As a thank you to our military members, Darlington Raceway would like to extend its exclusive military ticket pricing program* to active duty or retired members of the armed forces. Fans wishing to participate in this program can do so by presenting their active duty or retired military ID at the Darlington Raceway Ticket Office or by visiting their local MWR/ITT office located on base.
These specially priced tickets are currently available for the Bojangles' Southern 500 and the VFW Sport Clips Help A Hero 200.
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Bojangles' Southern 500 ticket pricing
* Darlington Raceway offers ticket pricing as low as $35 for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Bojangles' Southern 500.
* Kids 12 and under are half price for any seat for the Bojangles' Southern 500.
* A military discount of half off any Sprint Cup Series grandstand ticket is available by calling 866-459-RACE.
NASCAR Nationwide Series ticket pricing
* Tickets as low as $30 for general admission and $35 for a reserved seat.
* Kids 12 and under are FREE in general admission and half price for a reserved seat.
* A military discount of half off any Nationwide Series grandstand ticket is available by calling 866-459-RACE.
In the fall of 1949, when a crisp breeze toyed with the loose soil of an old cotton field on the westside of rural Darlington, South Carolina, Harold Brasington saw more than just dirt dancing around that patch of land. He saw the future. He saw stock cars.
Brasington, a local businessman, had a lofty vision that most of his peers dismissed as utterly ridiculous. His friends laughed at him when he returned home from the 1933 Indianapolis 500 and mentioned the idea of little ol' Darlington having a paved superspeedway, a place to hold big-time stock car events. They nearly committed him when he told them that he was going to build it. Nevertheless, believing that Bill France's fledgling NASCAR just might catch on, Brasington set out in the fall of 1949 on a project known locally as “Harold’s Folly” to shape a 1-1/4 mile speedway on land that had once produced peanuts and cotton.
To the chagrin of family and friends, Brasington and his crew toiled for a year, Brasington himself often at the controls of bulldozers and grading equipment. Brasington's plan called for a true oval, but the racetrack's design had to be changed in order to satisfy Sherman Ramsey, the landowner, who did not want his nearby minnow pond disturbed. The west end of the track (Turns 3 and 4) was narrowed to accommodate the fishing hole, creating Darlington's distinctive egg-shaped design.
The first race was scheduled for Labor Day 1950, and when the day finally came the stands overflowed. Brasington expected no more than 10,000 fans, but the crowd of over 25,000 shocked him. Fans practically stood on top of each other and they scaled the fence just for a glimpse of the action.
Sixty years later the Darlington Raceway is still known as the track "Too Tough to Tame."
It is still remembered as the original superspeedway and as one of the pillars of the NASCAR establishment. There is no other sporting facility in the world more steeped in history and tradition than Darlington Raceway, which has aged gracefully over the years but retained its feisty charm.
While we try to keep our website updated, military and veteran discounts can change at a moments notice. Always check with the business to ensure the discount is still valid, and what ID(s) are acceptable for proof of service. Always have your proof of service available when redeeming a military discount.
