DARLINGTON, S.C. — Darlington hasn’t hosted two Cup races in the same season since 2004, but it should surprise no one that South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley would support the return of another race to the Palmetto State.
“You have tons of families that love to come out to this race,” Haley said Saturday during an question-and-answer session in the Darlington media center. “You’ve got tons of people from across the country and world that watch this race.
“If we could turn around and bring a second one, we would in a minute, and I think the drivers would love that. But it’s their (NASCAR’s) schedule that we have to fight with, and they’ve got a busy one, but we absolutely would love two back.”
Haley comes from a house divided, at least where NASCAR is concerned. She and husband Michael Haley have different rooting interests.
“We have a split family,” Haley said. “I’m all excited about Danica Patrick — she’s my favorite. Michael is all excited about (Dale Earnhardt) Junior, and that’s his favorite, so we’ll see what happens.”
Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.
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