Official name Southern 500 | ||
Date September 1, 1952 (1952-September-01) Course Permanent racing facility1.250 mi (2.011 km) Distance 500 laps, 500.0 mi (804.6 km) Weather Hot with temperatures reaching up to 91 °F (33 °C); wind speeds up to 11.1 miles per hour (17.9 km/h) | ||
The 1952 Southern 500, the third running of the event, was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on September 1, 1952, at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina.
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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. 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. The front stretch (the location of the finish line) and the back stretch is banked at six degrees. Darlington Raceway can seat up to 60,000 people.
Summary
Seven cautions were waved for forty laps in front of 32,400 audience members. The notable speeds were: 74.512 miles per hour (119.915 km/h) as the average speed and 88.550 miles per hour (142.507 km/h) as the pole position speed. This race was constantly threatened to be postponed because of rain and was red flagged once because of actual rainfall. It took six hours, forty-two minutes, and thirty-seven seconds for the race to reach its conclusion, making it the slowest Southern 500 ever; Fonty Flock was the winner. He would stop on the front straight, climb up on his hood and lead the entire crowd in singing his own version of the classic Southern American song Dixie. Flock's uniform would consist of Bermuda shorts and argyle socks in addition to a pencil-thin moustache reminiscent of Clark Gable.
Total winnings for this race were $23,855 ($215,143.40 when adjusted for inflation). Sixty-six divers competed; all of them were born in the United States of America. Jim Paschal was the last place driver of the race; finishing in 66th with an engine problem on lap 18. Jimmy Ingram flipped his vehicle over on lap 91; causing him to give up on his NASCAR Cup Series career until his return in 1980 to compete in the 1980 Mason-Dixon 500. Ranier-Lundy Racing and Petty Enterprises were the only non-independent racing teams to show up for this racing event.
Tony Bonadies, Johnny Bridgers, Merritt Brown, Johnny Gouveia, Keith Hamner, Possum Jones, Pete Kelly, Banjo Matthews and Joe Weatherly made their NASCAR Grand National Series debut in this event. Roy Hall, Rudy Hires, Jimmy Ingram, Bill Miller, E.C. Ramsey and Rollin Smith would never race in professional stock car racing after this event was resolved. W.E. Baker, Al Conroy, Al Fleming and Herb Fry would make their only NASCAR appearances at this race.