Darlington Raceway President Chip Wile To Participate In Charity Race At Dillon Motor Speedway

DARLINGTON, SC – This Saturday night, July 19, Darlington Raceway President Chip Wile will be behind the wheel of a 3,300-lb. stock car when he competes in the first-ever Necktie Invitational Celebrity Race at Dillon Motor Speedway in Dillon, SC.

Wile will be racing in a street stock racecar wheel-to-wheel with other well-known Pee Dee area community leaders, including (in alphabetical order):

• Wayne Byrd, Darlington County Sheriff
• Jim Gray, Chief of Police for the Marion Police Department
• Todd Hardee, Darlington County Coroner
• Major Hulon, Dillon County Sheriff
• John Isgett, President of Raceway Automotive Group
• Dan E. Lockemy, Host of ‘That’s Racin’ on WEGX Eagle 92.9 FM
• Mel Pennington, Mayor of City of Hartsville
• Melvin Warren, Major of South Carolina Highway Patrol
• Daniel Watson, Chief of Police for the City of Darlington

The Necktie Invitational will feature two cars on track competing in multiple elimination rounds. When the final two drivers are determined, the two drivers will race head-to-head for a $3,000 prize donated to the winner’s charity of choice

Wile will be racing to support Darlington Raceway’s charitable arm, Darlington Shares. Darlington Shares was established earlier this year under the NASCAR Foundation umbrella to raise monies for various Darlington County community initiatives.

The racecars are being supplied courtesy of Dwayne Weatherford, co-owner of Palmetto Auto Auction in Darlington.

“This charity race evolved from conversations we had on the air during the That’s Racin’ show on Eagle 92.9 hosted by Dan E. Lockemy and Rudy Branham every Monday night,” Wile said. “We kept batting around the idea and eventually with the help Ron Barfield of Dillon Motor Speedway and Dwayne Weatherford, the race is now a reality. The goal from the beginning was to raise money for worthy causes in the Darlington community.  I’m going to drive my heart out to raise money for Darlington Shares. We’ll see what happens this Saturday night.”

Other divisions that will compete on Saturday night at Dillon Motor Speedway will include the Super Trucks, Chargers, Street Stocks and Pure Stock Fours. Practice for the events will begin at 4 p.m., followed by qualifying at 6 p.m. and the race at 8 p.m.

Darlington Raceway, or the track Too Tough To Tame as it is known to many, is where the purest of NASCAR competition meets true southern hospitality. A NASCAR staple since 1950, Darlington Raceway has seen some of motorsports most talented drivers thunder to Gatorade Victory Lane.

You can keep up with all of the latest news from Darlington Raceway at DarlingtonRaceway.com, on Facebook atFacebook.com/DarlingtonRaceway and on Twitter at Twitter.com/TooToughToTame.