For all those NASCAR newbies who don't fully understand the vitriol Spyder and I have for the new 1 1/2 mile snoozefest tracks, try to catch tonight or tomorrow night at Darlington.
Once upon a time when stock car racing was just getting started, when they ran on the beach at Daytona, when names like North Wilkesboro, Bowman Gray, Raleigh and South Boston were regular stops, a farmer out in the middle of nowhere in rural South Carolina decided to build himself ("hisself") a racetrack. He didn't have any computers, civil engineers, designers or consultants. Probably did most of it with mules, maybe a couple of Ford tractors. Had to pinch in one end of the track because there was a pond there. Fifty years later, it is revered as the Lady in Black and The Track Too Tough To Tame. Win here and you are a driver, not a wheel turner. You will get something money can't buy, respect. In the garage and with the knowledgeable fans. You'd better be ready to lean the outside of your car against the wall coming out of turn 2 though, because if your car doesn't have some Darlington stripes, you weren't trying hard enough.