Inductee Hunter: ‘He was Darlington’

He was loyal and compassionate and tough, a teacher and counselor and promoter, one of the rare who influenced so many in a positive way.

Those words describe the late Jim Hunter, who, yes, in his younger days, walked on the wild side, too.

But more than nouns or adjectives or verbs can say, he was Darlington.

Yes, that Darlington, the race track that annually stages one of the states oldest and most captivating sports spectacles.

The timing is perfect: Another Southern 500, this one the first sponsored by Bojangles, unfolded Saturday night at Darlington Jim Hunters Darlington and 48 hours later he will be among the inductees into the South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame in ceremonies tonight.

The two are entwined; if Jim Hunter had not come along at the pivotal point in the raceways history, stock-car racings first super-speedway which staged the first Southern 500 in 1950 would almost certainly be gone with the wind.

But like the cavalry in a John Wayne western, Hunter rode to the rescue of the track he fell in love with while listen to radio reports of races at his boyhood home in North Charleston.

Put it this way, said Mac Josey, the tracks vice-president and general manager: Jim gave this place a second chance on life. He was the key to keeping the track open. We wouldnt be here (on race weekend) without him.

His track-saving work represents only the tip of his contributions to the racing world, said NASCAR vice-president of competition Robin Pemberton, who noted, Theres not a life in the garage that he has not touched.

Those touches could be one-on-one sessions or the trickle-down result of conversations with others, but he always delivered the message in his special way to young and old alike.

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Inductee Hunter: ‘He was Darlington’