Darlington excited to be site of NASCAR’s return

Kerry Tharp spent nearly four decades in the sports media relations world, helping promote student-athletes at Tennessee, Oklahoma and South Carolina before leaving the college realm to enhance NASCAR’s communication efforts.

From the days of Jimmy Streater quarterbacking the Volunteers through the days of South Carolina joining the Southeastern Conference through the days of Jimmie Johnson winning seven Cup Series championships, Tharp has played a role in aiding those on a competitive stage, but now the microscope is on him.

Since 2016, Tharp has been president of Darlington Raceway, which is the site of next Sunday’s 400-mile Cup Series race that will welcome live mainstream sports back to our country after a two-month hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic. It will be the first Cup Series showdown since

March 8, when Joey Logano, Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch finished 1-2-3 at the FanShield 500 in Phoenix.

“I think it’s exciting to say that we are going to be, for all intents and purposes, the first live sporting event since the pandemic,” Tharp said. “There is excitement, and there is a humbleness that you have to know that the eyes and the ears of the world will be focused on Darlington, South Carolina. There is also a great deal of responsibility that we have to shoulder, because we have to get this right.

“The world hit a pause button the second week of March, so we feel honored and proud, but we also feel a sense of responsibility.”

AP PHOTO/TERRY RENNA Kevin Harvick (4) leads the field past the green flag at the start of a NASCAR Cup Series race in September 2017 at Darlington Raceway in South Carolina. The Cup Series will return to competition at the track next Sunday, then race there again three days later.

AP FILE PHOTO/TIMOTHY D. EASLEY Kerry Tharp has been president of Darlington Raceway, the site of next Sunday’s Cup Series race, since 2016.