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  • Built as a 1.25-mile paved superspeedway in 1949-50, Darlington Raceway hosted the first 500-mile race in NASCAR history and the first on asphalt.

  • The first NASCAR Sprint Cup race was held on Sept. 4, 1950.

  • The track was re-measured to 1.375 miles in 1953.

  • The track was re-configured to 1.366 miles following the spring race in 1970.

  • The first NASCAR Nationwide Series race was held on April 3, 1982.

  • The track was repaved in 1995.

  • The first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Darlington was held on May 12, 2001.

  • The 2005 race was the first Saturday night race at Darlington.

  • The track was repaved again for the 2008 season.

  • There have been 105 NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Darlington Raceway since the track opened in 1950.

  • There was one race per year in 1950, 1951, between 1953 and 1959 and again every year since 2005. Darlington held two races a season in all other years.

  • Curtis Turner won the first pole at Darlington Raceway in 1950.

  • Johnny Mantz won the first race at Darlington, in 1950.

  • 45 drivers have posted poles at Darlington; 23 drivers have won more than one.

  • David Pearson leads all drivers with 12 poles at Darlington.

  • Jeff Gordon, Dale Jarrett, Kasey Kahne and Ken Schrader lead all active drivers with three poles each.

  • 43 drivers have won races; 22 drivers have won more than once there.

  • David Pearson leads all drivers with 10 victories, followed by Dale Earnhardt with nine.

  • Jeff Gordon is third overall and leads all active drivers with seven victories.

  • Hendrick Motorsports has won 12 races at Darlington, more than any other organization. He broke a tie with Junior Johnson when Jeff Gordon won there in 2007.

  • 18 races at Darlington have been won from the pole, the most productive starting position.

  • The deepest in the field that a race winner has started at Darlington was 43rd, in the track's inaugural race in 1950 by Johnny Mantz. That race had a 75-car field.

??? Not only is Darlington the site of the oldest NASCAR race on asphalt, it is also the site of one of the closest race finishes in NASCAR history. Ricky Craven edged Kurt Busch by 0.002 seconds on March 16, 2003 - the smallest margin of victory since NASCAR instituted electronic timing in mid-1993.

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