NASCAR: Back to the Future
A special exhibit entitled “NASCAR: Back to the Future" will be open Friday from 2–7 p.m. and Saturday from 1-7 p.m., behind the raceway’s Tyler Tower. The exhibit will illustrate the evolution of NASCAR-style stock cars, culminating with the current Car of Tomorrow models that honor traditional NASCAR principles of safety, competition and cost management while offering a closer-to-stock appearance that is a “throwback" to the past.
Three cars from that past will be featured:
* A 1972 Dodge Charger driven by Richard Petty – he won the series championship that year – on loan from Petty Enterprises.
* A 1977 Chevrolet Monte Carlo driven by Darrell Waltrip. The car is on loan from the International Motorsports Hall of Fame located in Talladega, Ala.
* A 1987 Chevrolet driven by Terry Labonte and owned by Junior Johnson, on loan from the NMPA Stock Car Racing Hall of Fame and Museum located at Darlington Raceway.
Other cars planned for the exhibit include both the Car of Tomorrow and street versions of the four 2007 models competing in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series: Chevrolet Impala SS, Dodge Avenger, Ford Fusion, and Toyota Camry.
In addition, an informative video detailing the evolution of a stock car will be shown continuously.
Saturday night’s event at Darlington will be the fifth NASCAR NEXTEL Cup race this season using the Car of Tomorrow models. The previous “COT" races were at Bristol Motor Speedway, Martinsville Speedway, Phoenix International Raceway and Richmond International Raceway.