed with the punchy flavor was a home-run all the way. If so, I’ll be brief: it’s the best fruit punch soda ever made. ![]() I’d have to guess that this was intended to be a fruit punch soda of sorts. The iced down taste was….well it was quite nice to be honest. My wife had already resigned her displeasure to the flavor, so I had 64 ounces to suddenly play with. The French Fry seasoning, the biscuit style, the whole meal was holding serious weight on the future of our society. ![]() As I said earlier, there’s very little opportunity to visit a Bojangles and with this Covid pandemic and so much stuff going on in the world it was refreshing to be doing something so utterly meaningless that the moment mirrored itself as the most important thing going on in the immediate universe. Overall, I was a bit lost in the moment to be able to objectively convey what my senses were telling me. The look and smell were something of a toss up between fruit punch and a strong smelling syrup…like cough syrup but not in a wholly unpleasant way. I hadn’t done much research on what the flavor was supposed to be, so I was riding in blind. After a social distance appropriate purchase of chicken biscuits, fries and large Southern Shocks it was time to see if this little migration to the tip of Dixie was worth the time and effort. I could wax poetic about the spirit of the road or whatever but there’s some Stuckey’s Pecan Logs to buy and new Mtn Dew to throw down. I’m not much of an adventurer, but this little voyage counts as my Blue Highways experience, witness to the changing of society on America’s roadways. The rising taxes have condensed the smoke outlets, and the land is being ever so slowly invaded by more affluent housing developments trying to find the next real estate boom. The old confederate flag emblazoned curio store “Dixieland” now has its sign completely covered with a “God Bless America” XL bedsheet. As we head down south this time however, I’m finally seeing this region slowly confront and accept progression. Whether it’s the quiet countryside, the decaying buildings showing the generational past of the peninsula, or just the insanely cheap prices on cigarettes, I tend to get very reflective on this journey. The trip down south to this part of Virginia has always been special to me. Kaya the Akita is BEYOND stoked to find the Dew ![]()
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