Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

Myrtle Beach /ˈmɜːrtəlˈbiːtʃ/ is a coastal city on the east coast of the United States in Horry County, South Carolina. It is situated on the center of a large and continuous stretch of beach known as the Grand Strand in northeastern South Carolina.

Myrtle Beach is one of the major centers of tourism in the United States because of the city's warm subtropical climate and extensive beaches, attracting an estimated 14 million visitors each year. As of the 2010 census, the population of the city was 27,109 with the Myrtle Beach metropolitan area population at 465,391 according to a 2013 estimate.

Geography

A man-made island, Myrtle Beach has been separated from the continental United States since 1936 by the Intracoastal Waterway, forcing the city and area in general to develop within a small distance from the coast. In part due to this separation, the area directly west of Myrtle Beach across the waterway remained primarily rural, whereas its northern and southern ends were bordered by other developed tourist towns, North Myrtle Beach and Surfside Beach. Since then, the inland portion of the Myrtle Beach area has developed dramatically and the beach itself is developing westward.

Myrtle Beach 250

The Myrtle Beach 250 was a NASCAR Busch Series stock car race held at Myrtle Beach Speedway, in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Added to the Busch Series schedule in 1988, Myrtle Beach Speedway hosted one race per year through the 2000 season, after which it was removed from the schedule. The first three races held were 200 laps, covering 107.6 miles (173.2 km). The distance was extended to 250 laps starting in 1991, where it remained for the rest of the race's history. Jimmy Spencer and Jeff Green were the only drivers to win twice in this race. Spencer won at both the 200 and 250 laps race lengths, while Green won the final two races ever held at Myrtle Beach.

Two other short tracks, Nashville Speedway USA and South Boston Speedway, were also removed from the Busch Series schedule after the 2000 season. This extra room created on the schedule was used to help add new races at Chicagoland Speedway, Kansas Speedway, Nashville Superspeedway, and Kentucky Speedway starting in 2001.