It’s NASCAR Weekend in Darlington, SC — A Town Falling Apart at the Seams

Race weekend brings tens of thousands of fans to Darlington, SC — but when the engines go quiet, the town is left with broken infrastructure, poverty and leadership that can’t get out of its own way.

Turn 4 at Darlington Race Track. Photo taken by author.

Darlington is a Town Barely Hanging On

On race weekend, Darlington feels alive. Fans in RVs, trucks and cars flood in from all over the country. Streets fill, flags wave and the buzz of excitement is everywhere. For a moment, you might think the town is thriving.

But it isn’t.

Scratch the surface, or worse, stay after the race crowd leaves, and the reality sets in. Locals warn, “Be careful out there, you know the police will be bad.” That’s not safety, that’s fear. By 9 p.m., most businesses are shut down, streetlights are dim or dead, and potholes will swallow your car. For a town that hosts major races, just driving at night feels dangerous.

And hotels? Darlington has two motels, in rough shape. The “nicer” option is in nearby Hartsville, but fans usually book Florence instead, a bigger town 20 minutes up the road with chain hotels, a mall and restaurants. The irony is brutal: Darlington gets the traffic and noise, while Florence gets the money.

That’s Darlington in a nutshell — spotlight without the payoff.

The contrast is jarring. One night you’re watching the car hauler parade thunder through town, feeling like Darlington is the center of the world. The next, the streets are empty again.

The Numbers Don’t Lie

In 2023, Darlington’s population was just over 6,100. That’s tiny. And while tens of thousands visit for race weekend, the economic benefit barely sticks.

The median household income is $31,240 — and it actually dropped more than 7% from the year before. Why? Because most race revenue goes to the state and the racetrack, which enjoys hefty tax breaks. Without strong local leadership demanding a fair share, Darlington is left scrounging.

That’s the pattern here: the town can’t seem to maximize the one thing it has going for it.

Self-Inflicted Wounds

It’s not just outside forces. Darlington hurts itself too.

Small businesses, especially local restaurants, have real potential. Some have been serving up southern staples for generations, the kind of places that could anchor a town’s identity. But they thrive in spite of local leadership, not because of it.

City council meetings are a circus: shouting matches, chest-thumping, public meltdowns, even arrests. People laugh, but it’s the uneasy laugh of embarrassment. Meanwhile, residents are dealing with raw sewage backing up into their homes. That’s not just inconvenient — it’s dangerous and humiliating.

And then there’s the $300,000 the state gave Darlington for improvements. It sat untouched for months. When asked, officials shrugged: “We just haven’t spent it yet.” Imagine telling a community dealing with sewage in their living rooms that hundreds of thousands of dollars are just sitting idle. That’s not oversight. That’s negligence.

Living Under Pressure

Beyond the money and politics, the human cost weighs heavy.

Darlington is nearly 60% Black and about 30% White. Racial tension lingers, and fear of police shadows everyday life. The crime rate tells the story: in 2018, it was 1,124 incidents per 100,000 people, more than double the state average and nearly triple the national average. Many don’t trust law enforcement. Some fear calling for help will only make things worse.

Then came fentanyl. In 2019, Darlington recorded only a handful of opioid-related deaths. By 2023, there were 19 — 17 tied to fentanyl. EMS reports show Naloxone use nearly tripled in that same span. Those numbers aren’t abstract. They’re families broken, futures cut short, a community staggering under addiction and grief.

Darlington Deserves Better

When the race is over, the fans pack up for Florence, Charlotte or wherever they came from. The stands empty, the traffic clears and Darlington is left staring at itself: broken streets, mismanaged money, crumbling systems and people who deserve far more than they’re getting.

Other towns have pulled themselves back from the edge. With real leadership, strategic planning and investment in what residents actually need — safe neighborhoods, parks, community events — it can be done. The blueprint exists.

The question is whether Darlington will ever find the will to follow it.

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Originally posted on Medium (@darlyndreams)