As fans prepare to descend on Darlington Raceway for the eighth annual Official Throwback Weekend of NASCAR, they‘ll find a number of activities, from entertainment to up close and personal encounters with NASCAR Hall of Famers and legends, highlighted by the close, hard-fought racing that the track Too Tough To Tame is known for. All three NASCAR national series will be in action next weekend at Darlington Raceway featuring the Dead On Tools 200 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race on Friday, May 6, the Mahindra ROXOR 200 NASCAR Xfinity Series race on Saturday, May 7, and the Goodyear 400 NASCAR Cup Series race on Sunday, May 8.
“For the Official Throwback Weekend of NASCAR, we will welcome race fans back to Darlington Raceway with more entertainment options than ever before,” said Kerry Tharp, Darlington Raceway President. “Fan activities around the facility will keep fans entertained from the moment they arrive until the intense racing action featuring the debut of the Next Gen race car in Sunday‘s Goodyear 400. We‘re excited to have a host of NASCAR Hall of Famers and legends join us for our celebratory Throwback Weekend. We even have some exciting surprises to thank our loyal race fans and provide them with the opportunity to create some unexpected memorable moments throughout race week.”
On Wednesday, May 4, campers and guest will have the chance to ‘hit the track‘ in Darlington‘s Track Laps for Charity from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Track Laps for Charity will give patrons the chance to take their personal vehicles for a spin around The Lady in Black for a donation of $20. All proceeds will go towards Darlington Raceway Cares and the Hartsville American Legion.
On Thursday, May 5, a Throwback Thursday 80‘s Dance Party will kick off at 7 p.m. until 9 p.m. in the midway. From “best mullet” contests and lip sync battles to glow-in-the-dark games and air guitar contest, fans will get an 80‘s overload through and through. Food, music, track trivia and prizes will all be available to race fans who want to see all that the track Too Tough Too Tame has to offer.
Children from the Boys & Girls Clubs of Pee Dee will be in attendance on Friday, May 6 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. for The NASCAR Foundation‘s Speediatrics Fun Day Festival at the College Tailgate Zone adjacent to the track‘s administration building on Harry Byrd Highway. Games, activities, and all manner of fun will be available for the children.
The Darlington Raceway Throwback Parade returns on Saturday, May 7 at 6 p.m. Floats, NASCAR Hall of Famers and legends, a marching band, and beauty queens along with old school vintage vehicles will make their way through the city of Darlington, all the way to the NASCAR Xfinity Garage in the historic Darlington Raceway infield. The traditional Darlington Raceway Throwback Parade, formerly the Southern 500 Parade, will be held for the first time since 2019.
Additional opportunities for fans of all ages to have fun and engage with the track will be present throughout race weekend. Some of those go as follows:
Throughout the weekend, Photo Moments will be held at various locations around track grounds. Fans can be captured with partner frames from Dead On Tools, Mahindra ROXOR and Goodyear. Cup series driver, Austin Dillon will host a fan photo station at the Goodyear frame on Sunday, May 8 from 12:15 p.m. to 12:45 p.m. Fans can get photos with Austin on a first come, first serve basis, with only the first 100 getting a photo.NASCAR Kids Zone will make its return to the midway throughout Darlington‘s Throwback Weekend with mini golf sets, face painting stations, puzzles, coloring stations and more kid-friendly activities that children of any age can enjoy. Drivers including Noah Gragson will host a kid‘s only Q&A Saturday from 11 a.m. to 11:15 a.m. along with Erik Jones, who will make an appearance on behalf of his reading program on Sunday from 12:30 p.m. to 12:45 p.m.The eNASCAR Retro Arcade Presented by Goodyear, a collaboration between Goodyear and eNASCAR to bring retro racing games to the track, will be featured before the green flag each race day all weekend long. The activation includes iRacing simulators, two tents dedicated to retro arcade consoles like Pac-Man, Super Mario Brothers, Donkey Kong and vintage arcade chair racing games, Daytona USA and Cruisin‘ USA.On Friday, fans are encouraged to wear their vintage NASCAR t-shirts to the track for Throwback T-Shirt Night. The track will give away official Darlington Raceway Throwback t-shirts throughout race day.Darlington Raceway and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) will host a charity cycling event, Too Tough To Ride, on Saturday, May 7 beginning at 7 a.m. The charity cycling event will benefit the South Carolina Coastal FCA. To register and/or learn more the event, visit tootoughtoride.org or darlingtonraceway.com/tootoughtoride.Darlington Raceway will gift Mother‘s Day pins to honor and recognize mothers on Sunday, May 8. Pins will be distributed to the first 3,500 mothers as they enter the gates for the Goodyear 400.
Campers present during the weekend can also expect a few surprises around the campgrounds. The Rvezy Infield Camper Hub will have food, games and a live DJ throughout the weekend along with an appearance from Chase Briscoe, driver of the No. 14 Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing in the NASCAR Cup series, to watch the Mahindra ROXOR 200 on Saturday, May 7.
Trackside Live will also makes its anticipated return to the heart of the activity in the midway starting Friday, May 6. Throughout out race weekend, fans will be able to see drivers, personalities, music and all manner of entertainers including:
Friday 2:30 p.m. Derek Kraus Q&AFriday 3:30 p.m. Rory John Zak BandFriday 4:30 p.m. Matt DiBenedetto Q&AFriday 5:30 p.m. The Travelin‘ Kine Band Saturday 9:30 a.m. Six String Soldiers BandSaturday 10:30 a.m. Myatt Snider Q&ASaturday 10:45 a.m. Riley Herbst Q&ASaturday 11:15 a.m. 20 Ride BandSaturday 12:00 p.m. Jeb Burton & Ward Burton Q&ASaturday 12:20 p.m. Bobby Labonte & Ron Hornaday Jr. Q&ASaturday 4:15 p.m. The Tim Clark Band Sunday 9:30 a.m. Bailey Road BandSunday 11:00 a.m. Door, Bumper, Clear Podcast with guests Red Farmer & Donnie AllisonSunday 11:45 a.m. Moms of NASCAR Q&ASunday 12:30 p.m. Chris Buescher Q&ASunday 1:00 p.m. Brad Keselowski Q&ASunday, 1:15 p.m. Corey LaJoie‘s Stacking Pennies PodcastSunday 2:00 p.m. Dave and the Sol Beats Band
Fans will be able to see local groups perform in the midway at the Group Performance Stage throughout Saturday and Sunday. Schedule is below:
Saturday, 10:40 a.m. Carolina Forest Performing Arts AcademySaturday, 11:00 a.m. Divas of Perfection DanceSaturday, 11:20 a.m. Upstate Dance & BatonSaturday, 11:40 a.m. Dance LabSaturday, 12:00 p.m. Dance ExtraordinaireSaturday, 12:20 p.m. United DanceSunday, 12:00 p.m. Unique Steps Dance StudioSunday, 12:20 p.m. Mindy‘s Dance AttackSunday, 12:40 p.m. Royal Legacy Dance AcademySunday, 1:00 p.m. Studio ZSunday, 1:20 p.m. Ms. Robin‘s Dance AcademySunday, 1:40 p.m. Seven Lakes DanceSunday, 2:00 p.m. Dancers Edge RevolutionsSunday, 2:20 p.m. Emerald City Dance Explosions
Stay informed about all activity in and around Darlington Raceway during Throwback Weekend at www.darlingtonraceway.com/fanguide.
— Darlington Raceway —
