How much money does Darlington Raceway generate for SC?

The NASCAR track called “Too Tough To Tame” has an economic impact in South Carolina of nearly $53 million a year, according to a study commissioned by Darlington Raceway and conducted by the USC Darla Moore School of Business.

The track, which opened in 1950 in Darlington, plays host to one race a year on NASCAR’s top-tier Monster Energy Cup series. Since 2015, the race has been held on Labor Day weekend. That race, the Bojangles’ Southern 500, is part of the “Official Throwback Weekend of NASCAR” and features cars with historic paint schemes and crews dressed in throwback uniforms.

Here are highlights of the economic impact study, released this week:

791 - The number of jobs created in South Carolina, including the Pee Dee

$20.79 million - Income paid to South Carolina workers annually

$2.8 million - State and local tax revenues generated by the raceway

$50.1 million - Direct and indirect impact annually for the Pee Dee region

50 - Number of states with residents who attend Darlington races

$243 million - Ad value generated by the Official Throwback Weekend of Nascar marketing campaign

Other Darlington numbers

1.366 - Length, in miles, of Darlington Raceway

367 - Number of laps needed to complete 500 miles at Darlington

10 - Number of races won at Darlington by David Pearson of Spartanburg. That’s the most of any driver, followed by the late Dale Earnhardt’s nine.

“As a major sporting venue, we are proud to say we are located in the state of South Carolina, Pee Dee region and Darlington County,” Darlington Raceway President Kerry Tharp said. “The race track works extremely hard to bring a tremendous amount of economic benefit to our home state and region and that is something we take a great deal of pride in.

The Bojangles’ Southern 500 will be held on Sept. 3.

This story was originally published February 22, 2017 at 2:49 PM with the headline "How much money does Darlington Raceway generate for SC?."