1959 Southern 500
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 36 of 44 in the 1959 NASCAR Grand National Series season
|
|||
| Date | September 7, 1959 | ||
| Location | Darlington Raceway (Darlington, South Carolina) | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility 1.375 mi (2.221 km) |
||
| Distance | 400 laps, 500 mi (800 km) | ||
| Weather | Temperatures reaching up to 88 °F (31 °C); wind speeds up to 8.9 miles per hour (14.3 km/h)[1] | ||
| Average speed | 111.836 miles per hour (179.983 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Fireball Roberts | Jim Stephens | |
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Jim Reed | Jim Reed | |
| Laps | 152 | ||
| Winner | |||
| 7 |
Jim Reed |
Jim Reed | |
The 1959 Southern 500 was a NASCAR Grand National event that took place on September 7, 1959 at Darlington Raceway in the American community of Darlington, South Carolina.[2][3]
Summary
It took four hours and twenty-eight minutes for the race to reach its full conclusion; Jim Reed defeated Bob Burdick by more than two laps; driving the famous 1957 Chevrolet to its third and final win at the Southern 500.[2][3] Seventy-eight thousand people attended this live race.[2][3] Notable speeds for this race were: 111.836 miles per hour (179.983 km/h) as the average speed and 123.734 miles per hour (199.131 km/h) per hour as the pole position speed.[2][3]Richard Petty would lead his first career laps here and Goodyear would get its first victory since re-entering racing. Today, Goodyear Eagle tires have the monopoly on all NASCAR racing series. Total winnings for this race were $51,990 ($409,450.92 in today's money).[2][3]
Joe Caspolitch's ride was owned by the city of Florence, South Carolina. The city government bought the ride from Lee Petty in order to field Caspolitch in the race. Since then, not a single branch of the American government (federal, municipal, or state government) has claimed ownership or has attempted to claim ownership of a NASCAR vehicle.
Top thirty finishers
- Jim Reed (his seventh and final NASCAR win)
- Bob Burdick
- Bobby Johns
- Richard Petty
- Tommy Irwin
- Jim Paschal
- Fireball Roberts
- Larry Frank
- Buck Baker
- Jimmy Thompson
- Shep Langdon
- Bill Champion
- Joe Caspolitch
- Speedy Thompson
- Charlie Cregar
- Herman Beam
- Rex White
- L.D. Austin
- Cotton Owens
- Lee Petty
- Bud Crothers
- Al White
- G.C. Spencer
- Earl Balmer
- Dick Blackwell
- Tiny Lund
- Cale Yarborough
- Jack Smith
- Marvin Panch
- Johnny Patterson
References
- ^ "1959 Southern 500 weather information". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved 2012-08-03.
- ^ a b c d e "1959 Southern 500 racing results". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2011-03-03.
- ^ a b c d e "1959 Southern 500 racing results". Stat Sheet. Retrieved 2011-03-03.
| Preceded by 1958 |
Southern 500 races 1959 |
Succeeded by 1960 |
 |
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