History
— 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 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 track was repaved in 1995.
— The 2005 race was the first Saturday night race at Darlington.
— The track was repaved again prior to the 2008 season.
Notebook
— There have been 108 NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Darlington Raceway since the track opened in 1950.
— There was one race per year in 1950, 1951, from 1953-1959, and again every year since 2005. Darlington held two races a season in all other years.
— Curtis Turner won the first pole, in 1950.
— Johnny Mantz won the first race, in 1950.
— 47 drivers have posted poles at Darlington.
— David Pearson leads all drivers with 12 poles at Darlington.
— 45 drivers have won races at Darlington; 25 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 13 races at Darlington, more than any other organization.
— 19 races at Darlington have been won from the pole, the most productive starting position. Dale Jarrett was the last driver to win from the pole in 1997.
— The deepest in the field that a race winner has started was 43rd, in the track’s inaugural race in 1950 by Johnny Mantz. That race had a 75-car field.
— Darlington is 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 – which is tied with Talladega (April 17, 2011) as the two smallest margins of victory since NASCAR instituted electronic timing in 1993.
— Youngest NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Darlington Raceway winner: Kyle Busch (05/10/2008 – 23 years, 0 months, 8 days).
— Oldest NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Darlington Raceway winner: Harry Gant (05/06/1991 – 51 years, 7 months, 22 days)

Darlington Raceway Data
Race #: 11 of 36 (05-12-12)
Track Size: 1.366 miles
Race Length: 501.322 miles
Banking Turns 1 & 2: 25 degrees
Banking Turns 3 & 4: 23 degrees
Banking/Frontstretch: 6 degrees
Banking/Backstretch: 6 degrees
Frontstretch: 1,229 feet
Backstretch: 1,229 feet

NASCAR in South Carolina
— 133 NASCAR drivers (all-time) have their home state recorded as South Carolina.
— There have been 11 race winners from South Carolina in NASCAR’s three national series:
David Pearson
Cale Yarborough
Rex White
Cotton Owens
Tiny Lund
James Hylton
Johnny Allen
Joe Eubanks
Larry Pearson
Jason Keller
Butch Lindley
Qualifying/Race Data
2011 pole winner: Kasey Kahne (181.254 mph, 27.131 seconds, 05-06-11)
2011 race winner: Regan Smith (129.678 mph, 05-07-11)
Track qualifying record: Kasey Kahne (181.254 mph, 27.131 seconds, 05-06-11)
Track race record: Kyle Busch (140.350 mph, 05-10-08)

Greg Biffle (No. 16 3M / OH / ES Ford)
— Two wins, two top fives, five top 10s; one pole
— Average finish of 14.2
— Average Running Position of 10.6, third-best
— Driver Rating of 109.7, second-best
— Series-high 254 Fastest Laps Run
— 310 Green Flag Passes, 10th-most
— Average Green Flag Speed of 159.342 mph, fourth-fastest
— 1,802 Laps in the Top 15 (70.0%), fourth-most
— 194 Quality Passes (passes of cars in the top 15 under green), seventh-most

Kyle Busch (No. 18 Wrigley Toyota)
— One win, one top five, three top 10s
— Average finish of 17.1
— Average Running Position of 11.0, fifth-best
— Driver Rating of 99.6, sixth-best
— 160 Fastest Laps Run, fourth-most
— 391 Green Flag Passes, fifth-most
— Average Green Flag Speed of 159.333 mph, fifth-fastest
— 2,056 Laps in the Top 15 (79.8%), third-most
— Series-high 265 Quality Passes

Dale Earnhardt Jr. (No. 88 Diet Mountain Dew / National Guard Chevrolet)
— Three top fives, seven top 10s
— Average finish of 15.2
— Average Running Position of 12.0, eighth-best
— Driver Rating of 92.5, eighth-best
— 59 Fastest Laps Run, 13th-most
— 381 Green Flag Passes, sixth-most
— Average Green Flag Speed of 158.834 mph, 11th-fastest
— 1,758 Laps in the Top 15 (68.3%), sixth-most
— 196 Quality Passes, sixth-most

Carl Edwards (No. 99 Roush Fenway Racing Ford)
— Three top fives, five top 10s
— Average finish of 13.9
— Average Running Position of 13.6, ninth-best
— Driver Rating of 92.4, ninth-best
— 119 Fastest Laps Run, seventh-most
— 363 Green Flag Passes, eighth-most
— Average Green Flag Speed of 158.954 mph, eighth-fastest
— 1,633 Laps in the Top 15 (63.4%), ninth-most
— 204 Quality Passes, fourth-most

Jeff Gordon (No. 24 Drive To End Hunger Chevrolet)
— Seven wins, 18 top fives, 21 top 10s; three poles
— Average finish of 11.1
— Series-best Average Running Position of 6.6
— Series-best Driver Rating of 116.2
— 172 Fastest Laps Run, second-most
— Series-best Average Green Flag Speed of 159.669 mph
— Series-high 2,420 Laps in the Top 15 (94.0%)
— 220 Quality Passes, second-most

Denny Hamlin (No. 11 Sport Clips Toyota)
— One win, two top fives, five top 10s
— Average finish of 6.5
— Average Running Position of 9.5, second-best
— Driver Rating of 108.3, third-best
— 151 Fastest Laps Run, sixth-most
— Average Green Flag Speed of 159.407 mph, second-fastest
— 1,755 Laps in the Top 15 (79.6%), seventh-most
— 197 Quality Passes, fifth-most

Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Lowe's / KOBALT Tools Chevrolet)
— Two wins, six top fives, nine top 10s
— Average finish of 9.8
— Average Running Position of 11.9, seventh-best
— Driver Rating of 100.6, fourth-best
— 155 Fastest Laps Run, fifth-most
— 410 Green Flag Passes, second-most
— Average Green Flag Speed of 159.372 mph, third-fastest
— 1,769 Laps in the Top 15 (68.7%), fifth-most
— 192 Quality Passes, eighth-most

Kasey Kahne (No. 5 Rockwell Tools Chevrolet)
— Three top fives, three top 10s; four poles
— Average finish of 14.6
— Average Running Position of 11.8, sixth-best
— Driver Rating of 96.7, seventh-best
— 165 Fastest Laps Run, third-most
— Average Green Flag Speed of 158.943 mph, ninth-fastest
— 1,620 Laps in the Top 15 (62.9%), 11th-most

Brad Keselowski (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge)
— One top five, two top 10s
— Average finish of 7.3
— Average Running Position of 14.5, 13th-best
— Driver Rating of 87.3, 12th-best

Jamie McMurray (No. 1 Bass Pro Shops / Tracker Boats Chevrolet)
— Three top fives, five top 10s; one pole
— Average finish of 14.5
— Average Running Position of 14.0, 12th-best
— Driver Rating of 86.8, 13th-best
— 1,648 Laps in the Top 15 (64.0%), eighth-most
— 148 Quality Passes, 13th-most

Ryan Newman (No. 39 WIX Chevrolet)
— Seven top fives, nine top 10s; one pole
— Average finish of 11.6
— Average Running Position of 10.7, fourth-best
— Driver Rating of 100.2, fifth-best
— 60 Fastest Laps Run, 12th-most
— Average Green Flag Speed of 159.277 mph, sixth-fastest
— 2,073 Laps in the Top 15 (80.5%), second-most

Tony Stewart (No. 14 Office Depot / Mobil 1 Chevrolet)
— Three top fives, 10 top 10s
— Average finish of 12.3
— Driver Rating of 88.1, 11th-best
— 100 Fastest Laps Run, eighth-most
— Series-high 424 Green Flag Passes
— Average Green Flag Speed of 158.884 mph, 10th-fastest
— 216 Quality Passes, third-most

Martin Truex Jr. (No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota)
— Two top 10s
— Average finish of 12.3
— Average Running Position of 13.8, 10th-best
— Driver Rating of 91.5, 10th-best
— 81 Fastest Laps Run, ninth-most
— 392 Green Flag Passes, fourth-most
— Average Green Flag Speed of 159.098 mph, seventh-fastest
— 179 Quality Passes, 10th-mos