| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 23 of 31 in the 1996 NASCAR Winston Cup Series | |||
 1996 Southern 500 program cover | |||
| Date | September 1, 1996 | ||
| Official name | Mountain Dew Southern 500 | ||
| Location | Darlington Raceway, Darlington County, South Carolina | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 1.366 miles (2.198 km) | ||
| Distance | 367 laps, 501.322 mi (806.800 km) | ||
| Weather | Temperatures reaching up to 86 °F (30 °C); wind speeds up to 10.2 miles per hour (16.4 km/h) [1] | ||
| Average speed | 135.757 miles per hour (218.480 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Robert Yates Racing | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Hut Stricklin | Stavola Brothers Racing | |
| Laps | 143 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 24 | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | ESPN | ||
| Announcers | Bob Jenkins, Ned Jarrett and Benny Parsons | ||
The 1996 Mountain Dew Southern 500, the 47th running of the event, was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race held on September 1, 1996 at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina. Contested over 367 laps on the 1.366-mile (2.198-kilometre) speedway, it was the 23rd race of the 1996 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season. Jeff Gordon of Hendrick Motorsports won the race.