TRADITION BROKEN; For the first time in 54 years, there's no Labor Day race at Darlington.(Motorsports)

Byline: AL PEARCE

It's a bright, crisp Saturday afternoon in Darlington, South Carolina, about 20 hours into Labor Day weekend. There's precious little traffic along Harry Byrd Highway, the multilane road that runs within 20 yards of Darlington Raceway. Across the highway, Mary Ann Coleman is handling her weed-whacker like a pro.

Coleman's relatives and extended family have lived across from the track for longer than she can remember. Since Labor Day weekend 1950, they've turned their yard into a parking lot for fans attending the Southern 500. It's always been good, this cash business between the Colemans and the thousands who annually flock to Darlington. Until this year, that is.

This year there is no Southern 500 on Labor Day weekend. The tour will be here Nov. 14, but you'll be hard-pressed to find many locals who think that week-end will measure up to the Labor Day classic.

"The Labor Day race has been a big deal as long as most people can remember,'' says Coleman, a worker at the Dixie Cup plant in town. "There's income from parking cars and campers. There are vendors along the street and volunteers raising money for churches and schools. It's like a block party. And where are they this weekend? In California, when they should be here. Nobody believed NASCAR would mess with Darlington and Labor Day. It's been a real shock, losing that tradition that means so much around here.''

Why California? Those reasons are still murky. Dar-lington gets one race in 2005, the Saturday night of Mother's Day weekend. Locals hope the schedule-maker eventually moves that race to Labor Day weekend and gives California a final-10 playoff race. Until then, Coleman ...