Buzz surrounds NASCAR as Southern 500 returns to Labor Day weekend

Sunday’s Bojangles’ Southern 500 at Darlington was already going to be a blast from the past.

But NASCAR decided to take it a step further and there will also be a “throwback” theme for the historic race, which makes its return to Labor Day weekend for first time since 2003 – after which it was moved to Mother’s Day weekend.

“Darlington is a cool place; it’s got a ton of history. With the whole throwback theme and paint schemes coming this weekend and moving the [race] back to Labor Day, I think it’s one of the best things NASCAR has done in a while. It’s really cool,” said Greg Zipadelli, vice president of competition at Stewart-Haas Racing. “It’s one of those ones that you circle on the calendar at the beginning of the year; it’s one you definitely want to win. It’s a tough place, though. You really have to be on top of your game.”

Kevin Harvick was on top of his game at the Southern 500 last year, as the Stewart-Haas driver edged Dale Earnhardt Jr. for his second victory of the year. Harvick went on to win the Sprint Cup championship and is in the running again as he’s first in the Sprint Cup driver standings heading into Sunday’s race, where he will start third.

Team Penske driver Brad Keselowski – the 2012 Sprint Cup series champion – earned the pole position in Saturday’s qualifying and Stewart-Haas driver Kurt Busch will start in the second position.

“We’re certainly looking forward to going back and trying to make it two in a row,” said Zipadelli, who made an appearance with Chase Elliott and Jeb Burton at Jud Kuhn Chevrolet in Little River on Thursday.

Elliott, a rookie with Hendrick Motorsports, will be making his first-ever Sprint Cup start at Darlington on Sunday and qualified 22nd. It will also be the 19-year-old’s final of five scheduled 2015 Cup starts before taking over full-time in the No. 24 Chevrolet SS that four-time Sprint Cup champion Jeff Gordon will vacate at the end of the year.

“If you try to keep the right side [of the car] intact, that’s important these days and [so is] having the aero on your side,” said Elliott, speaking of the obstacles at Darlington. “Hopefully [try] to manage that wall as much as you can. You’ve got to get close to it but try not to get too close, too much and just hopefully try to put yourself in a good spot to have a good day.”

Elliott – the 2014 Xfinity Series champion – already has a knack for Darlington as he won NASCAR’s second-highest series’ race there, the VFW Sports Clips Help a Hero 200, last year. But Elliott said he doesn’t believe that win will help much come Sunday.

“It’s a new week, a new year and things are so different from last season,” said Elliott, whose father is NASCAR Hall of Famer Bill Elliott, a five-time winner at Darlington. “Just because you had a good day yesterday, that doesn’t mean today is going to go right.”

Elliott is one of the drivers with a throwback paint scheme for Sunday and his No. 25 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet will pay tribute to his father, Bill, and his 1985 win at Darlington, which made him the first-ever winner of the “Winston Million” and a $1 million payday.

Thirty-one other NASCAR teams will also run some type of retro paint scheme on their cars for Sunday’s race.

“I think it’s cool. I was impressed; NASCAR did a good job and I don’t know whose idea it was to do this but they need a raise, in my opinion,” Elliott said. “The biggest thing is the team has really embraced it, took a good grasp on it and went all out with these paint schemes. I’m excited about our car; I think it looks good and there’s a lot of really cool ones so I’m excited to see them.”

Burton – a rookie with BK Racing and son of retired NASCAR driver Ward Burton – will also be making his Sprint Cup debut at Darlington and will start near the back as he qualified 41st in his No. 23 Toyota Camry.

Burton’s father, Ward, and his uncle, Jeff, have prospered at Darlington as both have two career victories at the track. Burton hopes to someday follow in their footsteps.

“I’m really looking forward to going to Darlington,” the 23-year-old Burton said. “My family [has] had a lot of success there so I’m really looking forward to going there and hopefully we can have some success this weekend.

“… There’s some added pressure there. But it’s cool to have some family members in the sport that have done it and [have] people you can lean on so that’s really cool.”

While trying to compete for the Rookie of the Year award this year, Burton has had somewhat of a rocky start to his Sprint Cup career. In 18 starts, he has just two top-30 finishes and has placed no better than 33rd in his past six races.

Still, Burton hasn’t been discouraged.

“This year has been a struggle for me. This time last year, I was with [a truck team] and then the sponsorship fell through and I didn’t have a ride. I took this opportunity I had [with BK Racing] to get some seat time but it’s tough in the Cup series with a low-budget team. It’s been a struggle but you’ve just got to keep your head up and keep digging.”

Overall, there’s always high expectations for the race at Darlington, which has seen some exciting ones over the years. Perhaps the most dramatic was the Carolina Dodge Dealers 400 in 2003, when Busch beat Ricky Craven in photo finish by 0.002 seconds, the closest finish in Sprint Cup history.

“There’s been so many good races at Darlington,” Zipadelli said. “Again, it’s just one of those tracks that really kind of gets you – and your team – pumped up and I think we’re in store for an excellent race.”

This story was originally published September 5, 2015 at 6:19 PM with the headline "Buzz surrounds NASCAR as Southern 500 returns to Labor Day weekend."