1957 Rebel 300
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 14 of 36 in the 1957 NASCAR Convertible Series season | |||
Layout of Darlington Raceway
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| Date | May 12, 1957 | ||
| Official name | Rebel 300 | ||
| Location | Darlington Raceway (Darlington, South Carolina) | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility 1.366 mi (2.198 km) |
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| Distance | 219 laps, 301.3 mi (606.7 km) | ||
| Weather | Temperatures reaching up to 81 °F (27 °C); wind speeds up to 7 miles per hour (11 km/h) | ||
| Average speed | 107.921 miles per hour (173.682 km/h) | ||
| Attendance | 17,000 | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Slim Rominger | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Fireball Roberts | Pete DePaolo | |
| Laps | 181 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 22 | Fireball Roberts | Pete DePaolo | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | untelevised | ||
| Announcers | none | ||
The 1957 Rebel 300 was a NASCAR Convertible Series racing event that occurred in Darlington, South Carolina on May 12, 1957. While the Rebel 300 was originally a convertible racing event, it eventually became absorbed into what is now known as the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, and this race is the first in the lineage of the current Bojangles' Southern 500, which is known as the "spring" race.
The race's name references the Confederate Memorial Day weekend of the race, which was held on the Saturday closest to Confederate Memorial Day from 1957 until 1965, and again from 1967 until 1969, and again from 2005 until 2013. After a Saturday rainout, track president Bob Colvin decided to race on the next clear day, in violation of South Carolina blue laws. Colvin was fined $58 for the violation by Sheriff Grover Bryant ($494.58 when adjusted for inflation). Tickets for this event sold from anywhere from $5 USD ($42.64 when adjusted for inflation) to $8 USD ($68.22 when adjusted for inflation); depending on how close to the action people wanted to sit. The 1957 Rebel 300 was also the first NASCAR convertible race to be run on a Sunday and on Mother's Day.
Many cars failed to qualify for this race including Darel Dieringer, Neil Castles, Jimmie Lewallen, Tiny Lund and Ralph Moody. While Curtis Turner and Marvin Panch dominated the early portion of the race, a series of crashes would knock most of the 27-driver grid out of the race. Most of the field would be driving vehicles from either Ford or Plymouth. The 29th lap would become infamous for the nine-car wreck that become a harbinger of doom in the days prior to the "modern" NASCAR Cup Series. All the drivers were born in the United States of America. Ken Rush was the unfortunate last-place finisher at this racing event. In the end, the race became a struggle between Joe Weatherly, Fireball Roberts and Bobby Myers.
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