Darlington Dragway Is Sold – Drag Racer and Vlogger John Doc of Nasty Racing Acquires Legendary South Carolina Track!
As one of South Carolina’s premier drag strips, Darlington Dragway has not only hosted big name events for multiple sanctioning bodies, but also been the site of record runs and nearly fifty years of history.
The track got a lot of attention in March this year, as one of several race tracks targeted for potential purchase by the IHRA (International Hot Rod Association). Although the track would not be purchased by the IHRA, just four months later, it has been sold to a new owner!
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John Dougherty, a.k.a. ‘John Doc’, who has raced several different cars in several classes across multiple states, has detailed a lot of his experiences on YouTube, sometime daily.
Earlier this month, John and Nasty Racing posted a YouTube video about restructuring their racing program, and some stuff going up for sale.
For those that may have wondered why the change up, the announcement today about the acquisition of Darlington Dragway could shine some light on John’s future:
“As of July 21st, 2025 Nasty Racing has completed the acquisition of Darlington Dragway. Darlington had previously been run by outside management under contract with a private equity firm, which exercised a contractual right to reclaim the track. We were able to make a deal with said private equity firm to obtain the legendary Darlington Dragway facility. We are very excited to have the opportunity to help grow/promote the great sport of drag racing while supporting the local community here in South Carolina. We will be doing a number of renovations and upgrades to the facility to bring the racers and spectators the best possible racing and entertainment we can!”
The track has previously stated “all documented events will be honored” in a Facebook post referring to their current NHRA (National Hot Rod Association) sanctioning, which they switched to in January 2025.
Considering the track has a lot of history under both the NHRA and IHRA sanctions, could they be preparing for a move to a new sanctioning in 2026?
Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of Darlington Dragway.
If you have thoughts / feedback / ideas, please e-mail us at derek@sickthemagazine.com