Playing April through early September in a large, new stadium near Broadway at the Beach are the Myrtle Beach Pelicans (1251 21st Ave. N., 843/918-6000, www.myrtlebeachpelicans.com, $7–11), a single-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves playing in the Carolina League.

NASCAR fans already know of the Myrtle Beach Speedway (455 Hospitality Lane, www.myrtlebeachspeedway.com, $12, under 10 free) off Highway 501, one of the more vintage tracks in the country dating back to 1958 (it was actually a dirt track well into the 1970s). Currently the main draw here are the NASCAR Whelen All-America series races, happening each Saturday night from April–November at 7:30 p.m.

Other spectator sports in the area tend to revolve around the Chanticleers of Coastal Carolina University (132 Chanticleer Dr. W., 843/347-8499, www.goccusports.edu) just inland from Myrtle Beach in Conway. They play football in the Big South Conference. By the way, a chanticleer is an old name for a rooster, and in this case, is a self-conscious derivative of the mascot of the University of South Carolina, the gamecock.