Southern 500

Darlington Raceway carries a long reputation as the "Track Too Tough to Tame," owing to its unusual asymmetrical egg-shape, rough pavement, and unforgiving nature. The Southern 500 trophy features photos of previous winners at Darlington.

The inaugural Southern 500 was held in 1950 as NASCAR's first 500-mile race; the Daytona 500 would not debut until 1959. Through most of its history the race was considered one of NASCAR's premier events. From 1953 to 1996, the event included a Miss Southern 500 beauty pageant, with winners competing in the Miss South Carolina Pageant the following year. Only two Miss Southern 500s ever won Miss South Carolina: Amanda Spivey (1995) and Janet Powers (1997). In 1989 the race added Heinz as a title sponsor while retaining the traditional "Southern" name; from 1992 to 2004 it was sponsored by PepsiCo products.

In the very first running in 1950, lasting over six hours, Johnny Mantz drove a conservative race to emerge with the win while multiple cars blew tires. In 1960, with 48 entries and numerous crashes, Richard Petty led 106 laps but spun out with 50 to go. Rex White was initially declared the winner, but a scoring re-examination found White had been credited with a lap he had not run; Buck Baker was awarded the victory. Pole-sitter Fireball Roberts broke an axle and finished ninth. Richard Petty won his only Southern 500 in 1967.

In 1965, Darel Dieringer broke with 39 laps remaining after leading 199 laps, leaving Ned Jarrett to win by 14 laps. A separate incident saw young Cale Yarborough crash with Sam McQuagg in Turn One; Yarborough's car flew over the guardrail and landed outside the speedway. He was uninjured and was interviewed for ABC Sports by Chris Economaki. In 1966, Dieringer passed Richard Petty with seven laps to go to win; a crash in Turn One on lap 186 saw Earl Balmer smash into the guardrail and spin atop it, throwing debris into the open-air press box.

Buddy Baker joined his father Buck Baker as a Southern 500 winner in 1970. Five of the top six finishers that year drove either 1969 Dodge Daytonas or 1970 Plymouth Superbirds, making it the only Darlington race won by the famed winged Chryslers.

In 1974, Yarborough became a three-time Southern 500 winner, edging sophomore sensation Darrell Waltrip. Crashes eliminated Richard Petty, Buddy Baker, David Pearson, and Bobby Allison; Allison accused Yarborough of wrecking him, a charge Yarborough denied.

In 1976, Pearson ended a career slump by taking his ninth win of the season — his first Southern 500 despite six wins in the Rebel 500. Richard Petty finished second, the 60th time in their careers Pearson and Petty had finished 1–2, with Pearson holding a 33–30 edge in those finishes. Both presidential candidates Jimmy Carter and Bob Dole visited the race that year while on the campaign trail.

In 1977, a fight between Yarborough and Waltrip ended in a crash; Pearson took his second straight Southern 500. After the race, D.K. Ulrich asked Yarborough why he'd been hit; Yarborough replied "I didn't hit you, Jaws did; Jaws Waltrip" — creating a lasting nickname for Waltrip.

In 1979, Pearson won again while driving Rod Osterlund's Chevrolet in place of regular driver Dale Earnhardt, who was recovering from a late-July injury. Pearson edged young Bill Elliott for his 104th career Winston Cup Grand National win. In 1980, Waltrip led 196 laps from the pole before a timing chain broke 39 laps from the finish. Benny Parsons grabbed the lead while Pearson got back on the lead lap; with two laps remaining all three leaders crashed in Turn One on oil from a backmarker. Pearson limped toward the line but Terry Labonte caught and swung past at the white flag, grabbing his first career win.

The 1982 race was the most competitive running of the Southern 500, with the lead changing 41 times among 17 drivers and 14 cautions. Yarborough edged Petty, Earnhardt, and Elliott for his record fifth Southern 500 win and his last victory with M.C. Anderson's race team. Bobby Allison led 88 laps before breaking; Waltrip led 23 laps before blowing his engine.

From 1985 to 1997 the Southern 500 served as the fourth race of the Winston Million program. Bill Elliott won the 1985 running to claim the Winston Million — having also won the Daytona 500 and Winston 500 earlier in the season. Challenges by Earnhardt and Yarborough fell apart; Yarborough finished second despite breaking a power steering line. Elliott's winnings were the highest in NASCAR history to that point.

In 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. Richmond won; it was the first Darlington win for crew chief Harry Hyde. In 1987, the race was cut short after 202 laps by rain. Rookie sensation Davey Allison won the pole and led 86 laps before crashing. The 1988 race was a three-way battle among Elliott, Rusty Wallace, and Earnhardt, who combined to lead 289 of the 367 laps; Elliott led 154 and took his second Southern 500 win en route to the 1988 Winston Cup Championship.

In 1989, Waltrip had the opportunity to win the Winston Million but crashed, leaving Earnhardt to his second Southern 500 win. Earnhardt won again in 1990 for his third in four starts; the race was also notable for a feud between Ken Schrader and Morgan Shepherd, with Schrader after repairs speeding onto the track to ram Shepherd in the third turn; Schrader was subsequently parked.

Harry Gant won the 1991 Southern 500 for the second time, leading 152 laps; Davey Allison led 151 laps from the pole but finished four laps down. Gant's win began a four-race win streak, the first such in NASCAR since 1987. In 1992, Waltrip gambled and stayed out on tyres near lap 292 as rain approached; the race ended under yellow at lap 298, giving Waltrip his 84th and final career win. Davey Allison, who had entered with a Winston Million chance, was shuffled back to fifth after a four-tyre stop. In 1993, Mark Martin broke away from Earnhardt to win his fourth straight Winston Cup win; Ernie Irvan finished fifth in his debut drive for Robert Yates Racing. In 1994, Bill Elliott scored his third Southern 500 and 40th overall NASCAR win despite battling overheating issues; it was the final victory for Junior Johnson & Associates.

In 1997, Jeff Gordon won his third (of four straight) Southern 500 over Jeff Burton. Combined with his Daytona 500 and Coca-Cola 600 wins earlier in the year, the victory clinched the Winston Million in its final running. Bill Elliott, the initial 1985 winner, led a race-high 181 of the 367 laps but finished fourth.

In 2003, the last Southern 500 on Labor Day weekend until 2015 saw Terry Labonte lead the final 33 laps and hold off Kevin Harvick for his last Cup win. For the 2004 season, the race was moved to November to run as the second-to-last race of the inaugural Chase for the Championship. Track management also believed a November date would offer cooler conditions for fans.

In 2004, shareholder Francis Ferko sued NASCAR over the refusal to schedule a second race at Texas Motor Speedway, alleging antitrust violations. The case was settled in Ferko's favour; NASCAR was required to give Texas a second date by removing one of Darlington's two annual races. From 2005, Darlington contracted to one race per year. The Southern 500 name was dropped and the event shifted to a Saturday night in May under Dodge sponsorship. Without a title sponsor after 2008, the race re-adopted the Southern 500 name; it was then sponsored by Showtime Networks (2010–2011) and Bojangles' (2012–2019).

In 2011, Regan Smith stayed out on a late caution while the rest of the field pitted and edged Carl Edwards for his first NASCAR win. The victory was overshadowed when Harvick and Kyle Busch collided on pit road after Harvick attempted to throw a punch at Busch inside his cockpit; NASCAR fined both and placed them on probation. In 2012, Jimmie Johnson stayed out during the final pit cycle on crew chief Chad Knaus's advice and held off Denny Hamlin and Tony Stewart to score team owner Rick Hendrick's 200th NASCAR Cup Series victory.

In August 2014, it was announced the 2015 Southern 500 would return to its traditional Labor Day weekend slot. To address concerns about heat and humidity, the race moved to Sunday night under the lights. To celebrate the return, NASCAR, the track, and teams organised a "NASCAR Throwback" theme; 32 of the 43 cars ran throwback paint schemes, and legendary broadcasters Ken Squier, Ned Jarrett, and Dale Jarrett called part of the race lap-by-lap. The event was nominated for Sports Event of the Year. Carl Edwards rallied from two laps down to pass Brad Keselowski and win. The Throwback theme continued from 2015 to 2020; in 2021 it moved to the spring race at Darlington.

Cook Out assumed naming rights in 2020. Since 2021 the Southern 500 has been scheduled as the first race of the NASCAR playoffs, except in 2024 when NBC Sports' coverage of the Summer Olympics shifted the schedule one week, making it the regular season finale. Chase Briscoe won that 2024 running, holding off Kyle Busch for just his second career win and the final victory for Stewart–Haas Racing.

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