DARLINGTON, S.C. – The official throwback weekend of NASCAR at Darlington Raceway is a few days away and track officials have announced a number of honorary guests that will be in attendance on May 7-9.
To celebrate the return of spring racing to the historic venue, Darlington will welcome honorary guests Dale Inman, Leonard Wood, Bill Elliott, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Greg Biffle.
The weekend, which features the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, will be the first scheduled spring event at Darlington Raceway since 2004.
“As we welcome legends, competitors and fans back to Darlington Raceway, the track Too Tough To Tame is ready to offer a spring throwback race weekend experience like no other,” said Darlington President Kerry Tharp. “For the first time since 2004, the Lady in Black has two regularly scheduled weekend events that will be alive with fierce racing action. The upcoming throwback weekend will be a celebration of NASCAR history with our loyal fans cheering on the sport’s best in all three premier series.”
Dale Inman, a 2012 NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee, has been named the Honorary Starter to wave the green flag for the Goodyear 400 NASCAR Cup Series race on Sunday. Prior to the green flag, 2013 NASCAR Hall of Famer Leonard Wood and 2015 NASCAR Hall of Famer Bill Elliott will take parade laps. Wood will drive a 1971 restored Ford Mercury that 2011 NASCAR Hall of Famer and Darlington’s all-time winningest driver David Pearson competed in. Elliott will drive a restored version of the No. 9 Coors Motorcraft Ford Thunderbird from his 1988 NASCAR Cup Series championship season.
For Mother’s Day, NASCAR and Darlington Raceway will hand out flowers to welcome mothers attending the Goodyear 400. The flowers will be distributed to the first 1,000 mothers who enter the gates for the Cup Series race. There will also be photo opportunities for mothers and children to remember their race day together.
Prior to the green flag for the Steakhouse Elite 200 Xfinity Series Dash 4 Cash race on Saturday, Dale Earnhardt Jr., a 2021 NASCAR Hall of Famer inductee, will drive his father’s restored No. 8 Chevrolet Nova for parade laps. Dale Earnhardt Sr. was a three-time Darlington winner in the Xfinity Series, and twice drove a GM Goodwrench-sponsored No. 8 to victory lane at the Lady in Black.
To kick off the official throwback weekend of NASCAR on Friday, May 7, three-time Darlington race winner Greg Biffle will take parade laps in a vintage 1976 Ford truck prior to the green flag for the LiftKits4Less.com 200 Camping World Truck Series Triple Truck Challenge race.
As Darlington hosts fans back at the racetrack, it will also welcome the public back to the Darlington Raceway Stock Car Museum & National Motorsports Press Ass’n Hall of Fame for the first time since the pandemic began last spring. The museum will be open on Friday from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Sunday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
The museum will offer free admission to fans who hold a race ticket. Face masks will be required and social distancing must be practiced. Entrance will be through the front door of the gift shop. There will also be a Legends Merchandise trailer located outside the museum exit.