A name that is likely familiar to many Lexington County residents, particularly those who regularly drive down Old Dunbar Road, will be featured prominently in Darlington this weekend.

West Columbia-based floor scrubber and cleaning equipment distributor Southeastern Equipment and Supply is the lead sponsor for a car at the Cook Out Southern 500, the NASCAR Cup Series race that runs Sept. 4 at Darlington Raceway.

For the company, it marks a return to sponsoring the Front Row Motorsports team, which it first did in 2019, and it’s the first time that Southeastern Equipment and Supply’s “blue and yellow colors will adorn the No. 38 Ford Mustang” as the team’s lead sponsor, according to a press release.

“We’re really excited to reignite our partnership with Front Row Motorsports,” Grady Martin, general manager of Southeastern Equipment and Supply, is quoted. “We all love NASCAR and the excitement around a historic event like the Southern 500 in our home state. We’re looking forward to showing our support for [driver] Todd [Gilliland] and his team this Sunday evening.”

The company, which distributes its products nationally, is headquartered at 1919 Old Dunbar Rd. and has a Northeast location in New Jersey.

Big Year for Fishing Events on Lake Murray

Coming out of its annual meeting Aug. 25, The Capital City/Lake Murray Country Regional Tourism Office highlighted a successful year for fishing events on Lake Murray.

“[The organization] had a bustling year hosting The Striped Bass Challenge (280 +Anglers), Big Bass Tour (900), Carolina Bass Challenge (207) MLF Fishing (125), and 19 local fishing tournaments around the lake,” a release states.

The group also touted bringing in 125 athletes for The CLASH Volleyball National Championship in Lexington and the success it saw in pushing people to local hotels and AirBnBs.

Records “show 3,652 nights were booked by visitors that stopped by the visitor’s center [in Lexington County] and AirBnB reports 124,393 nights booked [in the region] resulting in $25,864,647 dollars in revenue this year,” according to the release.

Capital City/Lake Murray Country also announced/highlighted dates for some upcoming annual events:

Oct. 6-8 — MLF Phoenix BLF Tournament

Oct. 16-22 — Black Bass World Fishing Championship

Nov. 15 — CCLMC’s Holiday Open House

March 20-29 — Major League Fishing Bass Pro Tour

March 30 — Taste of Lake Murray

28-30 — Big Bass Tour

July 1 — 4th of July Celebration and Boat Parade

Lexington Park Closes for Expansion

The Town of Lexington has announced a closure date for Virginia Hylton Park as work begins to renovate and more than double the size of the downtown recreation area.

The park will close on Sept. 6 as construction gets underway.

The long gestating project to upgrade the park is set to take about a year to complete, and is planned to add 8.25 acres of space to the 6.5-acre park. Upgrades coming to the park include a new amphitheater, a paved walking trail and an improved special needs playground.

It’s the first time the park has been renovated since it opened more than 31 years ago.

Lexington County Gas Prices Now in Middle of SC Pack

Lexington County’s gas prices are no longer among the lowest in South Carolina.

While the county had been posting some of the lowest prices in the state as of a few weeks ago, it now sits roughly in the middle of the pack, according to AAA.

The average price for a gallon of regular unleaded was $3.43 as of Aug. 30. Oconee County had the lowest average price in the state ($3.283) and was one of six counties with an average lower than $3.337. Lexington was one of 10 counties with an average price between $3.488 and $3.43.

The average price hasn’t skyrocketed in Lexington County (it was $3.40 the last time the Chronicle reported it on Aug. 9), but other counties have seen prices go down, with 16 of the state’s 46 counties posting average prices lower than Lexington’s as of Aug. 30.

The state, which hit its highest recorded average price for a gallon of regular unleaded ($4.609) on June 12, had an average price of $3.455 as of Aug. 30, down from a week prior ($3.463) and a month prior ($3.761).