If I was Chris Browning, the president of Darlington Raceway, I think I’d be walking softly these days and carrying a big stick.
Browning has gone about in his quiet, unassuming ways of rebuilding Darlington Raceway into something it once was.
It seems like with each passing year Browning’s success at Darlington from the previous year generates new revenue for the International Speedway Corp. (ISC), out of Daytona Beach, Fla., which now owns the egg-shaped facility, for improvements and the what not.
This was a race track that was written off as a graveyard a few years ago when one of its dates was moved to Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif., and then Darlington was stripped of its proud and long-running Southern 500 on Labor Day weekend — a tradition as entrenched as apple pie and vanilla ice cream.
That success by Browning has down-right dazzled the folks at ISC.
It’s also put them in a perplexing situation.
Now, they’re keeping a wary eye on another of Browning’s smart schemes.
Browning has decided to tag the event something along the lines of the Darlington Historical Society Race Meet.
It’ll be two days, Aug. 30-31, since Labor Day falls on Sept. 1.
The event will take place at the track, the same weekend when they’re running what was the Southern 500 at California Speedway.
Browning has invited all the winners from previous Southern 500s to participate in the event.
Already, he’s received commitments from Buddy Baker, Bud Moore, David Pearson and a couple of others to be on hand.
Browning’s waiting on Richard Petty and Cale Yarborough to tell him yea or nay.
What Browning would like to do is locate the original cars in which these drivers won their respective Southern 500 in and have those drivers to drive those cars around the track during those two days.
And, if Petty accepts Browning’s offer, then it just might be arranged for Petty and Pearson to offer spectator rides around the historic track for a certain price.
The price of admission would be worth it, just to see Pearson and Petty in those old winged Dodges, Plymouths once again.
And don’t you just know people are lining up right now, just to put their money down to be able to ride with Pearson or Petty in one of those winged beauties!
I know photographers who are having nightmares about shooting such an event.
During those two days, Browning plans to have old cars lined up around the track with drivers standing by, ready to talk racing with fans.
Browning’s still unsure what will happen the night of Aug. 30.
“I’ve thought about putting giant movie screens up and showing old racing movies,” said Browning.
Another good idea might be to have an open fire placed somewhere inside the track and have all the drivers gathered around for a little bench racing. Don’t you just know the stories would be boundless and incredible.
I’ll tell you what, this is something I don’t plan to miss, even if they have to carry me in there.
This is where Browning has to be very careful.
He better hope this event is not too successful.
With what’s happened at Auto Club Speedway recently, I see a lot of people showing up in Darlington on Aug. 30-31 just to be able to deliver a message to NASCAR: “You should never have moved the Southern 500 from Darlington.”