Why is Darlington Raceway called “The Lady in Black”? Exploring the Crown Jewel’s famous nickname

The 1.366-mile, black asphalt-paved Darlington Raceway is unlike any other venue in the country. Built in 1950, the track has become synonymous with NASCAR over the decades and will host the 75th running of the Southern 500 this weekend. To celebrate the day, here is the story of how the track became known as The Lady in Black.

Thousands of publications have referred to the venue by this name throughout history. But sports journalist Benny Phillips was the first to do so in 1965. In a column he compared the track to the German spy Mata Hari and wrote: “As insidious as Mata Hari. As desirable as Hollywood's most beautiful actress – as unpredictable as any woman – these are the virtues of the 'Lady in Black'.”

Mata Hari was a notorious World War I spy who posed as an exotic dancer. Although the name stuck and was picked up by other writers, Phillips later mentioned it only once more, in 1974. He worked for High Point Enterprises in North Carolina for 48 years and died in 2012. He also wrote for TBS and Stock Car Racing Magazine.

There are some others who attribute the nickname to the track's asphalt surface and not to Phillips. Track President Kerry Tharp told the track's media earlier this year: “Whatever theory you want to accept, let's just say that the Lady in Black is a nickname that has stuck with this mysterious race track for many years and will continue to do so.”

The affinity that Benny Phillips had with Darlington

Phillips was one of the small group of journalists who covered the early years of the sport and he had an extreme fondness for Darlington Raceway. He did not treat or write about the racetrack as an inanimate entity. To him it had feelings and flesh like people.

He wrote in 1974: “I'm sure there are skeptics who will say this place doesn't live and breathe like a human and doesn't have a soul and isn't vengeful and good and kind and all the other things that real people are. But I know better.”

The author is sorely missed in the world of sports journalism today, but his name lives on in the NASCAR Hall of Fame, as does the nickname he gave his beloved wife.