Southern 500 Explained

Race Title:	Cook Out Southern 500
Series Long:	NASCAR Cup Series
Venue:	Darlington Raceway
Location:	Darlington, South Carolina, United States
Sponsor:	Cook Out^[1]
Distance:	501.322miles
Laps:	367^[2] Stages 1/2: 115 each Final stage: 137
Previous Names:	Southern 500 (1950–1988) Heinz Southern 500 (1989–1991) Mountain Dew Southern 500 (1992–1997, 2001–2004) Pepsi Southern 500 (1998–2000) Dodge Charger 500 (2005–2006) Dodge Avenger 500 (2007) Dodge Challenger 500 (2008) Southern 500 presented by GoDaddy.com (2009) Showtime Southern 500 (2010–2011) Bojangles' Southern 500 (2012–2019)
Most Wins Driver:	Jeff Gordon (6)
Most Wins Team:	Hendrick Motorsports (12)
Most Wins Manufacturer:	Chevrolet (29)
Surface:	Asphalt
Length Mi:	1.366
Turns:	4

The Southern 500, officially known as the Cook Out Southern 500 for sponsorship reasons, is a NASCAR Cup Series stock car race at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina, United States. The race distance is 501miles and consists of 367 laps. From 1950 to 2003, and again since 2015, the race has been held on Labor Day weekend. The Southern 500 is largely considered one of the Crown Jewels of the NASCAR calendar, and has been nicknamed NASCAR's "oldest superspeedway race." For decades, the race has been considered by competitors and media as one of the more difficult and challenging races on the NASCAR schedule, owing much to the track's unusual, asymmetrical egg-shape, rough pavement, and overall unforgiving nature. Darlington Raceway itself has a long and storied reputation as the "Track Too Tough to Tame."

The Southern 500 has a storied history, including Bill Elliott famously winning the Winston Million in 1985, and Jeff Gordon doing the same in 1997. It is also the site of Darrell Waltrip's final career victory (1992).

Through 2004, Darlington held two Cup series races annually, the Southern 500 in the fall, and a 400-mile event in the spring. In 2004, the Southern 500 was moved to November and was run as the second-to-last race in the inaugural Chase for the Championship. The following year, as the result of a settlement in the Ferko lawsuit, Darlington lost one of its two dates. The 500-mile race was moved to the Saturday of Mother's Day weekend in May and renamed for the sponsorship of Dodge. The race was held as a night race under-the-lights during this period.

The event re-assumed the Southern 500 name in 2009, and in 2015, moved back to its traditional Labor Day weekend date. From 2015 to 2020, the race weekend has been themed "NASCAR Throwback," with many cars fielding "Throwback" paint schemes (the revitalised spring race has taken that role in 2021). Since 2020, the event is currently scheduled to take place as the first race of the NASCAR playoffs. However, in 2023, the race was announced to be the regular season finale in 2024, and will be the first race of the NASCAR playoffs.

The trophy features photos of all the past winners of the race.^[3]

History

1950–2003: Original run on Labor Day Weekend

The race began in 1950, as NASCAR's first 500-mile race, and it was the only race of such distance until the Daytona 500 debuted in 1959. Through most of its history, the race was one of NASCAR's premier events, and was known as one of four majors on the NASCAR circuit. From 1985–1997, it served as the fourth race of the popular Winston Million. Two drivers, Bill Elliott (1985) and Jeff Gordon (1997), clinched the Winston Million with victories in the Southern 500.

The Southern 500 was one of the last races on the circuit to embrace naming rights in its title. In 1989, the race added Heinz as a title sponsor, but kept the traditional "Southern" moniker in its official name. From 1992 to 2004, it was sponsored by PepsiCo products (Pepsi or Mountain Dew).

From 1950 to 2003, this annual event was traditionally held on Labor Day weekend (typically the first weekend of September). In the years before 1984, the race was held on Monday, Labor Day itself.^[4]

From 1953 to 1996, there was a Miss Southern 500 beauty pageant where the event winner competed in the Miss South Carolina Pageant the following year. In the entire history of the pageant, only two Miss Southern 500s ever won Miss South Carolina (Amanda Spivey: 1995, Janet Powers: 1997).

2004: November

For the 2004 season, a realignment of the NASCAR schedule saw the race move to November. Track management believed the November date would allow for cooler, more comfortable weather for fans, who had increasingly voiced concerns about the hot, humid, weather. Also, it meant the race would be part of the new Chase for the Championship. Rockingham lost its fall date to Fontana, and the Pop Secret 500 was moved to the prestigious Labor Day weekend date.

In 2004, Francis Ferko, a shareholder of the company that owned Texas Motor Speedway, sued NASCAR, saying they had violated antitrust laws by refusing to have a second race at Texas Motor Speedway, as many other tracks had. The case was settled in his favor, and NASCAR was forced to give up one of its Darlington dates so that a second race could be held at Texas.

2005–2013: Mother's Day weekend

Starting in 2005, Darlington was forced to contract down to one race per year. Officials replaced Darlington's two Cup Series events with one 500-mile race. The event's traditional moniker "Southern 500" was dropped for the time being. The race was situated on the Saturday of Mother's Day weekend in mid-May. Mother's Day weekend was a date that had been mostly avoided by NASCAR in recent decades. The Nashville 420 had used the Saturday of Mother's Day weekend for a time until it was discontinued in 1984. Moving the Darlington race to May loosely mimicked the period in which the spring race, once known as the Rebel 500, was held on or around Confederate Memorial Day.

Dodge, which had been sponsoring Darlington's spring race at that point, took over sponsorship of the 500-mile race in May. The title of the race was based on various Dodge models including the Charger, Challenger, and Avenger. The race would be held under-the-lights and proved to be well-attended.

Without a title sponsor after 2008, the race re-adopted the moniker of "Southern 500". Track officials and fans were anxious to revive the traditional name. GoDaddy was signed as presenting sponsor, and it became known as the Southern 500 presented by GoDaddy.com. The race was then sponsored by Showtime Networks from 2010 to 2011, and Bojangles' from 2012 to 2019.

While enjoying renewed success in attendance and popularity in May, there was still desire by some fans, media, and others to move the race back to its traditional Labor Day date. Especially after replacement races (Fontana and Atlanta) failed to gain any foothold on the desirable Labor Day weekend holiday slot. Bruton Smith, CEO of Speedway Motorsports even offered to buy the Darlington track to return it to Labor Day weekend and "get it back where it belongs".^[5]

2014: April

In 2014, the race switched dates with the spring Kansas race, and ran in the second weekend in April.^[6] This change, like the one ten years earlier, would only last a year. The 2014 race was still run at night, whereas the Kansas race on that date had been run during the afternoon.

2015–present: Return to Labor Day weekend

A revived interest in moving the Southern 500 back to Labor Day grew over the summer of 2014. In August 2014, it was announced that 2015 Southern 500 would return to its traditional Labor Day weekend slot, the first time since 2003.^[7] To combat the issue of heat and humidity that had resulted in the race originally being moved, the race is currently run Sunday night of Labor Day weekend, under the lights, with temperatures being cooler than they are during daytime hours.

To celebrate the return of the race to its traditional weekend, a concerted and highly publicized effort among NASCAR, the track, and teams were made to theme the weekend a "NASCAR Throwback." Thirty-two cars in the 43 car field ran throwback paint schemes during the event, with various other throwback aspects planned throughout the weekend.^[8] It was announced days before the race that legendary broadcasters Ken Squier, Ned Jarrett and Dale Jarrett would announce part of the race. Some hour into the broadcasting, Squier, and the Jarretts called the race lap-by-lap for about an hour. NBC, which also utilized its logos from the 1970s during the broadcast, was widely praised by many for bringing back old memories in the sport. The success of the event led to a nomination for Sports Event of the Year.^[9]

Due to the success and popularity in 2015, the "Throwback" theme for the weekend was run from 2015 to 2020. In 2021, with the reinstatement of the second weekend during the 2020 season, the theme was moved to the spring meeting in order to allow playoff teams to focus on the playoff.^[10] The Labor Day weekend races (1950–2003) and the November race (2004), have been combined with the ten May/April races (2005–2014) and the Labor Day weekend races since 2015, to create a continuous lineage of the Southern 500 dating from 1950 to present.

Bojangles' ended its title sponsorship of the race after the 2019 race.^[11]

2020: New Format and Return to the NASCAR playoffs

When the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series schedule was released, the Southern 500 was scheduled as the only race at the circuit, again on Labor Day weekend. It became the first race of the NASCAR playoffs' Round of 16 due to NASCAR ending the season a week earlier than usual, at Phoenix Raceway. The race was previously held in the playoffs when it began in 2004 as the ninth race.

Because of the global pandemic, Darlington Raceway returned to having two race weekends, as the lineal Southern 500 was reinstated in April as part of returning to the track following a nine-week pause. A 500-kilometer Cup race was also scheduled that week as part of NASCAR's attempt to do a 36-race schedule, in effect creating three races over two weekends.

Cook Out, which had sponsored with Darlington Raceway as the official quick-service restaurant of the track, assumed naming rights for the Southern 500. As a result of pandemic changes, the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series moved a race from Canadian Tire Motorsports Park (Mosport) to Darlington, making the Cook Out Southern 500 a doubleheader.

The Truck Series again could not participate at Mosport, so the Southern 500 returned as a doubleheader with the Trucks in the afternoon and Cup in the evening. In addition, the traditional Southern 500 parade moved to the Rebel weekend, while a 5k athletics event was added to the Southern 500 events.

Selected race summaries

• 1950: The very first running lasted over six hours and multiple cars blew tires. Johnny Mantz drove a conservative race and emerged with the win.
• 1960: In a race with 48 entries, numerous crashes occurred. Ankrum "Spook" Crawford was injured when a car crashed into the unprotected pit road area; later Bobby Johns crashed in the pits, killing three. Richard Petty led 106 laps but spun out with 50 laps to go. Pole-sitter Glenn Roberts broke an axle and finished ninth, 11 laps down. Rex White was flagged the winner, but a reexamination of scoring showed White was credited with one extra lap he had not run, giving the win to Buck Baker.
• 1965: Darel Dieringer broke with 39 laps to go after leading 199 laps, leaving Ned Jarrett alone by 14 laps en route to the win. The race saw a scary melee when young Cale Yarborough crashed with Sam McQuagg in Turn One and Cale's car flew over the guardrail and landed outside the speedway; he was uninjured and interviewed for ABC Sports by Chris Economaki.
• 1966: Darel Dieringer passed Richard Petty with seven laps to go and stormed to the win. A scary crash erupted in Turn One as Earl Balmer smashed into the guardrail on Lap 186 and spun atop it, throwing debris into the open-air press box in the turn.
• 1967: Richard Petty wins his only Southern 500
• 1970: Buddy Baker joined his father Buck Baker in winning the Southern 500. Five of the top six finishers drove either 1969 Dodge Daytonas or 1970 Plymouth Superbirds, making this the only Darlington race won by the famed winged Chryslers.
• 1974: Cale Yarborough became a three-time Southern 500 winner, edging sophomore sensation Darrell Waltrip. Crashes thinned the field and eliminated the likes of Richard Petty, Buddy Baker, David Pearson, and Bobby Allison; singled out for criticism was Richie Panch, involved in three wrecks during the day. Allison accused Yarborough of wrecking him, a charge Yarborough angrily denied.
• 1976: David Pearson ended a career slump in the Southern 500, taking his ninth win of his magic 1976 season, his first Southern 500 after six wins in the Rebel 500. Richard Petty finished second, the 60th time in their careers Pearson and Petty had finished 1–2 in a Winston Cup Grand National race (the duo would finish 1–2 three more times in their careers with Pearson holding a 33–30 edge). Both Jimmy Carter and Bob Dole visited the race while on the campaign trail.^[12]
• 1977: A huge fight between Cale Yarborough and Darrell Waltrip ended in a crash and Pearson grabbed his second straight Southern 500. Following the race D.K. Ulrich, caught up in the fracas, asked Cale why he'd hit him; Cale replied "I didn't hit you, Jaws did; Jaws Waltrip" – creating a popular nickname for Waltrip.
• 1979: Pearson achieved vindication at the same track where earlier that year a pit accident cost him his ride with Wood Brothers Racing. Driving Rod Osterlund's Chevrolet while regular driver Dale Earnhardt recovered from late-July injury, Pearson made up a lap when Darrell Waltrip spun out of the lead with 70 laps to go, then spun again some 20 laps later; he lost 12 laps and finished 11th after leading 165 laps. Pearson edged young driver Bill Elliott for the win, his 104th career Winston Cup Grand National win.
• 1980: Once again Waltrip and Pearson were keys to a shocking Southern 500; this time Waltrip, embroiled in a contract fight with DiGard Racing, led 196 laps from the pole while Pearson once again had to make up a lap, this time driving Hoss Ellington's Chevrolet. But a timing chain broke on Waltrip, ending his race 39 laps from the finish. Benny Parsons grabbed the lead while Pearson got back on the lead lap. A late yellow for Cale Yarborough (who'd had a miserable day with a fuel fire and several earlier spins) set up a five-lap shootout between Parsons, Pearson, and Dale Earnhardt; Pearson took the lead on the restart, Earnhardt passed on Lap 364 but Pearson retook the lead on that same lap, but with two to go all three leaders crashed, in Turn, One on oil from a backmarker; Pearson limped to the line, but Terry Labonte caught and swung past at the white flag, grabbing his first career win.
• 1982: The most competitive running of the Southern 500 took place as the lead changed 41 times among 17 drivers. Bobby Allison in the #88 led 88 laps before breaking, while Darrell Waltrip in Junior Johnson's Buick led 23 laps before blowing his engine. In all 14 cautions flew and helped set up a four-car shootout involving the cream of stock car racing's old guard (Cale Yarborough and Richard Petty) and the cream of its up-and-coming new guard (Dale Earnhardt and Bill Elliott). Cale edged Petty, Earnhardt, and Elliott for his record fifth Southern 500, and what would be his last victory with M.C. Anderson's race team.
• 1985: NASCAR's Winston Million program paid out when Bill Elliott took the win in the Southern 500, thus winning three of NASCAR's four biggest races (he'd won the Daytona 500 and Winston 500 earlier in the year). Challenges by Dale Earnhardt and Cale Yarborough fell apart; Yarborough finished second despite breaking a power steering line. The million-dollar program made Elliott's winnings the highest in NASCAR history to that point.
• 1986: Tim Richmond and Geoff Bodine swept the front row and combined to lead 330 laps. Intermittent rain pushed the four-hour contest to darkness. Bodine ran dry and finished eighth while Bill Elliott's attempt to stretch his fuel came short with six to go and he finished third behind Richmond and Bobby Allison. The win was the first at Darlington for crew chief Harry Hyde. Dale Earnhardt hit Richard Petty six laps in and Petty was eliminated; "His mind goes out of gear," said an angered Petty.
• 1987: Rain-shortened 1987 running after just 202 laps; the battle for the win turned into a showdown between Earnhardt and Richard Petty; Petty gunned past Earnhardt on a Lap 188 restart but Earnhardt retook the lead on lap 191 just before rain brought out what would be the race-ending yellow at Lap 198. Rookie sensation Davey Allison won the pole and led 86 laps but crashed in Turn Four at Lap 164; the crash swept up Lake Speed while Mike Potter spun behind them and was drilled by Benny Parsons.
• 1988: A classic three-way battle between Bill Elliott, Rusty Wallace, and Dale Earnhardt who led a combined 289 of the 367 laps. In the end, Elliott led 154 of the 367 laps, and took home his 2nd Southern 500 victory, en route to capturing the 1988 Winston Cup Championship.
• 1989: Darrell Waltrip had opportunity to win the Winston Million but crashed, leaving Dale Earnhardt to his second Southern 500 win.
• 1990: Earnhardt, Bill Elliott, and Geoff Bodine timed together in the top three and combined to lead 286 laps between them; Bodine faded to eighth while Elliott finished fourth and Ernie Irvan led 70 laps and grabbed second, but no one could catch Earnhardt en route to his third Southern 500 in his previous four starts. The race was famous for a vicious feud between Ken Schrader and Morgan Shepherd; Schrader crashed early in the race after an encounter with Shepherd, then after getting repairs he sped onto the track and rammed Shepherd in the third turn. Shepherd finished 21st while Schrader was parked.
• 1991: Harry Gant won the Southern 500 for the second time, leading 152 laps while pole-sitter Davey Allison led 151 laps but finished four laps down. Gant's win began a four-race win streak, the first such in NASCAR since 1987.
• 1992: Davey Allison entered the race with a chance for the Winston Million, but rain interfered, and cut the race short. Harry Gant and Davey Allison combined to lead 163 laps. With rain approaching the area, the leaders cycled through a series of pit stops around lap 292, but a scant handful of drivers stayed out. Allison's Crew chief Larry McReynolds sent a crew member to the NASCAR hauler to look at the weather radar. The crew member's misinterpretation of the radar led to Allison coming into the pits and changing four tires. Darrell Waltrip was among those who gambled and stayed out, inhered the lead just as the yellow came out for rain on lap 297. The skies opened up, and the race has ended after 298 laps. Davey Allison slid to 5th in the pit stop shuffle and was denied his chance at the million-dollar bonus. The victory would be Waltrip's 84th and final career win.
• 1993: After an intense battle Mark Martin broke away from Dale Earnhardt and won the Southern 500, his fourth straight Winston Cup win. He and Earnhardt combined to lead 279 laps. Ernie Irvan finished fifth in his debut drive in Robert Yates after an acrimonious split from Morgan McClure Motorsports; Jeff Purvis finished 26th in the McClure Chevrolet.
• 1994: Despite battling overheating issues in his car, Bill Elliott scores his 3rd win in the Southern 500, and the 40th overall win of his NASCAR career. It was the final victory for the team of Junior Johnson & Associates and would also be the final win Elliott would capture in NASCAR until 2001, more than 6 years later.
• 1997: The initial Winston Million winner in 1985, Bill Elliott, leads a race high 181 of the 367 laps, but ultimately finishes 4th. Jeff Gordon would go on to win his 3rd (of four straight) Southern 500 over Jeff Burton, and with this win (along with his Daytona 500 and Coca-Cola 600 wins earlier in the year) would clinch the Winston Million in its final running of the promotion in NASCAR.
• 2003: In the last Southern 500 held on Labor Day weekend until 2015, Terry Labonte led the final 33 laps and held off Kevin Harvick for his last win in the Cup series. The race has been labeled by many as the most popular win of 2003 as everybody was always happy to see Labonte win.
• 2011: Regan Smith stayed out on a late caution when the rest of the field pitted and sweated out a late crash involving Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch to edge Carl Edwards for his first NASCAR win. The win was overshadowed as Harvick and Busch collided on pit road when Harvick tried to throw a punch at Busch inside his cockpit; NASCAR fined the two drivers and put them on probation after the race.
• 2012: Jimmie Johnson stayed out during the final round of pit stops on the advice of crew chief Chad Knaus. Johnson would later hold off Denny Hamlin and Tony Stewart to score team owner Rick Hendrick's 200th NASCAR Cup Series victory.
• 2015: 2015 marked several changes. Most notably, the race was rescheduled to its traditional Labor Day date. As part of this return to tradition, the race was dubbed a 'throwback weekend', and the majority of teams entered into the race drove cars with retro paint jobs based on classic paint schemes used in the 1970s and 1980s. Also, retro-style ads were placed on the outside walls, and part of the race was called by former NASCAR broadcasters Ken Squier and father and son Ned and Dale Jarrett. The race also utilized a new experimental rules package that took away downforce from the car. The new package resulted in a very intense race, which saw a record-breaking 18 caution flags, leading to the average green flag run only being about 14.7 laps long. Carl Edwards rallied back from two laps down to overtake Brad Keselowski and take his second win of the year.

Past winners

Year	Day	Date		Driver	Team	Manufacturer	Race Distance		Race Time	Average Speed	Report	Ref
							Laps	Miles (km)
1950	Monday	September 4	98	Johnny Mantz	Hubert Westmoreland	Plymouth	400	500 (804.672)	6:38:40	75.25mph	Report	^[13]
1951	Monday	September 3	92	Herb Thomas	Herb Thomas	Hudson	400	500 (804.672)	6:30:05	76.906mph	Report	^[14]
1952	Monday	September 1	14	Fonty Flock	Frank Christian	Oldsmobile	400	500 (804.672)	6:42:37	74.512mph	Report	^[15]
1953	Monday	September 7	87	Buck Baker	Bob Griffin	Oldsmobile	364	500.5 (805.476)	5:23:19	92.881mph	Report	^[16]
1954	Monday	September 6	92	Herb Thomas	Herb Thomas	Hudson	364	500.5 (805.476)	5:16:01	95.026mph	Report	^[17]
1955	Monday	September 5	92	Herb Thomas	Herb Thomas	1955 Chevrolet	364	500.5 (805.476)	5:25:25	92.281mph	Report	^[18]
1956	Monday	September 3	99	Curtis Turner	Charlie Schwam	Ford	364	500.5 (805.476)	5:15:33	95.167mph	Report	^[19]
1957	Monday	September 2	46	Speedy Thompson	Speedy Thompson	1957 Chevrolet	364	500.5 (805.476)	5:00:01	100.094mph	Report	^[20]
1958	Monday	September 1	22	Fireball Roberts	Frank Strickland	1957 Chevrolet	364	500.5 (805.476)	4:52:44	102.585mph	Report	^[21]
1959	Monday	September 7	7	Jim Reed	Jim Reed	Chevrolet	364	500.5 (805.476)	4:28:30	111.836mph	Report	^[22]
1960	Monday	September 5	47	Buck Baker	Jack Smith	Pontiac	364	500.5 (805.476)	4:43:34	105.901mph	Report	^[23]
1961	Monday	September 4	29	Nelson Stacy	Dudley Farrell	Ford	364	500.5 (805.476)	4:54:45	117.787mph	Report	^[24]
1962	Monday	September 3	66	Larry Frank	Ratus Walters	Ford	364	500.5 (805.476)	4:14:34	117.965mph	Report	^[25]
1963	Monday	September 2	22	Fireball Roberts	Holman-Moody	Ford	364	500.5 (805.476)	3:51:23	129.784mph	Report	^[26]
1964	Monday	September 7	3	Buck Baker	Ray Fox	Dodge	364	500.5 (805.476)	4:15:01	117.757mph	Report	^[27]
1965	Monday	September 6	11	Ned Jarrett	Bondy Long	Ford	364	500.5 (805.476)	4:19:09	115.878mph	Report	^[28]
1966	Monday	September 5	16	Darel Dieringer	Bud Moore Engineering	Mercury	364	500.5 (805.476)	4:21:31	114.83mph	Report	^[29]
1967	Monday	September 4	43	Richard Petty	Petty Enterprises	Plymouth	364	500.5 (805.476)	3:50:15	130.423mph	Report	^[30]
1968	Monday	September 2	21	Cale Yarborough	Wood Brothers Racing	Mercury	364	500.5 (805.476)	3:58:05	126.132mph	Report	^[31]
1969	Monday	September 1	98	LeeRoy Yarbrough	Junior Johnson & Associates	Ford	230*	316.25 (508.955)	2:59:40	105.612mph	Report	^[32]
1970	Monday	September 7	6	Buddy Baker	Cotton Owens	Dodge	367	501.322 (806.799)	3:55:03	128.817mph	Report	^[33]
1971	Monday	September 6	21	Bobby Allison	Holman-Moody	Mercury	367	501.322 (806.799)	3:48:55	131.398mph	Report	^[34]
1972	Monday	September 4	12	Bobby Allison	Junior Johnson & Associates	Chevrolet	367	501.322 (806.799)	3:54:46	128.124mph	Report	^[35]
1973	Monday	September 3	11	Cale Yarborough	Richard Howard	Chevrolet	367	501.322 (806.799)	3:44:25	134.033mph	Report	^[36]
1974	Monday	September 2	11	Cale Yarborough	Junior Johnson & Associates	Chevrolet	367	501.322 (806.799)	4:30:48	111.075mph	Report	^[37]
1975	Monday	September 1	16	Bobby Allison	Penske Racing	AMC	367	501.322 (806.799)	4:17:28	116.825mph	Report	^[38]
1976	Monday	September 6	21	David Pearson	Wood Brothers Racing	Mercury	367	501.322 (806.799)	4:09:33	120.534mph	Report	^[39]
1977	Monday	September 5	21	David Pearson	Wood Brothers Racing	Mercury	367	501.322 (806.799)	4:41:48	106.797mph	Report	^[40]
1978	Monday	September 4	11	Cale Yarborough	Junior Johnson & Associates	Oldsmobile	367	501.322 (806.799)	4:17:46	116.828mph	Report	^[41]
1979	Monday	September 3	2	David Pearson	Rod Osterlund Racing	Chevrolet	367	501.322 (806.799)	3:58:14	126.259mph	Report	^[42]
1980	Monday	September 1	44	Terry Labonte	Billy Hagan	Chevrolet	367	501.322 (806.799)	4:21:05	115.21mph	Report	^[43]
1981	Monday	September 7	21	Neil Bonnett	Wood Brothers Racing	Ford	367	501.322 (806.799)	3:57:57	126.41mph	Report	^[44]
1982	Monday	September 6	27	Cale Yarborough	M. C. Anderson Racing	Buick	367	501.322 (806.799)	4:21:00	115.224mph	Report	^[45]
1983	Monday	September 5	22	Bobby Allison	DiGard Motorsports	Buick	367	501.322 (806.799)	4:03:52	123.343mph	Report	^[46]
1984	Sunday	September 2	33	Harry Gant	Mach 1 Racing	Chevrolet	367	501.322 (806.799)	3:54:02	128.27mph	Report	^[47]
1985	Sunday	September 1	9	Bill Elliott	Melling Racing	Ford	367	501.322 (806.799)	4:08:02	121.254mph	Report	^[48]
1986	Sunday	August 31	25	Tim Richmond	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	367	501.322 (806.799)	4:08:45	121.068mph	Report	^[49]
1987	Sunday	September 6	3	Dale Earnhardt	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	202*	275.932 (444.069)	2:23:19	115.52mph	Report	^[50]
1988	Sunday	September 4	9	Bill Elliott	Melling Racing	Ford	367	501.322 (806.799)	3:54:27	128.297mph	Report	^[51]
1989	Sunday	September 3	3	Dale Earnhardt	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	367	501.322 (806.799)	3:42:03	135.462mph	Report	^[52]
1990	Sunday	September 2	3	Dale Earnhardt	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	367	501.322 (806.799)	4:04:16	123.141mph	Report	^[53]
1991	Sunday	September 1	33	Harry Gant	Leo Jackson Racing	Oldsmobile	367	501.322 (806.799)	3:45:18	133.508mph	Report	^[54]
1992	Sunday	September 6	17	Darrell Waltrip	DarWal, Inc.	Chevrolet	298*	407.068 (655.112)	3:09:10	129.114mph	Report	^[55]
1993	Sunday	September 5	6	Mark Martin	Roush Racing	Ford	351*	479.466 (771.625)	3:28:34	137.932mph	Report	^[56]
1994	Sunday	September 4	11	Bill Elliott	Junior Johnson & Associates	Ford	367	501.322 (806.799)	3:55:05	127.952mph	Report	^[57]
1995	Sunday	September 3	24	Jeff Gordon	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	367	501.322 (806.799)	4:08:07	121.231mph	Report	^[58]
1996	Sunday	September 1	24	Jeff Gordon	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	367	501.322 (806.799)	3:41:34	135.757mph	Report	^[59]
1997	Sunday	August 31	24	Jeff Gordon	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	367	501.322 (806.799)	4:08:17	121.149mph	Report	^[60]
1998	Sunday	September 6	24	Jeff Gordon	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	367	501.322 (806.799)	3:36:21	139.031mph	Report	^[61]
1999	Sunday	September 5	99	Jeff Burton	Roush Racing	Ford	270*	368.82 (593.558)	3:25:15	107.816mph	Report	^[62]
2000	Sunday	September 3	18	Bobby Labonte	Joe Gibbs Racing	Pontiac	328*	448.048 (721.063)	4:08:20	108.273mph	Report	^[63]
2001	Sunday	September 2	22	Ward Burton	Bill Davis Racing	Dodge	367	501.322 (806.799)	4:05:00	122.773mph	Report	^[64]
2002	Sunday	September 1	24	Jeff Gordon	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	367	501.322 (806.799)	4:13:35	118.617mph	Report	^[65]
2003	Sunday	August 31	5	Terry Labonte	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	367	501.322 (806.799)	4:09:08	120.733mph	Report	^[66]
2004	Sunday	November 14	48	Jimmie Johnson	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	367	501.322 (806.799)	4:00:33	125.044mph	Report	^[67]
2005	Saturday	May 7	16	Greg Biffle	Roush Racing	Ford	370*	505.42 (813.394)	4:06:29	123.031mph	Report	^[68]
2006	Saturday	May 13	16	Greg Biffle	Roush Racing	Ford	367	501.322 (806.799)	3:42:36	135.127mph	Report	^[69]
2007	Sunday	May 13*	24	Jeff Gordon	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	367	501.322 (806.799)	4:01:50	124.372mph	Report	^[70]
2008	Saturday	May 10	18	Kyle Busch	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	367	501.322 (806.799)	3:34:19	140.35mph	Report	^[71]
2009	Saturday	May 9	5	Mark Martin	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	367	501.322 (806.799)	4:11:19	119.687mph	Report	^[72]
2010	Saturday	May 8	11	Denny Hamlin	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	367	501.322 (806.799)	3:57:35	126.605mph	Report	^[73]
2011	Saturday	May 7	78	Regan Smith	Furniture Row Racing	Chevrolet	370*	505.42 (813.394)	3:53:51	129.678mph	Report	^[74]
2012	Saturday	May 12	48	Jimmie Johnson	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	368*	502.688 (808.997)	3:45:25	133.802mph	Report	^[75]
2013	Saturday	May 11	20	Matt Kenseth	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	367	501.322 (806.799)	3:32:45	141.383mph	Report	^[76]
2014	Saturday	April 12	4	Kevin Harvick	Stewart-Haas Racing	Chevrolet	374*	510.884 (822.188)	3:53:37	131.211mph	Report	^[77]
2015	Sunday	September 6	19	Carl Edwards	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	367	501.322 (806.799)	4:28:35	111.993mph	Report	^[78]
2016	Sunday	September 4	78	Martin Truex Jr.	Furniture Row Racing	Toyota	367	501.322 (806.799)	3:57:54	126.437mph	Report	^[79]
2017	Sunday	September 3	11	Denny Hamlin	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	367	501.322 (806.799)	3:46:34	132.761mph	Report	^[80]
2018	Sunday	September 2	2	Brad Keselowski	Team Penske	Ford	367	501.322 (806.799)	3:48:54	131.408mph	Report	^[81]
2019	Sunday Monday	September 1–2	20	Erik Jones	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	367	501.322 (806.799)	3:44:46	133.825mph	Report	^[82]
2020	Sunday	September 6	4	Kevin Harvick	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	367	501.322 (806.799)	3:47:26	132.256mph	Report	^[83]
2021	Sunday	September 5	11	Denny Hamlin	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	367	501.322 (806.799)	4:08:01	121.279mph	Report	^[84]
2022	Sunday	September 4	43	Erik Jones	Petty GMS Motorsports	Chevrolet	367	501.322 (806.799)	4:09:49	120.406mph	Report	^[85]
2023	Sunday	September 3	5	Kyle Larson	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	367	501.322 (806.799)	4:08:47	120.906mph	Report	^[86]
2024	Sunday	September 1									Report

• 1969 and 1993: Race shortened due to rain/darkness.
• 1987, 1992, 1999, and 2000: Race shortened due to rain.
• 2005, 2011–2012, and 2014: Race extended due to NASCAR overtime.
• 2007: Race postponed from Saturday night to Sunday afternoon due to rain.^[87]
• 2019: Race started on Sunday but finished Monday morning due to rain.^[88]

Track length notes

• 1950–1952: 1.25 mile course
• 1953–1969: 1.375 mile course
• Since 1970: 1.366 mile course

Multiple winners (drivers)

Wins	Driver	Years Won
6	Jeff Gordon	1995–1998, 2002, 2007
5	Cale Yarborough	1968, 1973–1974, 1978, 1982
4	Bobby Allison	1971–1972, 1975, 1983
3	Herb Thomas	1951, 1954–1955
	Buck Baker	1953, 1960, 1964
	David Pearson	1976–1977, 1979
	Dale Earnhardt	1987, 1989–1990
	Bill Elliott	1985, 1988, 1994
	Denny Hamlin	2010, 2017, 2021
2	Fireball Roberts	1958, 1963
	Harry Gant	1984, 1991
	Terry Labonte	1980, 2003
	Mark Martin	1993, 2009
	Greg Biffle	2005–2006
	Jimmie Johnson	2004, 2012
	Kevin Harvick	2014, 2020
	Erik Jones	2019, 2022

Multiple winners (teams)

Wins	Team	Years Won
12	Hendrick Motorsports	1986, 1995–1998, 2002–2004, 2007, 2009, 2012, 2023
8	Joe Gibbs Racing	2000, 2008, 2010, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2021
4	Junior Johnson & Associates	1969, 1974, 1978, 1994
	Roush Racing	1993, 1999, 2005–2006
	Wood Brothers Racing	1968, 1976–1977, 1981
3	Herb Thomas	1951, 1954–1955
	Richard Childress Racing	1987, 1989–1990
2	Holman-Moody	1963, 1971
	Richard Howard	1972–1973
	Melling Racing	1985, 1988
	Furniture Row Racing	2011, 2016
	Team Penske	1975, 2018
	Stewart-Haas Racing	2014, 2020

Manufacturer wins

Wins	Manufacturer	Years Won
29	Chevrolet	1955, 1957–1959, 1972–1974, 1979–1980, 1984, 1986–1987, 1989–1990, 1992, 1995, 1998, 2002–2004, 2007, 2009, 2011–2012, 2014, 2022–2023
16	Ford	1956, 1961–1963, 1965, 1969, 1981, 1985, 1988, 1993–1994, 1999, 2005–2006, 2018, 2020
8	Toyota	2008, 2010, 2013, 2015–2017, 2019, 2021
5	Mercury	1966, 1968, 1971, 1976–1977
4	Oldsmobile	1952–1953, 1978, 1991
3	Dodge	1964, 1970, 2001
2	Hudson	1951–1954
	Plymouth	1950, 1967
	Buick	1982–1983
	Pontiac	1960, 2000
1	AMC	1975

See also

• Darlington Record Club

Notes and References

1. Cook Out & Darlington Raceway Partner on Entitlement for the Cook Out Southern 500. Darlington Raceway. August 25, 2020. August 25, 2020. May 6, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210506124045/https://www.darlingtonraceway.com/Articles/2020/08/Cook-Out-Southern-500.aspx. dead.
2. News: Stage lengths for 2021 NASCAR season. NASCAR. January 25, 2021. January 31, 2021.
3. Web site: Unique trophies in NASCAR . . September 25, 2014 . April 26, 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180426213335/https://www.nascar.com/en_us/news-media/gallery/2014/07/10/unique-trophies-in-nascar.html#miles3#miles3 . 2018-04-26 . live .
4. News: Southern 500 Race Shifted To Sunday. The Charlotte Observer. 23. Newspapers.com. November 1, 1983. March 18, 2020.
5. News: Bruton willing to buy Darlington - to move race back to Labor Day weekend. https://web.archive.org/web/20140708075031/www.jayski.com/pages/tracks/past/darlington-past.htm. July 8, 2014. Jayski.com. Excerpt from Winston Salem Journal. March 11, 2006. July 2, 2019.
6. Web site: Cain. Holly. KANSAS, DARLINGTON TO SWAP SCHEDULE SPOTS IN '14. NASCAR. October 11, 2013. October 11, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20131013110708/http://www.nascar.com/en_us/news-media/articles/2013/10/11/nascar-darlington-kansas-swap-schedule-dates-2014.html. 2013-10-13. live.
7. Web site: Sprint Cup schedule: Darlington gets Labor Day weekend back, Bristol moves spring race to April. Pockrass. Bob. August 22, 2014. Sporting News. 2014-08-26. https://web.archive.org/web/20140826224615/http://www.sportingnews.com/nascar/story/2014-08-22/sprint-cup-schedule-2015-darlington-labor-day-weekend-date-bristol-race-atlanta. August 26, 2014. dead.
8. Web site: DARLINGTON'S THROWBACK PAINT SCHEMES. 14 February 2017. Official Site Of NASCAR. 2015-09-06. https://web.archive.org/web/20150907020322/http://www.nascar.com/en_us/news-media/gallery/2015/8/18/darlington-raceway-throwback-paint-schemes-bojangles-southern-500.html#Darlington-main#Darlington-main. 2015-09-07. live.
9. Web site: Darlington nominated for sports event of year. 14 February 2017. Official Site Of NASCAR. 2016-06-02. https://web.archive.org/web/20160521161210/http://www.nascar.com/en_us/news-media/articles/2016/3/15/darlington-nominated-for-sports-event-of-year.html. 2016-05-21. live.
10. Web site: Jayski's® NASCAR Silly Season Site - 2016 NASCAR Darlington Throwback Paint Schemes. www.jayski.com. 2016-06-02. https://web.archive.org/web/20160530011210/http://www.jayski.com/news/schemes/story/_/page/2016-NASCAR-Darlington-Throwback-Paint-Schemes. 2016-05-30. live.
11. Web site: McFadin. Daniel. Bojangles' ends sponsorship of Southern 500. Yahoo! Sports. December 11, 2019. January 22, 2020.
12. News: Race Fans Roar For Carter, Nod To Dole. The Charlotte Observer. 1. Henry. Eichel. Newspapers.com. September 7, 1976. March 18, 2020.
13. Web site: 1950 Southern 500. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
14. Web site: 1951 Southern 500. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
15. Web site: 1952 Southern 500. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
16. Web site: 1953 Southern 500. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
17. Web site: 1954 Southern 500. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
18. Web site: 1955 Southern 500. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
19. Web site: 1956 Southern 500. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
20. Web site: 1957 Southern 500. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
21. Web site: 1958 Southern 500. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
22. Web site: 1959 Southern 500. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
23. Web site: 1960 Southern 500. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
24. Web site: 1961 Southern 500. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
25. Web site: 1962 Southern 500. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
26. Web site: 1963 Southern 500. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
27. Web site: 1964 Southern 500. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
28. Web site: 1965 Southern 500. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
29. Web site: 1966 Southern 500. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
30. Web site: 1967 Southern 500. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
31. Web site: 1968 Southern 500. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
32. Web site: 1969 Southern 500. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
33. Web site: 1970 Southern 500. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
34. Web site: 1971 Southern 500. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
35. Web site: 1972 Southern 500. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
36. Web site: 1973 Southern 500. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
37. Web site: 1974 Southern 500. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
38. Web site: 1975 Southern 500. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
39. Web site: 1976 Southern 500. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
40. Web site: 1977 Southern 500. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
41. Web site: 1978 Southern 500. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
42. Web site: 1979 Southern 500. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
43. Web site: 1980 Southern 500. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
44. Web site: 1981 Southern 500. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
45. Web site: 1982 Southern 500. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
46. Web site: 1983 Southern 500. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
47. Web site: 1984 Southern 500. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
48. Web site: 1985 Southern 500. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
49. Web site: 1986 Southern 500. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
50. Web site: 1987 Southern 500. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
51. Web site: 1988 Southern 500. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
52. Web site: 1989 Heinz Southern 500. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
53. Web site: 1990 Heinz Southern 500. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
54. Web site: 1991 Heinz Southern 500. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
55. Web site: 1992 Mountain Dew Southern 500. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
56. Web site: 1993 Mountain Dew Southern 500. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
57. Web site: 1994 Mountain Dew Southern 500. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
58. Web site: 1995 Mountain Dew Southern 500. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
59. Web site: 1996 Mountain Dew Southern 500. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
60. Web site: 1997 Mountain Dew Southern 500. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
61. Web site: 1998 Pepsi Southern 500. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
62. Web site: 1999 The 50th Pepsi Southern 500. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
63. Web site: 2000 Pepsi Southern 500. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
64. Web site: 2001 Mountain Dew Southern 500. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
65. Web site: 2002 Mountain Dew Southern 500. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
66. Web site: 2003 Mountain Dew Southern 500. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
67. Web site: 2004 Mountain Dew Southern 500. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
68. Web site: 2005 Dodge Charger 500. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
69. Web site: 2006 Dodge Charger 500. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
70. Web site: 2007 Dodge Avenger 500. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
71. Web site: 2008 Dodge Challenger 500. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
72. Web site: 2009 Southern 500. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
73. Web site: 2010 Showtime Southern 500. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
74. Web site: 2011 Showtime Southern 500. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
75. Web site: 2012 Bojangles' Southern 500. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
76. Web site: 2013 Bojangles' Southern 500. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
77. Web site: 2014 Bojangles' Southern 500. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
78. Web site: 2015 Bojangles' Southern 500. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
79. Web site: 2016 Bojangles' Southern 500. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
80. Web site: 2017 Bojangles' Southern 500. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
81. Web site: 2018 Bojangles' Southern 500. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
82. Web site: 2019 Bojangles' Southern 500. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
83. Web site: 2020 Cook Out Southern 500. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
84. Web site: 2021 Cook Out Southern 500. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
85. Web site: 2022 Cook Out Southern 500. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
86. Web site: 2023 Cook Out Southern 500. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
87. News: Rain postpones Nextel Avenger 500. United Press International. May 12, 2007. November 24, 2023.
88. Web site: Spencer. Reid. NASCAR Cup Darlington Race Results: Erik Jones Claims Southern 500 Win. Autoweek. September 2, 2019. November 24, 2023.