1957 Southern 500
The 1957 Southern 500 was a NASCAR Grand National Series racing event that took place on September 2, 1957 at the famous Darlington Speedway in Darlington, South Carolina. The event took five hours and one second to resolve itself on a paved oval track spanning 1.375 miles (2.213 km) for a total distance of 500.5 miles (805.5 km). Seventy-five thousand fans would attend this live NASCAR racing event.
As a result, Speedy Thompson dedeated Cotton Owens while traveling at a speed of 100.094 miles per hour (161.086 km/h) by simply lapping him three times during the race. Owens would acquire the pole position with a speed of 117.416 miles per hour (188.963 km/h) during the qualifying session, however, due to the abundant amount of clean air created by driving solo. would receive the last-place finish due to a problem with his brakes on lap 3 out of 364. Bobby Myers would lose his life as a result of a race-related crash; Fonty Flock and Paul Goldsmith would also be involved in this accident. George Parrish would make a notable appearance in this race using a 1956 Studebaker Golden Hawk; he would witness the fatal crash of Bobby Myers at an extremely close range. Since he had two children living at home with his wife, Parrish decided that the risky world of NASCAR racing wasn't for him and retired after the 1958 NASCAR Cup Series season.
As a rookie, Cale Yarborough would make his NASCAR debut here and would finish in 42nd place (out of 50 drivers). Fonty Flock would retire after this race.
References
Retrieved from : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1957_Southern_500
