The throwback weekend held around Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Bojangles' Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway "was great fun all around" and the grandstands "were close to full," according to Tom Jensen of FOXSPORTS.com. Teams "bought into the throwback idea, the sponsors did and the crew guys did." Driver Aric Almirola said that it "was a great way to break up the monotony of the summer season." This weekend "was fun and fun is something this sport desperately needs more of" (FOXSPORTS.com, 9/7). ESPN.com's Ryan McGee wrote "old faces in familiar places, familiar colors in new places, and smiles everywhere you looked" were "what made this reunion at Darlington so special." What "began as a brainstorm by the track's staff and the track ownership's marketing team nearly 16 months ago became a recruitment effort that reached into every corner of the NASCAR world." It is an industry that "has sorely needed a spark, particularly among their longtime 'core' fans who complain that today's stock car racing feels disconnected from the sport they fell in love with during their youth." Over the past two weeks, the unveiling of cars and uniforms "and the like only added to that gathering speed." The vast majority of the field "ultimately dug into the design vault" (ESPN.com, 9/6). Meanwhile, NBCSPORTS.com's Dustin Long wrote 15 accidents, one spin, and three late lead changes "provided a rewarding experience for fans." NASCAR Exec VP & Chief Racing Development Officer Steve O'Donnell said, “Were the fans entertained? When I looked down (from the control tower) from Lap 10 toward the end of the race, they were on their feet. So, I think if you asked most of the race fans here tonight if they enjoyed four-and-a-half hours of racing action, I think they would say yes" (NBCSPORTS.com, 9/7).
CONFEDERATE FLAG ISSUE: In South Carolina, Andrew Shain reported Darlington "had a tough time taming fans from flying the Confederate flag this weekend." Some fans "decided Sunday to add to their campsite displays rather than listen to leaders of the sport they love." Fans said that track officials "asked them to remove or lower flags to avoid television cameras, a claim Darlington Speedway operators deny." Ticket sales "rose" 15% from a year ago. But the track "gave a nod to current events by offering fans the option of trading Confederate flags for free American flags." A Darlington spokesperson said that he "did not know how many fans accepted the track’s offer" (Columbia STATE, 9/7). In N.Y., Viv Bernstein reported Confederate flags raised on RVs across the infield and outside the track "dotted the sky above Darlington on Friday morning, as they have for decades" there. The Southern 500, "after all, was long known for playing 'Dixie' as its anthem and used to feature a character named Johnny Reb -- a man dressed as a Confederate soldier who stood atop the winning car with a rebel flag" (N.Y. TIMES, 9/6). YAHOO SPORTS' Jay Busbee wrote all over Darlington, in "numbers unseen at any other NASCAR track in decades, flew Confederate battle flags." South Carolina’s Confederate faithful "welcomed back the race with a showing of battle flags unprecedented in recent NASCAR history" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 9/7).
