Even without access, racing fans flock to Darlington Raceway as NASCAR schedule resumes

DARLINGTON – Charleston’s Keith Johnson has made his annual pilgrimage to Darlington Raceway for each of the past 56 years, but despite that familiarity he had no idea what to expect Sunday afternoon.

“No fans?” Johnson said. “I want to see how that affects the drivers, to walk around with no autographs and just peace and quiet. They’re not used to that.

“Fans are usually right up in their faces before, during and after a race, but they do it with love and pride. Now there’s nobody to congregate around them. All they can do is just race their tails off and see who comes across first.”

That strategy is what makes the NASCAR Cup Series go round and what had stock car devotees and a what was expected to be a larger-than-normal television audience hungry for any semblance of organized, competitive sport watching intently on Sunday.

The Real Heroes 400 became the first NASCAR event to unfold since March 8 following what is hoped to be the darkest days of the coronavirus epidemic in the United States.

Drivers and pit crew members and even track-side commentators wore masks, even as the grandstands were empty. No fans were permitted, but that didn’t prevent them from gathering within earshot of Sunday’s action.

How insatiable is our appetite for sport?

Just ask the thousands of fans who converged on Darlington if only to hear the roar of engines as drivers navigated Turn 2 at the 70-year-old, egg-shaped superspeedway that ranks as the nation’s oldest.

Even with fans relegated to munching on chicken bog and boiled peanuts and viewing the race while socially distanced in front of an oversized, inflatable projection screen in an adjacent private parking lot, the fervor was palpable.

Bobby Greene of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and three buddies made the four-hour trek on their Harley Davidson motorcycles to satisfy their curiosity.

“It’s something to do – we’ve been cooped up for so long,” Greene said. “We’ll at least listen to the start of the race while we’re here, then listen to it on the radio on the way home.”

Such appeared to be the theme of the day. Many racing fans gathered at the Raceway Grill, which is located hard by the track itself and opened the same year, 1950.

“People have been calling me for two weeks, from as far away as New York,” Raceway Grill owner Tony Baird said. “People are tired of sitting at home and just want to get back to a sense of normalcy. For it to be the first sporting event coming back is special and it’s good for NASCAR to kind of kick things off.”

Among those helping to kick things off was Steven Weiler of Fort Mill, who made a spur-of-the-moment decision to head south.

 “I woke up this morning and said I should just drive to Darlington and hang out at the race track,” Weiler said. “It’ll be something I’ll remember for the rest of my life.”

In downtown Darlington, some passers-by paused at the Liberty Lane Walk of Fame, a side street that featured a raceway mural and hand prints of race winners at Darlington, from Fonty Flock to David Pearson to Cale Yarborough.

But Sunday belonged to a new generation of drivers, hoping to restore excitement in the sport as well as confidence in America’s recovery.

Michael and Tricia Griggs, who have been attending races at Darlington for the last 20 years, drove in from nearby Hartsville.

“We wanted to be able to hear it, smell it,” said Tricia, who’s an avid Ryan Newman fan.

“We didn’t know what to expect, whether there would be 10 people here or 500,” Michael said. “We’re just out here winging it like everybody else.”

Johnson, meanwhile, helped make a memory for his friend Evelyn Pack, who turns 100 later this year. Johnson encountered NASCAR President Mike Helton Saturday evening, told him about lifelong racing fan Pack, and he responded by writing her a congratulatory note.

“What a class act,” Johnson said. “Racing is full of good people. Racing fans are the best in the world – and at Darlington, they’re really the best.”

Even when they’re not allowed inside.

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