IHRA: Track Profile - Darlington Dragway

Forty years is a long time for any business to remain open, and in the tumultuous world of motorsports, it's an eternity.

But Darlington Dragway, in Hartsville, South Carolina, is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, and the future of the IHRA-sanctioned track has never been brighter.

For the past decade, Ronnie and Lori Siders have operated the track, but the stress of fighting the weather and the day-to-day requirements of maintaining a top facility wore on them, according to a recent interview they did with the Florence News.

They are staying in the area, though, and have opened a deli. "The lease was up, and I opted out," Ronnie said. "My wife ran the concession stand at the dragway, and it always did well, so we figured, let's go in that direction."

Waiting in the wings was Russell Miller, who had been a silent partner in the track. Miller is a racer who now watches son Tylor and daughter Brooke compete. Miller operated Pee Dee Fleet, a trucking business, and the family drag racing team is called Pee Dee Fleet Motorsports.

Perhaps the best news, though, is that Miller is busy upgrading the track, adding fencing, painting, working on the surface and the tower, and adding new timing equipment.

"Being in racing as long as I have and my family racing as long as we have, we've been to a lot of venues and have done a lot of racing, and we know what we want," Miller said.

The track, nicknamed "House of Speed," has a packed schedule for 2016. There are IHRA Summit Super Series points races, Test 'n Tune nights, concerts, car shows and, this fall, the Junior Dragster Nationals.

"I look for this to be the premier dragstrip in South Carolina," Miller said.

For more information, log on to DarlingtonDragway.com.