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Darlington Raceway to celebrate 1985-89 period at Southern 500

darlingtonticket

This year’s Southern 500 ticket that celebrates 1987 winner Dale Earnhardt and 2016 winner Martin Truex Jr. (Darlington Raceway)

It was the time of “Back to the Future,” “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,’' and the first “Lethal Weapon’’ movie and featured soundtracks provided by Madonna, Robert Palmer and Guns N’ Roses.

Yes, the 1980s are back.

At least that time period - from 1985-89 - will be the theme for Darlington Raceway during its Southern 500 weekend Sept. 1-3.

In NASCAR, that era included championships won by Darrell Waltrip (1985), Dale Earnhardt (1986-87), Bill Elliot (1988) and Rusty Wallace (1989).
“As we enter the third year of our throwback campaign, we’ll be focusing on drivers, personalities and moments that were compelling in that timeframe, such as the emergence of Dale Earnhardt Sr., Bill Elliott winning the first Winston Million, and the growth of the NASCAR Xfinity Series (formerly the Busch Grand National Series),” Darlington Raceway President Kerry Tharp said in a statement. “It will be an exciting era for the track and industry to celebrate.”

The track also announced a commemorative ticket that features Dale Earnhardt Sr., who won the 1987 Southern 500 and last year’s winner, Martin Truex Jr.

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