Goodyear 400: Difference between revisions
Content deleted Content added
Nascar1996 (talk | contribs) It's name is Bojangles' Southern 500. |
|||
| Line 847: | Line 847: | ||
*[http://sportsmediawatch.blogspot.com/2010/05/fox-scores-best-saturday-night-nascar.html Ratings For NASCAR Southern 500 Since 2000] |
*[http://sportsmediawatch.blogspot.com/2010/05/fox-scores-best-saturday-night-nascar.html Ratings For NASCAR Southern 500 Since 2000] |
||
*[http://www.racing-reference.info/tracks/Darlington_Raceway] |
*[http://www.racing-reference.info/tracks/Darlington_Raceway] |
||
*[http://www.fueleconomytuneup.com/2012/05/the-southern-500-darlington-south-carolina-september-6-1965/ SOUTHERN 500 1965] |
|||
{{NASCAR Sprint Cup races}} |
{{NASCAR Sprint Cup races}} |
||
Revision as of 19:28, 10 May 2012
- This article is about the race known as the Rebel 500 held on Confederate Memorial Day since 1957. For more information about the Grand Slam race which had the same name from 1950 through 2004 and removed as part of the Ferko lawsuit, see Mountain Dew Southern 500.
The Bojangles' Southern 500 is the annual spring NASCAR Sprint Cup race held at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina, USA, and is the second such event at Darlington to bear the name. It began in 1957 as a 300 miles (480 km) race in the Convertible Division, known as the Rebel 300. In 1966, the race was expanded to 400 miles (640 km), and in 1973 to 500 miles (800 km). In 1994, the race was returned to 400 miles. In 2005, as part of the settlement of the Ferko lawsuit and as part of a schedule realignment, the "Rebel" returned to its classic Confederate Memorial Day weekend date, and raised back to 500 miles.
Without a title sponsor for 2009, the race tentatively adopted the moniker of Southern 500, the traditional name of the fall race run from 1950-2004 on Labor Day weekend. A one-year deal with Go Daddy was signed. Some fans referred to the race exclusively as the GoDaddy.com 500 out of respect to what fans called the "real" Southern 500, a fall-race showdown. In 2010, Showtime signed a multi-year deal to sponsor the race, giving it the name Showtime Southern 500. In 2012, Bojangles', a Charlotte-based quick-service reaturant, took over sponsorship of the "Rebel".
Memorable moments
- 1960-Johnny Allen goes up the race track and tears open the guardrail and then driving on the dirt banking on the outside of the track into a press grandstand. No one was seriously injured.
- April 8, 1979 - In a race that was seen on ABC's Wide World of Sports, Darrell Waltrip and Richard Petty hooked horns in a memorable duel. The lead changed four times between them on Lap 365 and three times on the final lap; Waltrip prevailed over Petty when he cleared Petty in Turn Three and Donnie Allison tried to shoot the gap, instead getting hung alongside Petty. During the race, David Pearson made a pit stop, and thought the Wood brothers were going to change only two tires. With the lug nuts loosened all the way around, Pearson sped out of the pits after two tires had been replaced. The loose inside wheels flew off near the pit road, ending Pearson's day. A week later, Pearson was released from the Wood Brothers ride, despite scoring 43 wins from 1972 to 1978 with the Virginia-based team.
- 1985 - Bill Elliott wins the 3rd of 4 Crown Jewel races, becoming the first driver to win the Winston Million and becoming the first NASCAR driver to grace the cover of Sports Illustrated.
- 1987 - Bill Elliott ran out of fuel on the final lap, and coasted out of turn 4, allowing Dale Earnhardt to sweep by and take the victory.
- 1988 - Lake Speed escaped a multicar wreck in the opening laps and breezed to one of the sport's most dramatic upset wins.
- 1990 - Dale Earnhardt took the win, but the story of the race was a massive accident between Ernie Irvan and Ken Schrader; Irvan was ten laps down yet racing nose-to-nose with Schrader as if for the lead, and lost control in Four; several cars collided in the ensuring melee and Sterling Marlin spun off the wall and hammered Neil Bonnett; Bonnett suffered severe memory loss and was lost for three seasons as a driver.
- March 16, 2003 - Before a national television audience, Ricky Craven and Kurt Busch fought a memorable duel that came down to the final turn, when Craven edged out Busch by 0.002 seconds (about 1-2 inches) in the joint closest finish in NASCAR history since NASCAR started using electronic transponders to determine scoring (along with the Aaron's 499 at Talledega in Spring 2011 where Jimmie Johnson edged out Clint Bowyer at the flag). The finish is thought to have saved the track from being eliminated from the Cup Series schedule.
- May 7, 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.
Past winners
| Year | Date | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Race Distance | Race Time | Average Speed (mph) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Laps | Miles (km) | |||||||
| 1957 | May 12 | Fireball Roberts | Pete DePaolo | Ford | 219 | 301.125 (484.613) | 2:47:23 | 107.941 |
| 1958 | May 10 | Curtis Turner | Holman-Moody | Ford | 219 | 301.125 (484.613) | 2:44:08 | 109.624 |
| 1959 | May 9 | Fireball Roberts | Frank Strickland | Chevrolet | 219 | 301.125 (484.613) | 2:36:00 | 115.817 |
| 1960 | May 14 | Joe Weatherly | Holman-Moody | Ford | 219 | 301.125 (484.613) | 2:56:01 | 102.64 |
| 1961 | May 6 | Fred Lorenzen | Holman-Moody | Ford | 219 | 301.125 (484.613) | 2:31:10 | 119.52 |
| 1962 | May 12 | Nelson Stacy | Holman-Moody | Ford | 219 | 301.125 (484.613) | 2:33:17 | 117.429 |
| 1963 | May 11 | Joe Weatherly | Bud Moore Engineering | Ford | 220 | 302.5 (486.826) | 2:27:36 | 122.745 |
| 1964 | May 9 | Fred Lorenzen | Holman-Moody | Ford | 219 | 301.125 (484.613) | 2:18:51 | 130.013 |
| 1965 | May 8 | Junior Johnson | Junior Johnson | Ford | 219 | 301.125 (484.613) | 2:41:32 | 111.849 |
| 1966 | April 30 | Richard Petty | Petty Enterprises | Plymouth | 291 | 400.125 (643.938) | 3:01:53 | 131.993 |
| 1967 | May 13 | Richard Petty | Petty Enterprises | Plymouth | 291 | 400.125 (643.938) | 3:10:56 | 125.738 |
| 1968 | May 11 | David Pearson | Holman-Moody | Ford | 291 | 400.125 (643.938) | 3:00:54 | 132.699 |
| 1969 | May 10 | LeeRoy Yarbrough | Junior Johnson | Mercury | 291 | 400.125 (643.938) | 3:02:28 | 131.572 |
| 1970 | May 9 | David Pearson | Holman-Moody | Ford | 291 | 400.125 (643.938) | 3:05:07 | 129.688 |
| 1971 | May 2 | Buddy Baker | Petty Enterprises | Dodge | 293 | 400.238 (644.12) | 3:03:46 | 130.678 |
| 1972 | April 16 | David Pearson | Wood Brothers Racing | Mercury | 293 | 400.238 (644.12) | 3:13:00 | 124.406 |
| 1973 | April 15 | David Pearson | Wood Brothers Racing | Mercury | 367 | 501.322 (806.799) | 4:04:14 | 122.655 |
| 1974 | April 7 | David Pearson | Wood Brothers Racing | Mercury | 330 | 450.78 (725.460) | 3:50:06 | 117.543 |
| 1975 | April 13 | Bobby Allison | Penske Racing | Matador | 367 | 501.322 (806.799) | 4:15:41 | 117.597 |
| 1976 | April 11 | David Pearson | Wood Brothers Racing | Mercury | 367 | 501.322 (806.799) | 4:04:36 | 122.973 |
| 1977 | April 3 | Darrell Waltrip | DiGard Motorsports | Chevrolet | 367 | 501.322 (806.799) | 3:53:18 | 128.817 |
| 1978 | April 9 | Benny Parsons | L.G. DeWitt | Chevrolet | 367 | 501.322 (806.799) | 3:55:50 | 127.544 |
| 1979 | April 8 | Darrell Waltrip | DiGard Motorsports | Chevrolet | 367 | 501.322 (806.799) | 4:06:59 | 121.721 |
| 1980 | April 13 | David Pearson | Hoss Ellington | Chevrolet | 189* | 258.174 (415.49) | 2:23:49 | 112.397 |
| 1981 | April 12 | Darrell Waltrip | Junior Johnson | Buick | 367 | 501.322 (806.799) | 3:57:24 | 126.703 |
| 1982 | April 4 | Dale Earnhardt* | Bud Moore Engineering | Ford | 367 | 501.322 (806.799) | 4:03:27 | 123.554 |
| 1983 | April 10 | Harry Gant | Hal Needham | Buick | 367 | 501.322 (806.799) | 3:50:05 | 130.406 |
| 1984 | April 15 | Darrell Waltrip | Junior Johnson | Chevrolet | 367 | 501.322 (806.799) | 4:18:16 | 119.925 |
| 1985 | April 14 | Bill Elliott | Melling Racing | Ford | 367 | 501.322 (806.799) | 3:58:08 | 126.295 |
| 1986 | April 13 | Dale Earnhardt | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 367 | 501.322 (806.799) | 3:53:11 | 128.994 |
| 1987 | March 29 | Dale Earnhardt | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 367 | 501.322 (806.799) | 4:05:28 | 122.54 |
| 1988 | March 27 | Lake Speed | Lake Speed | Oldsmobile | 367 | 501.322 (806.799) | 3:49:07 | 131.284 |
| 1989 | April 2 | Harry Gant | Leo Jackson Racing | Oldsmobile | 367 | 501.322 (806.799) | 4:20:29 | 115.475 |
| 1990 | April 1 | Dale Earnhardt | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 367 | 501.322 (806.799) | 4:02:26 | 124.073 |
| 1991 | April 7 | Ricky Rudd | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 367 | 501.322 (806.799) | 3:41:50 | 135.594 |
| 1992 | March 29 | Bill Elliott | Junior Johnson | Ford | 367 | 501.322 (806.799) | 3:35:50 | 139.364 |
| 1993 | March 28 | Dale Earnhardt | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 367 | 501.322 (806.799) | 3:33:29 | 139.958 |
| 1994 | March 27 | Dale Earnhardt | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 293 | 400.238 (644.12) | 3:01:20 | 132.432 |
| 1995 | March 26 | Sterling Marlin | Morgan-McClure Motorsports | Chevrolet | 293 | 400.238 (644.12) | 3:35:35 | 111.392 |
| 1996 | March 24 | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 293 | 400.238 (644.12) | 3:12:26 | 124.792 |
| 1997 | March 23 | Dale Jarrett | Robert Yates Racing | Ford | 293 | 400.238 (644.12) | 3:18:12 | 121.162 |
| 1998 | March 22 | Dale Jarrett | Robert Yates Racing | Ford | 293 | 400.238 (644.12) | 3:07:40 | 127.962 |
| 1999 | March 21 | Jeff Burton | Roush Racing | Ford | 164* | 224.024 (360.531) | 1:50:49 | 121.294 |
| 2000 | March 19 | Ward Burton | Bill Davis Racing | Pontiac | 293 | 400.238 (644.12) | 3:07:30 | 128.076 |
| 2001 | March 18 | Dale Jarrett | Robert Yates Racing | Ford | 293 | 400.238 (644.12) | 3:09:45 | 126.557 |
| 2002 | March 17 | Sterling Marlin | Chip Ganassi Racing | Dodge | 293 | 400.238 (644.12) | 3:10:29 | 126.07 |
| 2003 | March 16 | Ricky Craven | PPI Motorsports | Pontiac | 293 | 400.238 (644.12) | 3:10:16 | 126.214 |
| 2004 | March 21 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 293 | 400.238 (644.12) | 3:30:39 | 114.001 |
| 2005 | May 7 | Greg Biffle | Roush Racing | Ford | 370* | 505.42 (813.394) | 4:06:29 | 123.031 |
| 2006 | May 13 | Greg Biffle | Roush Racing | Ford | 367 | 501.322 (806.799) | 3:42:36 | 135.127 |
| 2007 | May 13* | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 367 | 501.322 (806.799) | 4:01:50 | 124.372 |
| 2008 | May 10 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 367 | 501.322 (806.799) | 3:34:19 | 140.35 |
| 2009 | May 9 | Mark Martin | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 367 | 501.322 (806.799) | 4:11:19 | 119.687 |
| 2010 | May 8 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 367 | 501.322 (806.799) | 3:57:35 | 126.605 |
| 2011 | May 7 | Regan Smith | Furniture Row Racing | Chevrolet | 370* | 505.42 (813.394) | 3:53:51 | 129.678 |
- 1980 & 1999: Race shortened due to rain.
- 1982: Dale Earnhardt's 1st of 9 Darlington wins came in Bud Moore's #15 Wrangler Ford T-Bird.
- 2005 & 2011: Race extended due to a Green-white-checker finish.
- 2007: Race postponed from Saturday night to Sunday afternoon due to rain.