{"id":554067,"date":"2026-03-22T22:23:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-22T22:23:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/554067\/"},"modified":"2026-03-22T22:23:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-22T22:23:08","slug":"roaring-engines-packed-stands-set-stage-for-nascar-cup-series-finale-at-darlington","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/554067\/","title":{"rendered":"Roaring engines, packed stands set stage for NASCAR Cup Series finale at Darlington"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>DARLINGTON COUNTY, S.C. (WPDE)  \u2014 Engines roared and grandstands filled as thousands of fans packed Darlington Raceway for the final day of Darlington Race Weekend ahead of Sunday\u2019s NASCAR Cup Series race.<\/p>\n<p>The race began at 3 p.m., drawing fans from across the region and beyond to what many consider one of the sport\u2019s most iconic tracks.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAny NASCAR event, you\u2019ve got to see it in person,\u201d said Austin McConnell, who traveled from Columbia. \u201cTV is great, but it doesn\u2019t do it justice.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>From longtime supporters to newer fans, excitement built throughout the day as people got ready to cheer on their favorite drivers.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve got to root for Ross Chastain,\u201d one fan said. \u201cI used to be a Jimmie Johnson guy, but he\u2019s been my favorite the last couple of years.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/wpde.com\/news\/local\/fire-contained-to-back-patio-in-temperance-drive-house-fire-no-injuries-reported\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">READ MORE: Fire contained to back patio in Temperance Drive house fire, no injuries reported<\/a><\/p>\n<p>For some, NASCAR fandom runs through families.<\/p>\n<p> Darlington native Saykeim Graham said his love for the sport started with his father.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI love it, my dad got me started into being a nascar fan,\u201d Graham said. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe&#8217;s trying to get me a pull for the 48 card but I\u2019m in love with Denny Hamlin, I love the 11. So today I\u2019m excited about Denny Hamlin winning the back to back championship cup.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Others said NASCAR has been part of major life moments.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe actually got engaged at a NASCAR race last year,\u201d said Chris Strauspaugh, who was visiting from Charlotte. \u201cSo we\u2019re real big fans.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Many attendees said the appeal goes beyond the competition.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJust come out for a race, NASCAR is the best sport,\u201d another fan said. \u201cI might be a little biased, but it\u2019s a great experience and super fun.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Families were a visible part of the crowd, with many bringing young children to take in the event.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/wpde.com\/weather\/abc-15-weather-authority-blog\/weather-for-the-week-ahead-032226-to-032826\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">READ MORE: Record heat for Sunday, Cooler after Monday<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe used to come before we had kids,\u201d said Ashton Fisher of Moncks Corner. \u201cBut now they\u2019ve made it more family-friendly, so we bring them out too.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Even fans who have visited other major tracks said Darlington stands out.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of history here, it\u2019s a great time,\u201d said Sean Finn, visiting from Fort Bragg, North Carolina. \u201cI\u2019ve been to Daytona, Las Vegas, but this is a good track too.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Known as the track \u201cToo Tough to Tame,\u201d Darlington Raceway remains a fan favorite for its challenging layout and deep NASCAR history. <\/p>\n<p>The NASCAR Cup Series race was still underway as of Sunday evening.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"DARLINGTON COUNTY, S.C. (WPDE) \u2014 Engines roared and grandstands filled as thousands of fans packed Darlington Raceway for&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":554068,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[446],"tags":[49,48,634,82],"class_list":["post-554067","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nascar","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-nascar","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/554067","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=554067"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/554067\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/554068"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=554067"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=554067"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=554067"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}