When the NASCAR season rolls into Darlington this week for its throwback weekend it will be the first time that they have went back to the old race track since the all-time winner at the track, NASCAR Hall of Famer David Pearson, has passed away. In the last few years Spartanburg, once a thriving community in the racing world, has lost many of the faces that called Spartanburg home and that were also well known faces in the NASCAR community. Along with the loss of Pearson, Spartanburg has also recently lost NASCAR Hall of Famers Bud Moore and Cotton Owens plus well known independent racer James Hylton. While the racing community in Spartanburg has lost many of its icons in recent years it still has a local connection keeping that spirit alive as Jeremy Clements and his race team of Jeremy Clements Racing continue to carry that torch for the Spartanburg community.
Clements Racing is an independent team, which means it has no affiliation to a NASCAR Cup Series team, that runs in the Xfinity Series of the NASCAR racing circuit and in many ways is a throwback to the teams of old as they run on a very limited budget with many local companies often seen as associate sponsors on the car. You can find the Clements racing shop in a building just off of Interstate 85 that runs through the heart of Spartanburg and is the same route many of those racing icons of Spartanburg have taken to and from races for many years. Just this past weekend marked the two year anniversary of one of the biggest moments in the history of the Clements Racing team as Jeremy Clements was able to drive his number 51 car to victory lane at Road America which was an amazing feat for an independent team like theirs in the Xfinity Series. The 2019 season has been a pretty good year for the team especially recently as the team has recorded back-to-back Top 10 finishes and finished eleventh or better in each of the last four races. With the NASCAR circuit rolling into Darlington this week for its throwback weekend it’s like the team is welcoming its racing family into their own backyard as it is the only racetrack on the NASCAR schedule located in South Carolina. The Lady in Black, the nickname for Darlington Raceway, has been known to have a special place in its heart for the local racers as David Pearson is the all-time winningest driver at the track and fellow South Carolina born driver Cale Yarborough is tied for fifth in wins there. Bud Moore and Cotton Owens also picked up a few wins at the race track as car owners over the years. While the team finished just outside the Top-15 at Darlington last season they have really been performing a lot better this season and especially over the last month have really stepped up their performance. Maybe with the improved performance and just a little magic from the Lady in Black the Clements Racing number 51 car could find its way into victory lane on Saturday afternoon and give the racing community of Spartanburg another chance to celebrate a victory of their hometown team at the oldest racetrack in NASCAR on the annual throwback weekend. Comments are closed.
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