1957 Southern 500

Last updated
1957 Southern 500
Race details [1] [2]
Race 40 of 53 in the 1957 NASCAR Grand National Series season
1957 Southern 500 program cover and logo.jpg
1957 Southern 500 program cover
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. 46Speedy ThompsonSpeedy Thompson
Television in the United States
Network WJMX (local AM radio)
Announcers Local radio announcers

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.

Contents

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.

Background

Darlington Raceway, nicknamed by many NASCAR fans and drivers as "The Lady in Black" or "The Track Too Tough to Tame" and advertised as a "NASCAR Tradition", is a race track built for NASCAR racing located near Darlington, South Carolina. It is of a unique, somewhat egg-shaped design, an oval with the ends of very different configurations, a condition which supposedly arose from the proximity of one end of the track to a minnow pond the owner refused to relocate. This situation makes it very challenging for the crews to set up their cars' handling in a way that will be effective at both ends.

The track is a four-turn 1.366 miles (2.198 km) oval. [3] The track's first two turns are banked at twenty-five degrees, while the final two turns are banked two degrees lower at twenty-three degrees. [3] The front stretch (the location of the finish line) and the back stretch is banked at six degrees. [3] Darlington Raceway can seat up to 60,000 people. [3]

Darlington has something of a legendary quality among drivers and older fans; this is probably due to its long track length relative to other NASCAR speedways of its era and hence the first venue where many of them became cognizant of the truly high speeds that stock cars could achieve on a long track. The track allegedly earned the moniker The Lady in Black because the night before the race the track maintenance crew would cover the entire track with fresh asphalt sealant, in the early years of the speedway, thus making the racing surface dark black. Darlington is also known as "The Track Too Tough to Tame" because drivers can run lap after lap without a problem and then bounce off of the wall the following lap. Racers will frequently explain that they have to race the racetrack, not their competition. Drivers hitting the wall are considered to have received their "Darlington Stripe" thanks to the missing paint on the right side of the car.

Race report

The event took five hours and one second to complete on a paved oval track spanning 1.375 miles (2.213 km) for a distance of 500.5 miles (805.5 km). [2] Seventy-five thousand fans attended. Billy Carden qualified for this event in 45th place and finished in 6th place. [2] The most notable crew chiefs for this race were Jess Potter, Bud Moore, Shorty Johns and Ray Fox. [4]

Speedy Thompson defeated Cotton Owens by three laps at an average speed of 100.094 miles per hour (161.086 km/h). [2] Thompson drove the iconic 1957 Chevrolet during that race; that vehicle went on to win the 1958 and the 1959 runnings of the Southern 500. Owens won the pole position with a speed of 117.416 miles per hour (188.963 km/h) during qualifying. [2] Speedy Thompson would record his only Southern 500 victory here even though he would win on other paved superspeedways.

T.A. Toomes received the last-place finish due to a problem with his brakes on lap 3 out of 364. Runt Harris returned to NASCAR after a 7-year absence, driving his way to a 39th-place finish after his vehicle developed problems with its clutch. Former Cup series race winner Bill Blair made his only start of the 1957 NASCAR Grand National Series season; finishing in 38th place after inflicting terminal damage to his vehicle. [2]

Brownie King was 59 laps down; he started in 31st and managed to improve his position to 21st place. However, he was unable to properly compete for a win or even a finish in the top-15. [2]

Bobby Myers lost his life as a result of a race-related crash; Fonty Flock and Paul Goldsmith were also involved in this accident. The technology found in the modern NASCAR Cup Series vehicles could have saved Myers' life, and it's a shame because Myers had a promising career in NASCAR racing. [2] [5] [6]

George Parrish made a notable appearance in this race using a 1956 Studebaker Golden Hawk; he witnessed the fatal crash of Bobby Myers at close range. [7] Parrish retired after the 1958 NASCAR Cup Series season. [7]

As a rookie, Cale Yarborough made his NASCAR debut here and finished in 42nd place (out of 50 drivers). [2] Fonty Flock retired after this race.

Qualifying

GridNo.DriverManufacturerQualifying time [8] Speed [8] Owner
16 Cotton Owens '57 Pontiac 16.863117.416 Ray Nichels
24 Bobby Myers '57 Oldsmobile 16.922117.007 Petty Enterprises
331 Curtis Turner '57 Ford 16.937116.903 Smokey Yunick
480 Jimmie Lewallen '57 Pontiac 17.211115.042 Sam Rice
562 Frankie Schneider '57 Chevrolet 17.228114.929 Frankie Schenider
63 Paul Goldsmith '57 Ford 16.598119.291Smokey Yunick
746 Speedy Thompson '57 Chevrolet 16.803117.836 Speedy Thompson
842 Lee Petty '57 Oldsmobile 16.845117.542 Petty Enterprises
987 Buck Baker '57 Chevrolet 16.919117.028 Buck Baker
1022 Fireball Roberts '57 Ford 17.001116.463Fireball Roberts

Failed to qualify: Eddie Skinner (#28), Ted Chamberlain (#93), Joe Eubanks (#82), Fred Knapp (#37), Duke DeBrizzi (#81), Dave Terrell (#9), Larry Frank (#76), Bill Widenhouse (#5), Arden Mounts (#18), Bob Whitmire (#61), Barney Smith (#16), Jim Linke (#81) [8]

Finishing order

Section reference: [2]

Pos.St.#DriverSponsor/OwnerCarLapsStatusLedWinnings
1746Speedy ThompsonOates Motor Co.   (Speedy Thompson)'57 Chevrolet364running21013590
216Cotton OwensRay Nichels'57 Pontiac361running186100
33298Marvin PanchMarvin Panch'57 Ford360running03745
4127Jim ReedJim Reed'57 Ford356running02155
5987Buck BakerBuck Baker'57 Chevrolet356running01650
6452Billy CardenHubert Westmoreland'57 Chevrolet354running01225
72914Billy MyersBilly Myers'57 Ford353running01125
82540Johnny MackisonCamp Hill Special   (Johnny Mackison)'57 Ford352running0975
94848Possum JonesInalley Chevrolet   (Bob Welborn)'57 Chevrolet350running0775
102847Jack SmithJack Smith'57 Chevrolet348crash9785
11331Curtis TurnerSmokey Yunick'57 Ford346running511060
122764Johnny AllenSpook Crawford'57 Plymouth345running0600
131734Dick BeatyDick Beaty'56 Ford341running0350
14480Jimmie LewallenSam Rice'57 Pontiac340running0370
153445Eddie PaganEddie Pagan'57 Ford339running0250
162377Bobby JohnsShorty Johns'56 Chevrolet335running0225
172620Jimmy ThompsonJimmy Thompson'56 Ford328running0225
183854Nace MattinglyNace Mattingly'57 Ford326running0200
193774L.D. AustinL.D. Austin'56 Chevrolet312running0200
201155Tiny LundBrushy Mountain Motors   (A.L. Bumgarner)'57 Pontiac308engine0300
213132Brownie KingJess Potter'57 Chevrolet307running0150
223596Bobby KeckBobby Keck'57 Chevrolet283running0150
234151Roy TynerRoy Tyner'56 Ford282running0150
24842Lee PettyPetty Enterprises'57 Oldsmobile281crash31750
254271George ParrishJoe Frazier'56 Studebaker263running0350
263312Marvin PorterOscar Maples'57 Ford221engine0100
273010Whitey NormanWhitey Norman'56 Ford215engine0100
282044Rex WhiteMax Welborn'57 Chevrolet210axle0100
291995Bob DuellJulian Buesink'57 Ford156radiator0100
304913Peck PeckhamWilliam Meyer'56 Chevrolet155engine0100
313935Bill ChampionJohn Whitford'56 Ford130rear end0100
321897Bill AmickBill Amick'57 Ford102crash0150
331022Fireball RobertsFireball Roberts'57 Ford101crash41460
342211Parnelli JonesOscar Maples'57 Ford99crash0100
355075Jim PaschalFrank Hayworth'57 Ford84piston0100
363617Shorty YorkJim Paschal'57 Mercury79engine0300
371689Joe CaspolichPappy Crane'57 Ford66crash0200
384626Bill BlairSam Rice'57 Ford63crash0100
392490Runt HarrisJunie Donlavey'57 Chevrolet50clutch0100
40149Joe WeatherlyHolman-Moody Racing'57 Ford37crash0130
411384Banjo MatthewsBanjo Matthews'57 Ford31engine0120
424430Cale YarboroughBob Weatherly'57 Pontiac31rf hub0100
4324Bobby MyersYour Oldsmobile Dealer   (Petty Enterprises)'57 Oldsmobile27crash1260
4463Paul GoldsmithPee Dee Motors   (Smokey Yunick)'57 Ford27crash3200
454388Chuck HansonChuck Hansen'57 Chevrolet23piston0100
462138Gwyn StaleyJulian Petty'57 Chevrolet22coil0100
47562Frankie SchneiderFrankie Schneider'57 Chevrolet19engine0100
481592Fonty FlockKeith Motors   (Herb Thomas)'57 Pontiac18crash0100
494068Neil CastlesNeil Castles'56 Ford13oil pressure0100
504741T.A. ToomesC.M. Julian'56 Dodge3brakes0300
Failed to qualify, withdrew, or driver changes:
5Bill WidenhouseChevrolet
9Dave TerrellChevrolet
16Barney SmithPontiac
18Arden MountsPontiac
28Eddie SkinnerFord
37Fred KnappFord
61Bob WhitmireFord
76Larry FrankChevrolet
81Duke DeBrizziOldsmobile
81Jim LinkeOldsmobile
82Joe EubanksPontiac
93Ted ChamberlainPlymouth

Timeline

Section reference: [2]

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References

  1. "1957 Southern 500 weather information". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved 2011-11-25.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "1957 Southern 500 racing results". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2011-03-08.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Darlington Raceway". CBS Sports. Retrieved 2013-05-07.
  4. "1957 Southern 500 crew chief information". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2017-06-11.
  5. "Bobby Myers's fatal crash". How Stuff Works. Retrieved 2011-03-09.
  6. "Bobby Myers's fatal crash (second reference)". Legends of NASCAR. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2011-03-10.
  7. 1 2 "The Studebaker Golden Hawk @ the 1957 Southern 500". Studebaker Racing. Retrieved 2011-03-10.
  8. 1 2 3 "1957 Southern 500 qualifying results". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2017-03-29.
Preceded by Southern 500 races
1957
Succeeded by