At Darlington, right time for Southern 500's rebirth (cont'd)

"I wanted to get back to that name, because our whole image and our whole brand and who we are is built on history and tradition," he said. "That name is synonymous with Darlington Raceway. Four years ago, it didn't seem right to make that change. We were on a new date, there was a lot of stuff going on. Now I feel very good about the position Darlington's in. With our four straight sellouts, the way the capital improvements have gone, everything has gone really well. Next year is a milestone year for us, being our 60th anniversary of racing. It was just perfect timing."

Browning said parent company ISC, the body that essentially put the Southern 500 in deep freeze four years ago, was very supportive of the change. While the track technically didn't require NASCAR's OK, Browning said he alerted the sanctioning body to the move, and wrote "Southern 500" in the line on Darlington's 2009 sanctioning agreement asking for the name of the race. Potential new race sponsors, he added, are also enthusiastic.

"We actually are talking to a couple of folks, and one of them is very interested because of the history and tradition, and likes the tie-in of the Southern 500 name to the entitlement and the race sponsorship name," he said. "They saw that as a plus. So we hope to be announcing something within the next couple of months, but you just never know. Some of these things go very quickly and some of them take time."

It's a move sure to please members of NASCAR's core fan base, those longtime supporters who viewed the loss of the Southern 500 as the sport losing a little part of its soul. For drivers with an appreciation for history, it just seems right.

"When I think of Darlington and the history of the track, the Southern 500 is what comes to mind," said Jeff Gordon, a seven-time Darlington race winner. "I think it's great the Southern 500 is coming back to Darlington."

Two-time Darlington winner Jeff Burton agreed. "Winning the 50th Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway in 1999 was one of the highlights of my NASCAR career," he said. "With so much history that surrounds Darlington Raceway, bringing the Southern 500 back on Mother's Day weekend in 2009 is going to make winning even more prestigious."

Jim Hunter, Darlington's longtime former president and currently NASCAR's executive vice president for corporate communications, was enthused as well. "I think it's a great way to take the name of an old tradition and blend it into what has become a new tradition, the Mother's Day weekend at Darlington," he said. "Just the mention of the Southern 500 brings up unbelievable memories of the track 'too tough to tame.'"

Of course, in a perfect scenario, the old name would reunite with the old date. But Darlington is locked into that Mother's Day weekend slot for 2009, so the dreamers hoping for a return to Labor Day will have to wait until 2010 at the very least. One thing at a time. Resurrecting the Southern 500, a race name all but consigned to the record books, is enough of an accomplishment for right now.

"It adds to the event, because you're tying yourself back into 50 years of tradition in this sport," Browning said. "For so many years, you asked these drivers the races they wanted to win, and the Southern 500 always came up. I know it's not on Labor Day, but you're still racing at Darlington Raceway for 500 miles, and if you win that day you're still winning a 500-mile race at Darlington. That's a big deal."