DARLINGTON, S.C. — The City of Darlington is excepting a positive economic impact as a few thousand fans will be allowed to watch NASCAR's first playoff race at Darlington Raceway.
The track "Too Tough To Tame" is a NASCAR favorite for fans across the country. It's one of the tracks on the schedule that has the most history.
Howard Garland, the City Manager of Darlington, says the track means a lot to their community.
"The Southern 500, it's always been a keystone for us," said Garland. "When it came back to Labor Day Weekend, we were really fortunate to have that back in place."
Darlington Raceway used to host two races a year, with the former race typically being Mother's Day weekend. Now the track is traditionally on the schedule once a year.
Earlier on during the pandemic, most sporting events were put on hold to help stop the spread of the coronavirus. Since then, sports have figured out ways to continue on without fans in the stands.
The nation's eyes were on the City of Darlington in May as it was the first major sporting event to happen since the start of the pandemic. No fans were allowed at the event.
The track hosted two NASCAR Cup Series races and an Xfinity Series race. Kevin Harvick captured the first checkered flag for the Cup Series, followed by Denny Hamlin in the second race during the week. Chase Briscoe took home an emotional win after an intense last-lap with Kyle Bush in the Xfinity Series.
"Those races, all being held in one week, focused attention on Darlington, South Carolina and South Carolina like we haven't had in quite a while," said Garland.
On Monday, Darlington Raceway announced there would be a limited amount of fans allowed to go to the traditional Labor Day Weekend race. This includes the Xfinity Race on September 5 and the NASCAR Cup Series on September 6.
"With the pandemic this year and having the races in May, this is just a little different animal to deal with. Governor McMaster is letting us having 8,000 fans and that's quite a boom for us because it's better than nothing and it's better than having no one in the stands," explained Garland.
Usually the track sees around 50,000 to 60,000 fans in the stands and in the infield.
"When the fans come here, they stay in our hotels and motels. They eat in our restaurants. They buy groceries. They buy gas. So there's economic benefit for us," said Garland.
Any other year, the state receives anywhere between $75 million to $100 million each year because of the race.
Garland believes having fans this time around will help some of the businesses who are hurting during the pandemic.
"We want people to have a good time when they come to Darlington in South Carolina because the Southern 500 for 70 years has meant a lot to the state of South Carolina and to Darlington," said Garland.
The Southern 500 is known as the Official Throwback Weekend for NASCAR. The raceway will be announcing plans for tickets soon.