Southern 500 (1950-2004)
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| Venue | Darlington Raceway |
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| Location | Darlington, South Carolina, United States |
| Corporate sponsor | Bojangles' Famous Chicken 'n Biscuits |
| First race | 1950 |
| Distance | 501.322 miles (806.800 km) |
| Laps | 367 (Stage 1: 100 Stage 2: 100 Stage 3: 167) |
| Previous names |
Southern 500 (1950–1988) Heinz Southern 500 (1989–1991) Mountain Dew Southern 500 (1992–1997, 2001–2004) Pepsi Southern 500 (1998–2000) Dodge Charger 500 (2005–2006) Dodge Avenger 500 (2007) Dodge Challenger 500 (2008) Southern 500 presented by GoDaddy.com (2009) Showtime Southern 500 (2010–2011) |
| Most wins (driver) | Jeff Gordon (6) |
| Most wins (team) | Hendrick Motorsports (11) |
| Most wins (manufacturer) | Chevrolet (27) |
| Surface | Asphalt |
| Length | 1.366 mi (2.198 km) |
| Turns | 4 |
The Bojangles' Southern 500 is a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina, United States. The race distance is 501 miles (806 km) long, and consists of 367 laps. From 1950 to 2003, and again since 2015, the race has been held on Labor Day weekend. The Southern 500 was largely considered one of the Crown Jewels of the NASCAR calendar, and has been nicknamed NASCAR's "oldest superspeedway race." For decades, the race has been considered by competitors and media as one of the more difficult and challenging races on the NASCAR schedule, owing much to the track's unusual egg-shape, rough pavement, and overall unforgiving nature. Darlington Raceway, where the race is held, has a long and storied reputation as the "Track Too Tough to Tame."
Through 2003, Darlington held two Cup series races annually, the Southern 500 in the fall, and a 400-mile event in the spring. In 2004, the Southern 500 was moved to November and was run as the second-to-last race in the inaugural NASCAR Chase for the Championship. The following year, as the result of a settlement in the , Darlington lost one of its two dates. The 500-mile race was moved to the Saturday of Mother's Day weekend in May, and renamed for the sponsorship of Dodge. The race was held as a night race under-the-lights during this period.
The event re-assumed the Southern 500 name in 2009. In 2014, the race moved to April after swapping dates with Kansas. NASCAR announced that the Southern 500 would be returning to its traditional Labor Day weekend date for 2015, replacing Atlanta as the host of the Labor Day weekend event (Atlanta's race, meanwhile, was moved into the early portion of the season).
Martin Truex Jr. is the defending winner of the race, after winning it in 2016.
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