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After the Xfinity race at Darlington, I made my first visit to Florence Motor Speedway in Timmonsville, SC. This place has been around for a while, and I admit to knowing none of its history, but I bet it has a storied past of hosting big events and famous names.
It is a 4/10 mile paved track with two personalities. By that I mean everything on the racing side of the fence looks really good: bright lighting, a smooth surface with two grooves, but the spectator side shows the age of the track, and is in need of some bucks to make it more comfortable and safer for the fans. It is alarming in some ways; I bet the insurance agent has not paid a visit in quite a while.
It has recently reopened under new management, and they are in a rebuilding process. They did manage 36 cars in 6 classes, and several hundred fans.
The number 50 in the picture below was the winner of the Charger feature. As you can see, it is a modern Camaro, and was racing against modern Mustangs too. It is a relief to see that some racers are actually building racecars out of something newer than 30 years of age.
Know what was funny? No one wanted to leave. Even when the races ended, the fans just kind of hung out. I am used to seeing everyone bolt for the exit, but in this case maybe it just reflected the fact that this track is out in the boondocks and there are not many other entertainment options.
They made the same mistake (in my eyes) that many of these Carolina tracks make: they time trialed all cars in all classes, and started the races straight up. Then they compounded it by running too many laps. For example, 5 mini stocks ran 30 laps, 5 late models ran 60, etc.. Fortunately, there was still competitive racing that saved the show.
At Darlington, a local dirt track had a large display and has been co-promoting for months. Hopefully the Florence team can find their footing and work on the future of this fine track too.
It is a 4/10 mile paved track with two personalities. By that I mean everything on the racing side of the fence looks really good: bright lighting, a smooth surface with two grooves, but the spectator side shows the age of the track, and is in need of some bucks to make it more comfortable and safer for the fans. It is alarming in some ways; I bet the insurance agent has not paid a visit in quite a while.
It has recently reopened under new management, and they are in a rebuilding process. They did manage 36 cars in 6 classes, and several hundred fans.
The number 50 in the picture below was the winner of the Charger feature. As you can see, it is a modern Camaro, and was racing against modern Mustangs too. It is a relief to see that some racers are actually building racecars out of something newer than 30 years of age.
Know what was funny? No one wanted to leave. Even when the races ended, the fans just kind of hung out. I am used to seeing everyone bolt for the exit, but in this case maybe it just reflected the fact that this track is out in the boondocks and there are not many other entertainment options.
They made the same mistake (in my eyes) that many of these Carolina tracks make: they time trialed all cars in all classes, and started the races straight up. Then they compounded it by running too many laps. For example, 5 mini stocks ran 30 laps, 5 late models ran 60, etc.. Fortunately, there was still competitive racing that saved the show.
At Darlington, a local dirt track had a large display and has been co-promoting for months. Hopefully the Florence team can find their footing and work on the future of this fine track too.
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