The 1977 Southern 500, the 28th running of the

event Event may refer to: Gatherings of people * Ceremony, an event of ritual significance, performed on a special occasion * Convention (meeting), a gathering of individuals engaged in some common interest * Event management, the organization of eve ...

, was a

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...

Winston Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, and from 1950 to 1970 it was known as the Grand National Division. ...

race that took place on September 5, 1977, at

Darlington Raceway Darlington Raceway is a race track built for NASCAR racing located in Darlington, South Carolina. It is nicknamed "The Lady in Black" and "The Track Too Tough to Tame" by many NASCAR fans and drivers and advertised as "A NASCAR Tradition." It is ...

Darlington, South Carolina Darlington is a city located in Darlington County, South Carolina, United States. In 2010, its population was 6,289. It is the county seat of Darlington County. It is part of the Florence, South Carolina Metropolitan Statistical Area. Darlington ...

Background

, nicknamed by many NASCAR fans and drivers as "The Lady in Black" or "The Track Too Tough to Tame" and advertised as a "NASCAR Tradition", is a

race track A race track (racetrack, racing track or racing circuit) is a facility built for racing of vehicles, athletes, or animals (e.g. horse racing or greyhound racing). A race track also may feature grandstands or concourses. Race tracks are also u ...

built for

racing located near

. It is of a unique, somewhat egg-shaped design, an oval with the ends of very different configurations, a condition which supposedly arose from the proximity of one end of the track to a minnow pond the owner refused to relocate. This situation makes it very challenging for the crews to set up their cars' handling in a way that will be effective at both ends. The track is a four-turn oval. The track's first two turns are banked at twenty-five degrees, while the final two turns are banked two degrees lower at twenty-three degrees. The front stretch (the location of the finish line) and the back stretch is banked at six degrees. Darlington Raceway can seat up to 60,000 people. Darlington has something of a legendary quality among drivers and older fans; this is probably due to its long track length relative to other NASCAR speedways of its era and hence the first venue where many of them became cognizant of the truly high speeds that stock cars could achieve on a long track. The track allegedly earned the moniker The Lady in Black because the night before the race the track maintenance crew would cover the entire track with fresh asphalt sealant, in the early years of the speedway, thus making the racing surface dark black. Darlington is also known as "The Track Too Tough to Tame" because drivers can run lap after lap without a problem and then bounce off of the wall the following lap. Racers will frequently explain that they have to race the racetrack, not their competition. Drivers hitting the wall are considered to have received their "Darlington Stripe" thanks to the missing paint on the right side of the car.

Race report

Drivers competed for a total of purse $184,200 ($ when considering inflation). Dave Marcis drove much of the race in relief of Richard Petty.

Darrell Waltrip Darrell Lee Waltrip (born February 5, 1947) is an American motorsports analyst, author, former national television broadcaster, and stock car driver. He raced from 1972 to 2000 in the NASCAR Cup Series (known as the NASCAR Winston Cup Series dur ...

qualified for the pole position with a speed of . The race covered 367 laps tof the paved track, totalling . After six yellow flags for 93 laps and 32 different leaders, the race lasted four hours and forty-one minutes. Rain on lap 185 forced to cars to slow down their speed until NASCAR confirmed that the rain indeed stopped in time for the green flag on lap 204. An oil slick on lap 210 would slow down the cars yet again until workers fixed the spill around lap 222. Sixty thousand people would watch a race where David Pearson defeated

Donnie Allison Donnie Allison (born September 7, 1939) is an American former driver on the NASCAR Grand National/Winston Cup circuit, who won ten times during his racing career, which spanned from 1966 to 1988. He is part of the "Alabama Gang", and is the bro ...

by 2.5 seconds with an average speed of . Pearson was winless in his first 15 Southern 500s, but then takes three out of four in 1976, 1977, and 1979. Bill Elliott was driving the 52 in this race because it was a favor for Jimmy Means. Since Jimmy Means ran all the races, he was on the plan (guaranteed money for entering and starting a race). Elliott didn't run all the races so he wasn't on the plan. By running the 52 and gaining owner points for Means, it allowed Means to stay on the plan until he could race again.

Bill Elliott William Clyde Elliott (born October 8, 1955), also known as Awesome Bill from Dawsonville, Million Dollar Bill, or Wild Bill is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He competes full time in the Camping World Superstar Racing ...

earned his first career top-ten finish.

Terry Bivins Terry Bivins (born September 13, 1943) is a retired NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver whose career spanned from 1975 to 1977. Bivins had a career-best finish of fifth in 28 races. He finished disputed second for the 1976 NASCAR Rookie of the Year. ...

made his final NASCAR appearance in this race. Notable crew chiefs to fully participate in this race were

Buddy Parrott James Kenneth "Buddy" Parrott is an American NASCAR crew chief. Over 18 years, Parrott won 49 races. Parrott's sons Todd and Brad also served as crew chiefs. Career Parrott's career began in 1968 when he became a tire changer for Huggins Tire, ...

Jake Elder J. C. "Jake" Elder (November 22, 1936 – February 24, 2010) was a NASCAR Grand National/Winston Cup Series crew chief. He was the championship crew chief for two years and for part of a third season. Elder had these successes despite never pas ...

Joey Arrington Joey Arrington (born July 25, 1956) is an American former NASCAR driver, team owner, and crew chief from Rocky Mount, Virginia. He made nine Winston Cup Series starts with a best finish of 12th. He made his first start in 1974 as a 17-year-old a ...

Kirk Shelmerdine Edward Kirk Shelmerdine V (born March 8, 1958) is an American stock car racing driver and former championship-winning crew chief for Dale Earnhardt. Crew chief After spending his early NASCAR career as an engineer for Hylton Engineering, in 1984 ...

Dale Inman Dale Inman (born August 19, 1936) is a retired NASCAR Grand National/Winston Cup Series crew chief from Level Cross, Randolph County, North Carolina. He is best known for being the crew chief of Richard Petty at Petty Enterprises during three de ...

, and

Tim Brewer Timothy Ivan "Tim" Brewer (born February 4, 1955) is an American former stock car racing crew chief and television analyst for ''NASCAR on ESPN''. He was part of ''NASCAR Countdown'', the pre-race show, with host Brent Musburger and fellow analys ...

Qualifying

Finishing order

Section reference: # David Pearson (No. 21) # Donnie Allison (No. 1) #

Buddy Baker Elzie Wylie "Buddy" Baker Jr. (January 25, 1941 – August 10, 2015) was an American professional stock car racing driver and commentator. Over the course of his 33-year racing career, he won 19 races in the NASCAR Cup Series, including the 198 ...

(No. 15) #

Richard Petty Richard Lee Petty (born July 2, 1937), nicknamed "The King", is an American former stock car racing driver who raced from 1958 to 1992 in the former NASCAR Grand National and Winston Cup Series (now called the NASCAR Cup Series), most notabl ...

(No. 43) #

Cale Yarborough William Caleb "Cale" Yarborough (born March 27, 1939) is an American former NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver and owner, businessman, and farmer. He is one of only two drivers in NASCAR history to win three consecutive championships, winning in 1 ...

(No. 11) # Darrell Waltrip (No. 88) #

Ricky Rudd Richard Lee Rudd (born September 12, 1956), nicknamed "The Rooster", is an American former racing driver. He is the uncle of actor Skeet Ulrich and former NASCAR Busch Series driver Jason Rudd. He retired in 2007 with 23 career wins. He was named ...

(No. 22) #

Richard Childress Richard Childress (born September 21, 1945 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina) is an American former race car driver in NASCAR. As the owner of Richard Childress Racing (RCR), he became one of the wealthiest men in North Carolina. In 2004, he opene ...

(No. 3) # Bruce Hill (No. 47) # Bill Elliott (No. 52) #

Ed Negre Ed Negre (July 16, 1927June 4, 2014) was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver who raced from 1955 to 1979.'' ...

(No. 8) #

J.D. McDuffie John Delphus McDuffie Jr. (December 5, 1938 – August 11, 1991) was an American racing driver. He competed in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series from 1963 to 1991, collecting 106 top-10 finishes during his career, despite never finishing on the lead ...

(No. 70) #

James Hylton James Harvey Hylton (August 26, 1934 – April 28, 2018) was an American stock car racing driver. He was a two-time winner in NASCAR Winston Cup Series competition and was a long-time competitor in the ARCA Racing Series. Hylton finished second i ...

(No. 48) #

Buddy Arrington Buddy Rogers Arrington (July 26, 1938 – August 2, 2022) was an American NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver and owner. Racing career Arrington has the second-most starts without a win, and finished in the top 10 of NASCAR points twice; in 1 ...

(No. 67) # Gary Myers (No. 4) #

Janet Guthrie Janet Guthrie (born March 7, 1938) is a retired professional race car driver and the first woman to qualify and compete in both the Indianapolis 500 and the Daytona 500, both in 1977. She had first attempted to enter the Indianapolis 500 in 197 ...

(No. 68) # Frank Warren (No. 79) # Tommy Gale (No. 64) #

Cecil Gordon Cecil Gordon (June 21, 1941 – September 19, 2012) was an American stock car racing driver. A competitor in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series between 1968 and 1985, he competed in 449 events without winning a race. NASCAR Career as driver Gordon d ...

(No. 24) # Mike Kempton (No. 69) #

Baxter Price Baxter Price (born November 29, 1938) is an American racing driver from Monroe, North Carolina who competed in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series. He made 90 Winston Cup starts from 1973 to 1981, never recording a top ten. Racing career Price ran ne ...

(No. 45) #

Bobby Wawak Robert Laurence Wawak (September 4, 1939 – April 17, 2004) was an American NASCAR driver from Villa Park, Illinois. He made 141 Grand National/Winston Cup Series starts, with fourteen top-10 finishes.Earle Canavan (No. 01) #

* (No. 91) #

Benny Parsons Benjamin Stewart Parsons (July 12, 1941 – January 16, 2007) was an American NASCAR driver, and later an announcer/analyst/pit reporter on SETN, TBS, ABC, ESPN, NBC, and TNT. He became famous as the 1973 NASCAR Winston Cup Series champion, and ...

* (No. 72) #

Coo Coo Marlin Clifton Burton "Coo Coo" Marlin (January 3, 1932 – August 14, 2005) was a NASCAR Winston Cup driver who spent 14 years in the series. Local track history Marlin earned a name for himself at the short tracks in Tennessee and Alabama, running ag ...

* (No. 14) # D.K. Ulrich (No. 40) #

Lennie Pond Lennie Wayne Pond (August 11, 1940 – February 10, 2016) was an American NASCAR driver. He won NASCAR Winston Cup Rookie of the Year honors in 1973, and won his only race at Talladega Superspeedway in 1978 for Ronnie Elder and Harry Ranier. Pond ...

* (No. 54) #

Sam Sommers Sam Sommers (born September 17, 1939) is a former American stock car racing driver from Savannah, Georgia. Sommers competed in 30 NASCAR Winston Cup races between 1976 and 1978, where he achieved a total of 9 top ten finishes and 1 pole position. ...

* (No. 27) #

Ralph Jones Ralph Robert "Curley" Jones (September 22, 1880 – July 26, 1951) was an American high school and college American football, football and college basketball, basketball coach. He also served as the head coach for the Chicago Bears of the Na ...

* (No. 08) #

Dick May Richard May (November 7, 1930June 9, 2009) was a NASCAR driver who competed in 185 races in the NASCAR Grand National/Winston Cup Series between 1967 and 1985. In the 1975 running of the Mason-Dixon 500, May drove five different cars but did ...

* (No. 10) #

Tighe Scott Tighe Scott (born 2 June 1949) is a retired American racecar driver from Pen Argyl, Pennsylvania. He competed in dirt modified racing before moving up into the NASCAR Winston Cup Series. He had 18 top-ten finishes in 89 races, with a career best 1 ...

* (No. 30) #

Ferrel Harris Ferrel Harris (October 8, 1940-May 7, 2000) was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver whose career spanned from 1975 to 1982. Career Harris acquired no wins, no finishes in the top-five, and five finishes in the top ten. Out of the 8975 laps that H ...

* (No. 25) #

Dick Brooks Richard Brooks (April 14, 1942 – February 1, 2006) was an American NASCAR driver. Born in Porterville, California, he was the 1969 NASCAR Rookie of the Year, and went on to win the 1973 Talladega 500. Brooks held off veteran Buddy Baker b ...

* (No. 90) #

Butch Hartman Elmer Earl "Butch" Hartman IV (born January 10, 1965) is an American animator, director, producer, writer, and voice actor. He is most known for creating the Nickelodeon series ''The Fairly OddParents'', ''Danny Phantom'', ''T.U.F.F. Puppy'', a ...

* (No. 75) #

Roland Wlodyka Roland Wlodyka was an American stock car racing driver and mechanic, driving in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series in the 1970s and later crew chiefing in the Cup and Craftsman Truck Series in the 1980s and 1990s. Racing career Wlodyka quit drag racin ...

* (No. 98) #

G.C. Spencer Grover Clifton "G. C." Spencer (July 9, 1925GC Spencer obituaryhttp://www.heartfeltconnections.net/memberEulogy.cfm?memberid=14734&sqry_rownum=1&CFTOKEN=39227896 . – September 20, 2007) was a NASCAR driver who competed in 415 Grand National/ ...

* (No. 49) #

Skip Manning Skip Manning (born April 23, 1945) is a former NASCAR driver from Bogalusa, Louisiana. He competed in seventy-nine Winston Cup events in his career, spanning from 1975 to 1979. Manning won the rookie-of-the-year award in 1976. He had sixteen top ...

* (No. 92) #

Bobby Allison Robert Arthur Allison (born December 3, 1937) is a former American professional stock car racing driver and owner. Allison was the founder of the Alabama Gang, a group of drivers based in Hueytown, Alabama, where there were abundant short track ...

* (No. 12) #

Joe Mihalic Joe or JOE may refer to: Arts Film and television * ''Joe'' (1970 film), starring Peter Boyle * ''Joe'' (2013 film), starring Nicolas Cage * ''Joe'' (TV series), a British TV series airing from 1966 to 1971 * ''Joe'', a 2002 Canadian animated ...

* (No. 61) ''* Driver failed to finish race''

Timeline

Section reference: * Start: Darrell Waltrip was ahead of all the other drivers as the green flag was waved in the air. * Lap 24: First caution of the race due to Skip Manning's accident on turn 2; caution ended on lap 33. * Lap 65: Second caution of the race due to a two-car accident; caution ended on lap 77. * Lap 159: Third caution of the race due to Tighe Scott's accident on turn 4; caution ended on lap 168. * Lap 185: Fourth caution of the race due to rain; caution ended on lap 204. * Lap 210: Fifth caution of the race due to oil on the track; caution ended on lap 222. * Lap 236: Sixth caution of the race due to a 5-car accident in the backstretch; caution ended on lap 249. * Lap 251: Final caution of the race due to a 2-car accident on turn 4; caution ended on lap 262. * Finish: David Pearson was officially declared the winner of the race.

Standings after the race

References

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Southern 500 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 and consists of 367 laps. Fro ...

NASCAR races at Darlington Raceway