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 501 miles (806 km) 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.
The trophy features photos of all the past winners of the race.[3]
^"Cook Out & Darlington Raceway Partner on Entitlement for the Cook Out Southern 500". Darlington Raceway (Press release). August 25, 2020. Archived from the original on May 6, 2021. Retrieved August 25, 2020.
^"Stage lengths for 2021 NASCAR season". NASCAR. January 25, 2021. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
^"Unique trophies in NASCAR". NASCAR. September 25, 2014. Archived from the original on 2018-04-26. Retrieved April 26, 2018.
The Southern500, officially known as the Cook Out Southern500 for sponsorship reasons, is a NASCAR Cup Series stock car race at Darlington Raceway in...
The 1957 Southern500, the eighth running of the event, was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on September 2, 1957, at Darlington Raceway...
The 1960 Southern500, the 11th running of the event, was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on September 5, 1960, at Darlington Raceway...
up one of its two races; the 400-mile race was dropped, with the fall Southern500 taking its date before eventually moving back to its traditional Labor...
when the Southern500 was scheduled in April, and 2020, when the GEICO 500 was postponed until June, after the Coca-Cola 600. The GEICO 500, as the Winston...
79°54′18.4″W / 34.297361°N 79.905111°W / 34.297361; -79.905111 The 1955 Southern500, the sixth running of the event, was a NASCAR Grand National Series event...
other, the Southern500, was always held on Labor Day weekend. In 2003, the Labor Day race was given to California Speedway, and the Southern500 was moved...
The 1959 Southern500, the 10th running of the event, was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on September 7, 1959, at Darlington Raceway...
event. The 5 crown jewel events are Daytona 500, World 600, Brickyard 400, Southern500, and Winston 500. His future teammate Jimmie Johnson however,...
79°54′18.4″W / 34.297361°N 79.905111°W / 34.297361; -79.905111 The 1979 Southern500, the 30th running of the event, was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race...
The 1962 Southern500, the 13th running of the event, was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on September 3, 1962, at Darlington Raceway...
The inaugural Southern Five-Hundred (Southern500 since 1951) was an automobile race held at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina on September...
The 1951 Southern500, the second running of the event, was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on September 3, 1951, at Darlington Raceway...
79°54′18.4″W / 34.297361°N 79.905111°W / 34.297361; -79.905111 The 1965 Southern500, the 16th running of the event, was a NASCAR Grand National Series event...
79°54′18.4″W / 34.297361°N 79.905111°W / 34.297361; -79.905111 The 1966 Southern500, the 17th running of the event, was a NASCAR Grand National Series event...
The 1954 Southern500, the fifth running of the event, was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on September 6, 1954, at Darlington Raceway...
Malaysia Southern High School (disambiguation), various schools Southern500, a NASCAR car race Southern500 (1950-2004), a former NASCAR race Southern Conference...
79°54′18.4″W / 34.297361°N 79.905111°W / 34.297361; -79.905111 The 1974 Southern500, the 25th running of the event, was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race...
The 1986 Southern500 was the 21st stock car race of the 1986 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 37th iteration of the event. The race was held on...
The 1952 Southern500, the third running of the event, was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on September 1, 1952, at Darlington Raceway...
flag of any kind for Bill Elliott since his 40th career win in the 1994 Southern500 at Darlington. Race two top 10 results 28–Ricky Rudd 31–Mike Skinner...
The 1977 Southern500, the 28th running of the event, was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race that took place on September 5, 1977, at Darlington Raceway...
79°54′18.4″W / 34.297361°N 79.905111°W / 34.297361; -79.905111 The 1956 Southern500, the seventh running of the event, was a NASCAR Grand National Series...
The 1978 Southern500, the 29th running of the event, was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that took place on September 4, 1978, at Darlington...
it at Michigan, Sonoma, Daytona, and Chicagoland). The Mountain Dew Southern500 was held on November 14 at Darlington Raceway. Qualifying was canceled...
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