The Southern 500 was first run at Darlington Raceway on Labor Day weekend back in 1950.  Johnny Mantz won that race, the first and only win of his career.  It was NASCAR's first superspeedway race, and Darlington has been a main stay in NASCAR ever since.  However, 2004 saw changes that made longtime NASCAR fans riot.  Rockingham was taken off the schedule.  Darlington was moved to the Saturday before Mother's Day and became a night race.  This has been awesome to see the Lady in Black under the lights, but something else was missing.  California got the Labor Day race date, and the Southern 500 was moved to the next-to-last race of the 2004 season, then taken off the schedule completely the following year.  The Mother's Day race was extended to 500 miles, but it just wasn't Labor Day weekend without the Southern 500.

BUT, last year NASCAR announced several changes.  One was that California would be moved out of the Labor Day spot (thankfully), being replaced by Atlanta.  Another change was that for the 60th running of a 500-mile race at Darlington.  NASCAR lost its sponsor for this race, so they decided to bring back the Southern 500 name to the race at The Track Too Tough to Tame.  It may not be Labor Day weekend anymore, but the original name is back where it belongs.

Darlington has always been a tough track, hence its nickname "Too Tough to Tame."  Many a driver has earned the Darlington Stripe, as a matter of fact FOX usually tries to keep a running tracker during the race of how many stripes occur.  It takes experience to win here.  No rookie has ever won at Darlington.

Terry Labonte won the Southern 500 twice, the first and last wins of his career.  Jeff Gordon won 4 in a row, and he and Bill Elliott are the only 2 drivers to win the Winston Million.  Harry Gant won the 500 in 1991, part of his 4-race win streak that earned him the nickname "Mr. September."  Darrell Waltrip won a rain-shortened Southern 500 in 1992 for the 84th and final win of his incredible racing career.

First-time winners don't come easy at this track.  As a matter of fact, Lake Speed was the last driver to capture his first (and only) career victory in the Transouth 500 here, and that was back in 1988.  Darlington hasn't seen a first-time winner since.

There have been some exciting finishes here as well.  In the 1979 Rebel 500, Richard Petty and DW swapped the lead 4 times on the final lap with Waltrip holding off the King.  In 2003, Ricky Craven and Kurt Busch came to the line hooked together with Craven winning by .002 seconds, the closest finish in NASCAR history.

Kyle Busch is the defending winner of this race, Jeff Gordon is the winningest active driver at Darlington with 7 wins, and Greg Biffle is the most recent back-to-back winner here, winning this race in 2005 and 2006 respectively.  So what does all that mean?  The answer is...NOTHING!  The Lady in Black can ruin a day for even the greatest drivers, just ask Richard Petty who took a tumble down the frontstretch in 1970.  So who wins?

My Pick: Tony Stewart - I'm going all in with Smoke on this one.  He's done exceptionally well with his own team, and it's a matter of time before he wins a race in his own car.  It would be a double first for Stewart if he wins as well.  Not only would it be his first win as an owner/driver, it would also be his first win at Darlington.  That's right, 33 wins and 2 championships, but he's never won at the Lady in Black, Vegas, or California.

Dark Horse: David Reutimann - He keeps inching closer and closer.  I mentioned that it's been 21 years since the last first-time winner at Darlington, but that could change this weekend.  This season has hardly been a fluke, and it would be great to see Reutimann finally get that first win.

As always, this is your official open race thread to discuss the happenings before, during, and after the race.