1988 Southern 500


The 1988 Southern 500, the 39th running of the event, was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that took place on September 4, 1988, at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina.
All the wives of the participating NASCAR drivers received a special racing pass that allowed them to access all aspects of racing life except for the pits where the drivers' crew did their actual work.

Background

, 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 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 and the back stretch is banked at six degrees. Darlington Raceway can seat up to 60,000 people.

Summary

Lasting almost four hours, this final "traditional" Southern 500 racing event would feature Bill Elliott defeating Rusty Wallace by 0.24 seconds; the average speed of the race was. Four drivers would fail to qualify for this race; which had ten cautions for a whopping 49 laps. 74000 people would attend the race to see 367 laps of racing action; last-place finisher Harry Gant would only finish 50 of them due to engine difficulties. Twenty-four different changes would be made for the first-place position of the race. The pole winner was also the winner of the race; qualifying with speeds up to. Both Richard Petty and his son Kyle would compete in this race. Notable drivers at the race also included Darrell Waltrip, Terry Labonte, and Alan Kulwicki.
Two different drivers would be involved in accidents; Derrike Cope on lap 203 and Ken Ragan on lap 308. A stock car carrying the Ford manufacturer won the race while Chevrolet was the official manufacturer of the last-place finisher. The total purse of the race was $431,345 ; with the winner taking $75,800 of the purse.
From the following year to the end of the autumn Southern 500 races in 2004, a sponsor's name would be added to the overall race name; reducing the traditionalism surrounding the early "Southern 500" races.

Timeline

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