Darlington, S.C. ? The sun beat down on the thousands sitting on the aluminum bleachers Saturday at Darlington Raceway.

The temperature hovered in the mid-90s and the humidity was smothering as the final practice for today’s Southern 500 droned on.

Ah, Darlington Raceway on Labor Day weekend.

South Carolina summer heat aside, it is etched in the psyche of stock car fans that the end of August means NASCAR’s oldest 500-mile race is at the stock car sport’s oldest venue.

After today, that tradition will be no more.

NASCAR, looking to extend its reach to larger markets with tracks newer, bigger and more glittery than Darlington’s “Lady in Black,” has awarded the Labor Day weekend date in 2004 to 7-year-old California Speedway. It’s a second race for the track 60 miles east of Los Angeles.

Darlington has been fighting a losing battle to fill its 58,910 seats for the Southern 500 and its spring race, while the California track has consistently sold out its approximately 110,000 seats since being given a spring race in 1997.

Darlington will retain its Southern 500, but the race will be run in the cool of November, probably under the lights that are due to be installed during the next year.

Most drivers — probably the least comfortable people on the grounds, with temperatures up to 140 degrees inside the cars in the Darlington heat — aren’t particularly happy with the change.

“It’s supposed to be hot and the track’s slick and everything. I’m one of the ones that hate to see it leave,” said Terry Labonte, a two-time Winston Cup champion whose first of 21 victories came in the 1980 Southern 500.

Ryan Newman, who won the pole for today’s race, has only been racing here for two years, but he already has fallen in love with the unique, egg-shaped 1.366-mile Darlington oval.

“It’s disappointing the things that are happening to the racetrack itself and the market that it’s in,” Newman said. “I wish somebody would take notice and build a racetrack like this, the walls in the same place, and put it someplace else in a better market, if it were possible.”

Junqueira keeps CART pole

Denver — With an assist from the weather, Bruno Junqueira earned his second consecutive pole Saturday for the CART Grand Prix of Denver.

Light rain dampened sections of the 1.65-mile street course for early qualifiers, creating a slick track. Rain then intensified, wiping out the qualifying attempt of the next-to-last driver, Adrian Fernandez.

That meant Junqueira, who won Friday’s provisional pole and who would have been last to qualify Saturday, didn’t need to make an attempt, since none of Saturday’s qualifiers bettered his fastest lap of 1 minute, 1.438 seconds (96.507 mph).

Oriol Servia had the quickest lap Saturday of 1:01.477 (96.446) and will start on the outside of the front row in today’s 106-lap race. Rookie Sebastien Bourdais was second fastest Saturday at 1:01.547 (96.336) and will start on the inside of the second row.