The numerology is neat with Southern 500s on September 5 th with races held in:
- 1955
- 1966
- 1977
Unfortunately, the trend did not continue. The 1988 edition was run on September 4 th instead. Why? The move from Labor Day to Sunday.
1955 - Herb Thomas Herb won back-to-back races over a 2-1/2 week span after being critically injured in a terrible wreck at Charlotte on May 1. Tim Leeming posted [ here ] about Herb's first comeback win at Raleigh.
Joe Weatherly led the most laps (140), and Fonty Flock led 84. But both crashed out of the race and finished deep in the field. The race was the final GN start for Lloyd Moore. Also, Marvin Panch finished 13th in a #44 Chevrolet for Julian Petty.
Pole-winner Fireball Roberts led 4 laps. But then he crashed around lap 30 and finished 66th in the 69-car field.
Arden Mounts had an awful wreck as shown in this photo.
Herb takes the checkers.
1966 -Darel Dieringer
Earl Balmers wild ride that Im sure soiled some shorts in the pitiful little press box.
From Harvey Tollison's collection
Legendary motorsports writer Tom Higgins was in the press box that day and wrote these memories:
http://www.thatsracin.com/2013/05/10/105583/higgins-scuffs-old-darlington.html
Press box needed a catchfence
In 1966 I was covering the garage area and pits for The Observer during the Southern 500 while new motorsports beat writer Bob Moore reported from the press box, an open facility that hung over the first turn.
Members of the media had feared the place for years, and on the 185th of the races 364 laps it appeared the worst had happened. A Dodge driven by Earl Balmer of the K&K team suddenly swept atop the guard rail and seemed headed straight into the press box, which had only chicken wire for protection. I was horrified.
Balmers car, taking down railing, threw some small parts into the box, along with gasoline from a ruptured fuel tank. Thank God no one was smoking at the time, or the facility possibly would have erupted into flame.
The crashing car angled back toward the track just after passing the press box, hurling bigger parts over the rail.
In his great series of books, Forty Years of Stock Car Racing, author Greg Fielden quotes a shaken Balmer: I thought sure as hell I was going into the press box. All I think was, Oh, those poor people up there!
I wrote, Sports writers dived for cover like soldiers seeking the sanctuary of a fox hole.
An outraged Bob Hoffman, a journalist from High Point, immediately started drawing up a petition. It read, in part: We hereby notify Darlington Raceway that we will not endanger our lives in the future by covering Darlington events from the present location.
By the next race, the Rebel 400 in May of 1967 a new, enclosed press box had been built, situated much higher above the track.
For years that petition has been displayed prominently at Darlington. And the press facility was given a nickname that endured: Balmers Box.
Another Harvey Tollison pic of Dieringer
Note Dixie Cup winner's trophy in foreground.
1977 - David Pearson
Photographer Brian Cleary has several pictures from this race at his website. Unfortunately he doesn't have one of the winning 21 Mercury of The Silver Fox. Haven't landed on one elsewhere yet either.
http://briancleary-bcpix.photoshelter.com/gallery/1977-Darlington-Sept/G0000XOxufxkGQto/C0000ssG1Lv6ZWGQ
1983 - Bobby Allison
Race program source: Motor Racing Programme Covers
Pace car
The King taking Morgan Shepherd (middle) and Buddy Baker (outside) 3 wide on a re-start with DW and Terry Labonte in pursuit.
The winner takes the checkers.
Source: BobbyAllison.com
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Schaefer: It's not just for racing anymore.
updated by @tmc-chase: 02/21/17 07:30:15PM
