1950 Southern 500

Auto race held at Darlington Raceway in 1950 February 2025 CUST Race 13 of 19 in the 1950 NASCAR Grand National Series season Complete weather information for the 1950 Southern 500 at The Old Farmers' Almanac 1950 09 4 1950 13 19 1950_Southern_500_program_cover.jpg Program promoting the 1950 Southern 500. Darlington Raceway, Darlington, South Carolina 1.25 2.012 400 500 800 Very hot with temperatures of 90 F C; wind speeds of 8.9 mph km/h 82.766 mph on 25,000 Curtis Turner John Eanes 43.884 seconds1950 Southern 500 qualifying information https://web.archive.org/web/20151024051122/http://www.racing-reference.info/getqualify?s=5&srs=W&id=1950-13 October 24, 2015 at Racing Reference Johnny Mantz Hubert Westmoreland 351 98 Johnny Mantz Hubert Westmoreland Southern 500 The inaugural Southern 500 was an automobile race held at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina on September 4, 1950, as part of the 1950 NASCAR Grand National. While the 1950 race was co-sanctioned by NASCAR and its rival Central States Racing Association, all subsequent Southern 500 races were hosted exclusively by NASCAR.NASCAR Off the Record at Google Books thumb|Layout of Darlington Raceway. It is NASCAR's first 500-mile race, and still holds status as one of NASCAR's premier events. Since there had never been a 500-mile stock car race and Darlington was NASCAR's first superspeedway, drivers and teams came to the event with unique strategies. Darlington set the precedent for race strategies to come at tracks like the Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway. Background The track at the time was a four-turn 1.25 mi km on oval.http://www.cbssports.com/nascar/tracks/page/darlington/darlington-raceway Darlington Raceway CBS Sports 2013-05-07 2012-10-19 https://web.archive.org/web/20121019184749/http://www.cbssports.com/nascar/tracks/page/darlington/darlington-raceway dead The track's first two turns are banked at twenty-five degrees, while the final two are banked two degrees lower at twenty-three degrees. The front stretch (the location of the finish line) and the backstretch is banked at six degrees. Harold Brasington was a retired racer in 1948, who had gotten to know Bill France Sr. while competing against France at the Daytona Beach and Road Course and other dirt tracks in the Southeast and Midwestern United States.Fleischman Bill Al Pearce The Unauthorized NASCAR Fan Guide (1998-99) https://archive.org/details/unauthorizednasc00flei registration Visible Ink Press 1999 7 He began planning a new speedway after he noticed the huge crowds while attending the 1948 Indianapolis 500 and thought, "If Tony Hulman can do it here, I can do it back home." Brasington bought 70 acres from farmer Sherman Ramsey and started making a race track from a cotton and peanut field. However, he was forced to create an egg-shaped oval with one corner tighter, narrower, and more steeply banked because he promised Ramsey that the new track would not disturb Ramsey's minnow pond at the west side of the property. Brasington was able to make the other turn at the east side of the property wide, sweeping, and flat as he wanted. It took almost a year to build the track. Race report Historical information The Interstate Highway System would not begin construction until later in the decade; its heyday and prominence as an "American superhighway" for leisure and business travel did not kick in until the late 1960s when NASCAR first felt the need to expand outside its regional "shell" and into the national stage.Darlington made stock car racing a modern sport at NASCAR.com Qualifying More than 80 entrants showed up for the race. Brasington used a two-week qualifying scheme and arranged the 75 cars in three rows of 25, similar to the Indianapolis 500.Fleischman, page 8 During those two weeks of qualifications, locals could take their cars and try to qualify, unlike today where independent contract drivers used to run the races. Drivers who failed to qualify for the race were Dorothy Shull, Bill Bennett, Lewis Hawkins, Pap White, Louise Smith, and Pat Sutton. The fastest qualifying speed was 82.034 mph km/h or by Wally Campbell, while the slowest was 74.637 mph km/h or by Bill Widenhouse. Herb Thomas did qualify for the race beforehand; the car was on the grid until just before the race when it was repossessed, counting as an automatic withdrawal for Thomas. Pee Wee Martin and Bob Smith retired from professional stock car racing after this event. Byron Beatty, Walt Crawford, P.E. Godfrey, Bill Henson, Pete Keller, Jerry Kempf, Lee Morgan, Dick Soper, and Jack Yardley made their only NASCAR start in this event. Weldon Adams, Roy Bentley, Jack Carr, Gene Comstock, Gene Darragh, John DuBoise, Carson Dyer, Joe Eubanks, Johnny Grubb, J.E. Hardie, Tex Keene, Bub King, Virgil Livengood, Hub McBride, Hershel McGriff, Bill Osborne, Barney Smith, Rollin Smith, Jesse James Taylor, Charles Tidwell, Murrace Walker, Bill Widenhouse and Shorty York began their NASCAR career at this race and established the first generation of stock car drivers.1950 Southern 500 results: race-database.com http://www.race-database.com/results/results.php?year=1950&race=13&series_id=2 2022-11-15 www.race-database.com Analysis U.S. Senator Strom Thurmond was the official marshal for the 1950 Southern 500.Information about the official marshal https://web.archive.org/web/20110723212216/http://www.msgexp.net/~mnewell/nasfacts2.html July 23, 2011 at 50 Things You May Not Know About NASCARPaul Finkelman and Peter Wallenstein, eds. The Encyclopedia Of American Political History (CQ Press, 2001) pp. 124–126 The top prize for the race was $10,510 ($US 10,510 1950 0 c when adjusted for inflation) while the lowest prize was $100 ($US 100 1950 0 c when adjusted for inflation) for 72nd-75th place. Seventy-five cars competed in this era of relatively unregulated racing for a total of $25,325 in winnings ($US 25,325 1950 0 c when adjusted for inflation). For that ear, it was considered remarkable that there were more than 50 cars out of the 75 starters still running on lap 300 of 400. thumb|right|Johnny Mantz's winning Plymouth with car owner Hubert Westmoreland Gober Sosebee led the first four laps. Curtis Turner, the polesitter, then led until lap 22 before being wrecked out of the race on lap 275 with a significant amount of roof damage. After Turner lost the lead, Cotton Owens lead for 23 laps. After that, Mantz led to the finish. Mantz had taken advantage of an offer from Firestone to test a tire designed for asphalt stock car racing. While some cars used over 60 tires to go the remainder of the race, Mantz kept increasing his lead and won by over nine laps. The total time of the race was 6 hours, 38 minutes, and 40 seconds. The average speed was 75.250 mph km/h on while the pole position speed was 82.034 mph km/h on. Two cautions lasted thirteen laps. Four hundred laps were done spanning 1.250 mi km on. Most of the known DNFs in the race were caused by crashes, the worst of which involved drivers Tex Keene, Curtis Turner, and Jack Smith all rolling their cars over the course of the race.Race Graph https://www.racing-reference.info/race-graph/?id=1950-13&series=W 2022-11-15 Racing-Reference en-US For the average car in the race, the tire load unleashed on the tires on the new, paved circuit was too much on the tires, whether it was a Firestone or a random dirt tire. A legend spread around that teams were so desperate to get new tires that they would steal the tires from parking lots and the infield from the spectators. The race is considered to be the first "tire disaster" in NASCAR history, with the next major tire disaster being the 1969 Talladega 500.Blood on the Asphalt: The NASCAR Tire Wars of 1988-89 & 1994 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIwr2uCNXIc https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211215/FIwr2uCNXIc 2021-12-15 live en 2021-05-31 Results Finishing order Section reference: PosStNo.DriverCarLapsMoneyStatusLed14398Johnny Mantz'50 Plymouth40010510running35126782Fireball Roberts'50 Oldsmobile3913500running03722Red Byron'50 Cadillac3902000running042359Bill Rexford'50 Oldsmobile3851500running051577Chuck Mahoney'50 Mercury3811000running063542Lee Petty'49 Plymouth380800running073871Cotton Owens'50 Plymouth380930running238642Bill Blair'49 Cadillac375600running094452Hershel McGriff'50 Oldsmobile374500running0102661George Hartley'50 Oldsmobile371450running011169Tim Flock'50 Oldsmobile370400running0125744Johnny Grubb'50 Plymouth368350running0136226Dick Linder'50 Oldsmobile367300running0146889John DuBoise'50 Ford367250running0157272Weldon Adams'49 Plymouth367225running0163299Barney Smith'50 Oldsmobile366275running017351Gober Sosebee'50 Oldsmobile364290running4185239Elmer Wilson'49 Plymouth360100running019214Joe Eubanks'50 Mercury359running0201943Shorty York'50 Buick358running0215164Walt Crawford'50 Buick358running02233Murrace Walker'50 Oldsmobile358running02348Gene Comstock'50 Oldsmobile355 0242717Jack White'50 Ford354 0257165Byron Beatty'50 Ford351 02653Bill Widenhouse'49 Plymouth350 02747Bob Flock'50 Oldsmobile348running0281047Fonty Flock'50 Oldsmobile346 0291319Jack Smith'50 Oldsmobile345crash0303034Pee Wee Martin'50 Oldsmobile344100overheating03155Lee Morgan'49 Oldsmobile342running0328Hub McBride'50 Mercury341 03311Slick Smith'50 Oldsmobile340 0341245Ted Chamberlain'50 Plymouth338running035666Virgil Livengood'50 Oldsmobile338running0369Billy Carden'50 Ford338running0371437Bill Snowden'50 Nash338running0382221Harold Kite'49 Lincoln334 0392549Glenn Dunaway'50 Lincoln333 040225Jimmy Thompson'50 Lincoln332125engine0416527Jimmy Florian'50 Ford331spindle0422035Bob Smith'50 Oldsmobile331running043240Jimmie Lewallen'50 Oldsmobile330 04475Jesse James Taylor'50 Mercury329 04529Bub King'50 Mercury329 0463624Gene Darragh'50 Hudson323 04739Roy Bentley'50 Studebaker319 04842J. E. Hardie'50 Studebaker317 04934Jerry Kempf'50 Lincoln315 0504636Bill Osborne'50 Mercury311100 05137Carson Dyer'50 Lincoln310 0526033Wally Campbell'50 Oldsmobile309100 0534079Jim Paschal'50 Ford307 0544518Charles Tidwell'49 Oldsmobile300100 05541Ruel Smith'50 Pontiac289 05647Al Keller'50 Oldsmobile284 05750Dick Soper'50 Kaiser282 05854Pete Keller'50 Studebaker281 05956P. E. Godfrey'49 Lincoln278 060141Curtis Turner'50 Oldsmobile275320crash226149Bob Apperson'49 Oldsmobile249 06255Tommy Thompson'50 Hudson238 063616Marshall Teague'50 Lincoln230 0647014Tex Keene'50 Plymouth229crash0653138Clyde Minter'50 Lincoln219100 06674Rollin Smith'50 Hudson208 0671786Bill Henson'49 Oldsmobile200100 0685048Gayle Warren'49 Oldsmobile188100 0692887Buck Baker'49 Oldsmobile176crash0705846Kenneth Wagner'49 Lincoln155100 0711862Lloyd Moore'50 Lincoln112100 0727348Alton Haddock'50 Ford98100 0736954Jack Yardley'50 Ford89 07466Jack Carr'50 Mercury52engine07563Roscoe Thompson'49 Oldsmobile24overheating0Failed to qualify, withdrew, or driver changePosNameNo.CarBill BennettKaiserLewis HawkinsPlymouthDorothy ShullOldsmobilePap WhiteMercuryPat Sutton54FordLouise Smith94NashWDHerb Thomas92Plymouth Timeline Section reference: Start of race: Gober Sosebee officially started the race with the pole position. Lap 5: Curtis Turner took over the lead from Gober Sosebee. Lap 24: Roscoe Thompson overheated his vehicle, making him the last-place finisher. Lap 27: Cotton Owens took over the lead from Curtis Turner. Lap 50: Johnny Mantz took over the lead from Cotton Owens. Lap 52: Jack Carr's vehicle overheated while he was racing. Lap 89: Jack Yardley failed to finish the race. Lap 98: Alton Haddock failed to finish the race. Lap 112: Lloyd Moore failed to finish the race. Lap 155: Kenneth Wagner failed to finish the race. Lap 176: Buck Baker had a terminal crash, forcing him to retire from the event. Lap 188: Gayle Warner failed to finish the race. Lap 200: Bill Henson failed to finish the race. Lap 208: Rollin Smith failed to finish the race. Lap 219: Clyde Minter failed to finish the race. Lap 229: Tex Keene had a terminal crash, forcing him to retire from the event. Lap 230: Marshall Teague failed to finish the race. Lap 238: Tommy Thompson failed to finish the race. Lap 249: Bob Apperson failed to finish the race. Lap 278: P.E. Godfrey failed to finish the race. Lap 281: Pete Keller failed to finish the race. Lap 282: Dick Soper failed to finish the race. Lap 284: Al Keller failed to finish the race. Lap 320: Curtis Turner had a terminal crash after leading 22 laps, forcing him to retire from the event. Lap 331: Jimmy Florian had a problem with his vehicle's spindle, knocking him out of the race. Lap 332: Jimmy Thompson managed to overheat his vehicle's engine. Lap 333: Glenn Dunaway finished well behind the lead lap drivers, his standing wasn't fully recorded. Lap 334: Harold Kite finished well behind the lead lap drivers, his standing wasn't fully recorded. Lap 340: Slick Smith finished well behind the lead lap drivers, his standing wasn't fully recorded. Lap 341: Hub McBride finished well behind the lead lap drivers, his standing wasn't fully recorded. Lap 344: Pee Wee Martin managed to overheat his vehicle while he was racing. Lap 345: Jack Smith had a terminal crash, forcing him to retire from the event. Lap 346: Fonty Flock finished well behind the lead lap drivers, his standing wasn't fully recorded. Lap 350: Bill Widenhouse finished well behind the lead lap drivers, his standing wasn't fully recorded. Lap 351: Byron Beaty finished well behind the lead lap drivers, his standing wasn't fully recorded. Lap 354: Jack White finished well behind the lead lap drivers, his standing wasn't fully recorded. Lap 355: Gene Comstock finished well behind the lead lap drivers, his standing wasn't fully recorded. Finish: Johnny Mantz was officially declared the winner of the event. References none 1951 Southern 500 races 1950 Southern 500 Southern 500 Category:NASCAR races at Darlington Raceway Southern 500