This weekend marks the start of the 2025 Cup Series playoffs for the 16 title contenders. The venue that kickstarts the pointy end of the competition is the Southern 500 at the Darlington Raceway. This 1.3 mile oval has been on the NASCAR Cup calendar since 1950, making it one of the oldest superspeedway races. But what truly sets Darlington apart is its peculiar egg shape — born out of an unusual compromise that gave the track its legendary character.

The track has a number of nicknames, like “The Track Too Tough to Tame”, “The Lady in Black”, among others. However, the race track itself has a unique asymmetric egg shape, with the first two turns having 25° banking. Meanwhile, the last two turns have 23° banking, and the two straights have 6° banking. And as one current Cup driver recent

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