DARLINGTON, S.C. — Kerry Tharp received two major gifts Sunday in his final race as Darlington Raceway president.
He was presented with the Order of the Palmetto, the highest honor handed out by the Governor.
The other gift was walking to the stage podium and announcing the 74th Cook Out Southern 500 is a sellout for the second consecutive year.
Tharp is retiring as track president, and in the process, he is closing the book on an exciting career where he had a front-row seat for the intense competition of college athletics and motorsports.
He came to the historic Pee Dee venue in 2016 after more than a decade working in Charlotte as a NASCAR executive. Before starting his motorsports career, Tharp was a longtime sports information director, including a two-decade stint at the University of South Carolina.
Tharp will officially call it career in December, but not before he greets the winner in Victory Lane and helps him hoist the Johnny Mantz Trophy.