by Lee Spencer

Updated: May 13, 2008, 12:03 PM EST 36 comments

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If the sanctioning body is serious about reuniting with its core fan base, then it should move the date back to Labor Day weekend and rename the race the Southern 500 to reflect the true roots of the sport.

Darlington Raceway is where stars are born. After spending quality time with David Pearson, who holds the track record of 10 victories, Carl Edwards said Friday, "This is just a real race track. It's really fun and you've got to really drive on it to make the car go fast. I think these are the type of tracks that when a guy wins at there's a lot of pride ... to know that whoever wins this race tomorrow night is gonna be right up there with all the legends, that's big. So I think it deserves however many dates we can get it."

Edwards, who finished second to Kyle Busch in the Dodge Challenger 500, added that he didn't "know all the politics around the dates" of the races, but if the Southern 500 returned to its Labor Day date it would be "pretty cool."

"Anytime you can keep a hold of a piece of history and have new guys compete in it, that's big," Edwards said. "The Daytona 500 is the Daytona 500. You know that when you go there it's the same race that Richard Petty and all those guys raced a long time ago and that means a lot to me.

"I think anytime we can keep history, that's good. I don't know the politics of the name, though, and things like that, but it would be cool. It would be cool if we ran the same exact schedule they ran in 1955."

In 1955, the NASCAR Grand National schedule boasted 45 races. Darlington was one of only four paved tracks on the tour. There were 69 drivers entered in that year's Southern 500 and Herb Thomas drove his '55 Chevrolet to victory at an average speed of 92.281 mph in front of an audience of 50,000.

Fast forward to 2008. Only 45 teams could afford to take trailers to the South Carolina track — a mere two hours from NASCAR's Charlotte hub. Forty-three racers battled at a blistering, record-setting pace of 140.350 mph with Busch emerging victorious.

Even the 23-year-old phenom, the youngest racer to win at NASCAR's highest level at Darlington was humbled by his accomplishment.

"I don't know all the history and heritage of (Darlington), but I know there's a lot to it," Busch said. "I know watching Carl Edwards' piece with Pearson, having the fun day he had, then watching some of the highlights of the races here ... you've got races from beyond that time when they were still running around here with guardrail walls. It's kind of fun to watch those and see what the track was like back in the heyday.

"But we're running around here so fast now it's confusing. To me it's just neat to be able to go around this place and remember all that and yet still be able to become the winner tonight."

It's clear that NASCAR's drivers are passionate about Darlington, one of the few races this season to enjoy a complete sellout of its roughly 65,000 seats. So it concerns me that the sanctioning body's VP of communications, Jim Hunter, has suggested it's in the best interest of the sport to not run at this track on Labor Day weekend, after his department has been running the "back to basics" line all season.

Hunter, who also served as the president of the sport's last remaining South Carolina track, told the Associated Press, "We could sell 55 to 58 thousand tickets here on Labor Day five years ago. We moved it to California and they sell 90 or 92 (thousand) or something. From a business standpoint, that is a no-brainer.

"Do I feel bad about it? As a shareholder of ISC (International Speedway Corp., which controls the France family's racetracks), I don't feel bad about it at all."

It would appear in this case "back to basics" means "stock portfolio first, hard-core fan base second."

While you're pondering that, consider these numbers: The final Southern 500 in 2003 attracted an estimated crowd of 75,000. The 2007 Sharp Aquos 500 last Labor Day weekend at California Speedway was observed by an estimated 85,000. February's Auto Club 500 at California Speedway drew about 70,000. Let's see if it's still a no-brainer come this September and beyond.

Enough of the negative, let's focus on the positive from the Dodge Challenger 500 weekend:

1. Kudos to NASCAR and Goodyear partnering for not one but two tire tests to ensure the best racing on Darlington's fresh pavement with the new tire. The tests offered teams ample data to create baselines entering the weekend and eliminated the need for a competition caution in the early going of the race.

2. An additional day of testing on Thursday provided teams with plenty of data to dial in cars for Saturday night. Darlington stripes and six back-up cars (most notably by series champ Jimmie Johnson) were endemic examples of how challenging the track has become.

3. Sprint Cup Series director John Darby's wisdom and sense of fair play continues to prevail. Tired of the finger pointing at the No. 99's trick rear end housing, Darby advised reporters that the practice used by Carl Edwards' team "is as old as racing itself." Yes, NASCAR has had its favorites, but crew chief Bob Osborne isn't back two weeks from his suspension and the competition is using the media to lobby for another sabbatical? Not in Darby's garage.