Darlington Dragway disappointment

[Dhenderson]

This year is my 2nd Mustang Week. Last year at Darlington Dragway was fantastic. The track was slippery early in the heat but as the sun went down cars were hooking much better. It was nearly constant drag passes all afternoon and evening, a super enjoyable event. This year however was a huge disappointment. In the late afternoon the track was so slick some V6 cars were spinning hard. In the cool of the evening out came the fast (race) cars. One oiled down the track (resulting in a lengthy cleanup of over an hour :cuss then it was announced that only 1 lane would be run. :fm: What the ??? Then that was interrupted by a COW on the top end of the track. Track prep isn't rocket science. The Darlington Dragway should be embarressed for the piss poor track prep they did for an event this large. With the number of paying customers attending they can surely afford proper track prep. I hope the MW organizers will impress upon the Darlington Dragway the importance of this event and demand better track preparation next year. Other than this I had a great time at the MW this week.

 

[V6&V8SHO]

I saw a lot of poor burnouts with many letting off the gas while still in the water box. For those with street tires up front driving around the water box and backing in helps keep the 60ft from getting greasy.

 

[RIO RED SNAKE]

Too far away for anyone to really want to go, and track prep last year was just ehhhh... Worst event of the week in my opinion, everyone just drove 6-22 hours who wants to go drive another 4 to possibly break or run terrible times. But hey that's why the mall lot was way more packed than last year.

 

[HooperWest]

That's nonsense about the track. That must have been very disappointing.

Last time I was in NC, I saw a lot of COWS in Wal-Mart I was in.

 

[5spd07gt]

I've been attending MW since 2009 and never been to Darlington. Way too far after driving 8hrs to MB.

 

[TRMach1]

First time going to MW, drove 10 hours from FL. I had to go to darlington as well to try to experience all the events. I wanted to run but when I saw how long the line was I was like nah I'll just watch instead.. BTW i also noticed that most of the cars were not doing as good as they should have.

I enjoyed it, only thing that I HATED was on the way back to Myrtle Beach I was behind two cobras and 5 trucks pulling mustangs and a rock ended up chipping my door.. Oh well, I just need to get that fixed now.

 

[SID297]

I've been attending MW since 2009 and never been to Darlington. Way too far after driving 8hrs to MB.

That's a sentiment shared by many.

 

[PhillyLS1]

2nd Mustang week attendance. The track is too far and there's no real incentive to go. Be nice if there was something closer to home to make up for that day.

 

[TGR96]

I'm with many of you guys. We have about a 10 hour drive from Alabama, and although I would love to attend the Darlington Drag night, it's just too much more driving to make it enjoyable/desireable to go. On the flip side, the autocross and fun runs at MB Speedway are awesome fun!

 

[Phil'scobra]

Time to set up fishing trips or golf outings.

 

[SteveG@Lethal]

Should start using the 1/8th mile track locally.

 

[GeoSnake]

Should start using the 1/8th mile track locally.

Not going to happen unless they undergo major renovations. Rodney Melton and I have visited that track numerous times trying to decided to move the event. Best description I can use is this... it's a working farm with a 1/8th mile dragstrip in the middle of it. The amount of cars we would take there could not be parked in their "normal" parking. They would have to bush-hog a working agricultural field to accommodate. Also, they have some MAJOR drainage issues and not nearly enough stands to accommodate spectators. These are some of the many issues we found. Sorry to say it is just not the caliber of facility we need for Mustang Week Dragnight. The proximity would be great, but I can't condone moving it there.

I would invite anyone (especially local drag racers) to visit NMB Dragstrip and take photos and video showing the facilities in the current condition. Post them in this thread. If we see that things have improved, maybe we will revisit the facility and talk to the owners again.

 

[DMassey]

I love going to Darlington when I have a hot rod with me. Unfortunately for me, I've had to bring the family car to Mustang Week the past few years so we just use Thursday as a "date night." But EVERY year I (or a traveling buddy with me) have a hot rod, we go to Darlington. 1.5 hours isn't a big deal to alot of people.

I understand if you aren't big into drag racing, or you live close to a 1/4-mile track at home. But 1/4-mile tracks aren't necessarily around every corner, and there are less every year. The nearest 1/4-mile track to my town is 4+ hours away. So driving 1.5 hours to Darlington during Mustang Week is a BIG deal to take advantage of for alot of people who don't live close to a 1/4-mile track. We jump at the chance. I know that the track prep isn't always the best, and the weather is always HOT, so you don't run your best ET... but everyone there is racing on the same track and I'm there to kick as many people's asses as possible! Plus, alot of the people I see blaming their poor 60's on track prep couldn't drive a sharp stick up a hooker's ass.

 

[xtremekustomz]

I drove from Canada and still went to darlington.....what are you guys complaining about driving the cars that we all love. ya it was alittle far but who cares I got to rip my cobra for alittle longer. It was a disappointment about the track issues but hey that's racing shit happens.