Eighth annual event to be held at Mellow Mushroom in Florence, SC starting at 1:30 p.m.

DARLINGTON, SOUTH CAROLINA (Jan. 31, 2019) – Darlington Raceway will celebrate Daytona Day and the start of the 2019 NASCAR season by hosting its eighth annual Community Watch Party for the Daytona 500 on Sunday, Feb. 17.

The event will start at 1:30 p.m. and continue until the conclusion of the Daytona 500. The party will be hosted at Mellow Mushroom, located at 120 Dunbarton Dr., in Florence, S.C.

The Community Watch Party will feature a food and drink specials courtesy of Mellow Mushroom and Crown Beverages. Fans who attend will have the chance to win tickets, pit passes and pre-race ceremony wristbands, along with other prizes and giveaways to the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Bojangles’ Southern 500 on Labor Day weekend.

“Now in our eighth year, our community watch party is a great way for us to engage with our local race fans and celebrate Daytona Day and the start of the 2019 NASCAR season,” track President Kerry Tharp said. “We’re excited that the event will once again be held at Mellow Mushroom for the third consecutive year, which is an outstanding venue to watch The Great American Race on February 17.”

A new feature of the watch party this year will be a video gaming area at Mellow Mushroom where fans will be able to simulate racing at Daytona International Speedway. Top times posted during the contest will receive prizes during the party.

Proud partners of the eighth annual Community Watch Party are Coca-Cola, Crown Beverages and WEGX Eagle 92.9 FM.

Additionally, with the Daytona 500 quickly approaching, Darlington Raceway will be a presenting sponsor of live coverage from Daytona Speedweeks. Local media partners WWFN 100.1 FM ‘The Fan’ and WEGX Eagle 92.9 FM will broadcast live from Daytona International Speedway on February 14 and 15. The Daytona 500 will also be available live on Eagle 92.9 FM (MRN) beginning at 1:30 p.m. on Feb. 17.

Local TV partners WBTW CBS and WMBF NBC will also serve as partners on Daytona coverage and the watch party during Speedweeks.

“We appreciate all of our local media partners for their assistance in covering the Daytona 500, the Super Bowl of our sport, as well as their involvement in supporting our Community Watch Party,” Tharp said. “We encourage fans to tune-in to either Eagle 92.9 FM or The Fan 100.1 FM on Thursday and Friday evening for live coverage from Daytona, which will feature a wide variety of interviews and news updates from the World Center of Racing.”

Darlington Raceway’s award-winning throwback campaign is The Official Throwback Weekend of NASCAR featuring the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Bojangles’ Southern 500® on Sunday, Sept. 1, 2019. The NASCAR XFINITY Series Sport Clips Haircuts VFW 200 will race on Saturday, Aug. 31, 2019. Tickets can be purchased now by calling 866-459-7223 or visiting DarlingtonRaceway.com.

You can keep up with all of the latest news from Darlington Raceway at DarlingtonRaceway.com, on Facebook at Facebook.com/DarlingtonRaceway and on Twitter at Twitter.com/TooToughToTame. Fans are encouraged to post their Bojangles’ Southern 500 stories and memories at, #BojanglesSo500 and #SportClips200.