1955 Southern 500
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 35 of 45 in the 1955 NASCAR Grand National Series season | |||
Layout of Darlington Raceway
|
|||
| Date | September 5, 1955 | ||
| Official name | Southern 500 | ||
| Location | Darlington Raceway, Darlington, South Carolina | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility 1.375 mi (2.221 km) |
||
| Distance | 400 laps, 500 mi (800 km) | ||
| Weather | Warm with temperatures reaching up to 82.9 °F (28.3 °C) Maximum sustained wind speed: 11.10 miles per hour (17.86 km/h) |
||
| Average speed | 92.281 miles per hour (148.512 km/h) | ||
| Attendance | 50,000 | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Bob Fish | ||
| Time | 44.723 seconds | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Joe Weatherly | Charlie Schwam | |
| Laps | 140 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 9 | Herb Thomas | Thomas Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | WJMX (local AM radio) | ||
| Announcers | Local radio announcers | ||
Coordinates: 34°17′50.5″N 79°54′18.4″W / 34.297361°N 79.905111°W
The 1955 Southern 500, the sixth running of the event, was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on September 5, 1955, at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina. This race officially spanned 500 miles or 800 kilometres on a paved oval track. An unofficial 30-minute highlight film of this race would appear on the collector's set of Stock Cars of 50s & 60s – Stock Car Memories: Darlington-Southern 500; which was released in 2008.
Television coverage of the 1955 Southern 500 was impossible due to the then-niche demographics of the burgeoning motorsport. However, the local radio station WJMX made it possible for housebound fans (i.e., young boys and housewives) to hear their favorite drivers from the first green flag to the checkered flag. School children who lived in the area could either watch the race live or listen on the local radio because the race took place on Labor Day. Coverage of the race would be spotty outside the Darlington area due to the broadcasting limitations of AM radio. No school was held that day because it was a legal U.S. statutory holiday.Confederate flags were still legal to utilize in all parts of the state back then; they were shown with pride alongside the Stars and Stripes.
...
Wikipedia