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THURSDAY, AUGUST 21, 2008 THE BANKS COUNTY NEWS PAGE 3B Down the Stretch Legendary Southern 500 rises once again T raditional race fans got a pleasant surprise last Thursday morning when the announcement was made that the Southern 500 would be returning to the NASCAR Sprint Cup schedule, in name at least, at Darlington Raceway in South Carolina in 2009. The Southern 500 was one of the races that helped build NASCAR into what it is today. But a desire to cash in on a supposed goldmine of fans in California (that has since failed to materialize) saw Darlington’s traditional date go to the California Speedway in 2003. The Southern 500 event itself, after a one-year run in November, was done away with in 2005. Darlington’s lone cup event, now run on the Saturday night before Mother’s Day, has become one the toughest tickets to get in NASCAR. Despite this, officials seemed to have no inter est in returning the legendary event name to the record books. But Thursday, some sanity returned to the world. For long time race fans, it’s akin to the Dodgers announcing that they are not only moving back to Brooklyn, but that they’ll be rebuild ing Ebbets Field to boot. Darlington Raceway came into existence at the hand of pea nut farmer Harold Brasington in 1949. Brasington, a retired racer, traveled north to Indianapolis in 1948 to witness the 500-mile classic. The huge crowds that Tony Hulman brought into the venerable speedway impressed Brasington, who figured a simi lar event could be held back in his home state of South Carolina. Brasington pur chased 70 acres from a farmer near Darlington, and began laying out plans for his dream track. Those plans had to make a slight detour when he was forced to alter one end of the track to accommodate a farmer’s prized minnow pond on the west side of the property. Because of the changes, the track’s shape resembled that of an egg, making one turn more tight and narrow than the other. Little did Brasington, the farm er or the minnows know that by doing that, they had given birth to a legend. The first Southern 500 was held on Labor Day of 1950. California driver Johnny Mantz won, piloting a lightweight, underpowered Plymouth. Mantz simply drove around, protecting his car and his tires while the other drivers drove hell-bent for leather, blowing tires left and right. Since then, Darlington became the track the drivers hated to race at, but wanted to win more than any other. The track was dubbed “Too Tough To Tame,” and nicknamed “The Lady In Black” because of how hai'd it was to win, and how gruel ing the track could be on equip ment and drivers. Just to com plete the Southern 500 was an accomplishment, much less win. As such, it’s had many memorable moments. Like in 1965, when Ned Jarrett won the race by a whopping 14-laps over Buck Baker. The night before, a local preacher had told Jarrett he had a feeling he would record a big win. In 1970, Buddy Baker became the first second- generation driver to win the 500, piloting Cotton Owens’ winged Dodge Daytona to vic tory. In 1985, Bill Elliott drove into the history books by winning the Winston Million with a victory in the Southern 500, launching a media frenzy that had been unseen before in NASCAR. When NASCAR made the move to reduce Darlington to one event in 2005, many saw it as the beginning of the end for the venerable old speedway. But the fans said otherwise. They bought the tickets, they camped out, and they refused to let the old track go quietly into that good night. Now their reward is the return of the Southern 500, although most purists would prefer it to be held Labor Day weekend. But it’s a start. More importantly, it’s a tribute to those who refuse to completely give up on tradi tion. As for the first Southern 500 in four years, you can expect an exciting and unpredictable race. That’s because the Lady In Black has been waiting quietly for four years for her signature event to be returned. Now that she’s got it, she’s going to be looking for some revenge. Brandon Reed is a reporter for Mainstreet Newspapers. E-mail comments about this column to brand on @ mainstreetnews. com. “As for the first Southern 500 in four years, you can expect an excfing and unpre dictable race. That’s because the Lady in Black has been waiting quietly for four years for her signature event to be returned.” brandon reed Auto Racing The Banks County News Get the local school church, sports and other community news delivered to your home each week! Just clip the coupon below to begin saving today over the newstand price! SENIOR STANDOUT Leopard senior Justin Beasley, running for yardage against Johnson, is primed for a standout senior season for BCHS this fall. Photo by Lyn Sengupta Football... continued from page IB Several Leopards made standout plays in the scrimmage last week. Lyn Hester recovered a fumble and returned it to the 1-yard line. That play eventually led to a BCHS touchdown run by Justin Beasley for the first score of the contest. Hester capped off the score with the point after kick. Zack Dale recovered two fum bles in the scrimmage while Chase Armour played well from his safety position. Eli Autry also recovered a fumble. Beasley also scored the second touchdown for the Leopards on a 3-yard run in the second half. Dylan Lackey scored the third and final touchdown for BCHS on the first play of the fourth quarter. Officially, Johnson held on for a 21-20 win in the scrimmage although the junior varsity players took the field during the fourth quarter. The Leopards were even at the Johnson half-yard line in the final minute of the game before turning the football over on downs. “We were very vanilla in the schemes we ran,” Armstrong said. “We didn’t want to show anything that other teams might see.” Game planning has already begun for Washington-Wilkes, Armstrong said, as well as other opponents. “We are planning ahead for all teams we will face,” the coach said. “We have some small details we are putting in for Washington-Wilkes. They were in our region last year so we know a good bit about them. We know they are going to be tough.” TOLBERTl'ii | | BRADFORD Attorneys at law STOP Foreclosures STOP Repossessions STOP Garnishments STOP Tax Levies STOP Creditor Harassment Chapter 13 Repayment (Pay only Filing Fees to Start) Chapter 7 Get a Fresh Start Free Initial Consultation Athens • 706-549-8545 • 320 E. Clayton Street, Suite 514 • Athens, GA 30601 Jefferson • 706-367-5290 • 62 Washington Street • Jefferson, Georgia 30549 Name Address City State Zip Subscription rates for The Banks County News are as follows: $19.75 per year for Banks and adjoining counties; $17.75 per year for senior citizens in Banks and adjoining counties; $38.85 per year for delivery elsewhere in Georgia; $36.85 per year for delivery elsewhere in Georgia with senior citizen discount; $44.50 per year for delivery out of Georgia; $42.50 per year for delivery out of Georgia with senior citizen discount; $42.20 per year for the military with APO address. Enclosed is my check for $ Expiration Phone or □ MC or □ VISA # MainStreet Newspapers, Inc. 33 Lee Street, P. O. Box 908 Jefferson, GA 30549 706-367-5233 Fax: 706-367-8056 Website: www.mainstreetnews.com We care about kids. We want the best for them. We raise ours here, too. The NEW Waste Management There’s a good reason why we care about the kids in this community; we raise ours here, too. As an integral part of this community, the NEW Waste Management partners with local schools by providing videos, CDs and other teaching tools that help students of all ages better understand our environment and the steps we can all take to safeguard it for generations to come. We show them how state-of-the-art engineering techniques help us safely maintain and restore landfills into usable green spaces. How we use advanced optical sorting technologies to efficiently recycle plastics and glass. And how we transform common waste products into uncommonly clean energy that powers homes and businesses. We believe our educational efforts are critical to helping us preserve a healthy environment for the future. It’s another way we’re making a difference. One community at a time. 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