COLUMBIA, S.C. - Darlington Raceway president Chip Wile acknowledged he gets antsy at times watching tracks host two, three or four Sprint Cup races since the last time NASCAR showed up at his place.
The payoff this Labor Day, Wile says, is well worth the wait.
The "Lady in Black" has gone without NASCAR's stars since April 2014 when Kevin Harvick took the checkered flag. The circuit will return in September when the Southern 500 reclaims its once sacrosanct holiday weekend.
NASCAR shook up the schedule last fall, moving Darlington from a spring slot it held the previous 10 years back to Labor Day, where the race became one of the season's crown jewels between 1950 and 2003.
The layoff of more than 16 months is unusual, Wile said. Some tracks, like Michigan and Pocono, will have hosted four Sprint Cup weekends since NASCAR last ran at Darlington.
"I don't want to say it's tough," he said. "We've kept ourselves busy."
The free time has given Darlington's staff a chance to put on a celebration of the sport's history, Wile said. Harvick and other Stewart-Haas Racing teams have already announced throwback paint schemes to honor Darlington's return to Labor Day. Food stands will offer old favorites like pimento cheese sandwiches, fried green tomatoes and sausage perlo, a sausage and rice dish.
The 1.366-mile egg-shaped oval has been a staple of the NASCAR community since Harold Brasington carved the track out of some cotton and peanut fields in 1949. The next year, the Southern 500 was born and became one of NASCAR's most coveted trophies, won by many of the sport's greatest drivers.