Of all the changes that NASCAR has put in place over the last decade or so, nothing has alienated the long-time fans more than moving the Labor Day date away from Darlington. It was one of the great traditions in the sport.
The weather was miserable: extremely hot and even more humid. But, it was Darlington on Labor Day; what else would you expect. Talk about your ultimate test of man and machine!
NASCAR moved the date to California; deciding we needed to be in the Los Angeles market twice a year. It was still extremely hot (but it was a dry heat-like that mattered), there wasn't any tradition and, frankly, wasn't a lot of interest. Eventually, that second California date ended up in Kansas.
Now, it looks like Darlington could be getting its traditional date back. Good. No fans have been more resilient than Darlington's as NASCAR has thrown lousy dates at them in a thinly-veiled attempt to shutter the track. I have no doubt that Darlington's faithful will embrace their Labor Day return. But, for the rest of the long-time fans, is it too late? Have they felt ignored for so long they've left the sport never to return?
Only time will tell. But, this would be a step in the right direction.