1957 Southern 500
Auto race held at Darlington Raceway in 1957 / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The 1957 Southern 500, the eighth running of the event, was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on September 2, 1957, at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina.
Quick Facts Race details, Date ...
Race details[1][2] | |||
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Race 40 of 53 in the 1957 NASCAR Grand National Series season | |||
Date | September 2, 1957 (1957-September-02) | ||
Location | Darlington Raceway, Darlington, South Carolina | ||
Course |
Permanent racing facility 1.375 mi (2.221 km) | ||
Distance | 400 laps, 500 mi (800 km) | ||
Weather | Extremely hot with temperatures of 93.3 °F (34.1 °C); wind speeds of 8.9 miles per hour (14.3 km/h) | ||
Average speed | 100.094 miles per hour (161.086 km/h) | ||
Attendance | 75,000 | ||
Pole position | |||
Driver | Nichels Engineering | ||
Time | 16.863 seconds | ||
Most laps led | |||
Driver | Speedy Thompson | Speedy Thompson | |
Laps | 210 | ||
Winner | |||
No. 46 | Speedy Thompson | Speedy Thompson | |
Television in the United States | |||
Network | WJMX (local AM radio) | ||
Announcers | Local radio announcers |
Close
Herb Thomas, already a three-time Southern 500 winner, arrived in Darlington in a visibly shaken state. Thomas finally gave up his ride to Fonty Flock stating that he was just too nervous to drive the race. The race was then marred by a violent crash involving him, Bobby Myers and Paul Goldsmith, causing severe injuries to all drivers involved, ending Flock's career and resulting in the death of Myers.