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The Southern 500 is one of NASCAR’s crown jewels and one of the most coveted races on the schedule for drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series to win. A Labor Day tradition, the history of this event runs deep, and winning at Darlington always carries a little more weight for drivers who always want to conquer the Track Too Tough to Tame. We’re going to look at some of the most iconic moments over the years from the Southern 500.
In 1985, NASCAR set a challenge named after the series title sponsor at the time, Winston Cigarettes, called the Winston Million. This challenge was pretty simple. One million dollars would be paid out to any driver who could win three NASCAR crown jewel events in a single season. Bill Elliott, NASCAR’s most popular driver, wasted no time becoming the first driver to win the Winston Million after capturing his third and final required crown jewel win with the Southern 500 in its very first year. The victory catapulted Elliott into superstardom, and earned him the nicknames “Million Dollar Bill” and “Awesome Bill From Dawsonville”.
It took nearly 12 years, but someone finally won the Winston Million again after Bill Elliott did it in 1985. That someone was young superstar Jeff Gordon, who was able to win the Daytona 500 and Coca-Cola 600 to set himself up with a chance to win the Winston. After holding off a late charge from Jeff Burton, Gordon became only the second driver to secure the Winston Million. He would cap off his amazing 1997 with a Cup Series championship.
Talk about your all-time upsets. That’s what happened in 2011 when Regan Smith, driving for single-car team Furniture Row Racing, held off a late charge from Carl Edwards to capture his first and only NASCAR Cup Series victory. What a place to get your only win, at the track that is widely known as the toughest on the schedule, in one of the sports crown jewel events. This one will always be remembered.
In the 2015 Southern 500, Carl Edwards pulled off the most improbable win of his NASCAR career. Down two laps early in the race, Edwards never gave up and continued grinding. Eventually getting himself back on the lead lap, Edwards was able to work his way to the front of the field. With 11 laps to go, he was able to track down and pass race leader Brad Keselowski and cruised to his one and only victory at Darlington.
A special moment for all NASCAR fans came in the 2022 Southern 500. Erik Jones, who had been booted from Joe Gibbs Racing in favor of Christopher Bell, took the wheel of the iconic Petty No. 43 starting in 2021. Jones and Petty GMS were not on the radar going into Darlington to start the playoffs in 2022, and the Jones, not being in the playoffs, had nothing to lose. Jones ran a great race and was in a good position late despite the dominance shown by Kyle Busch. When Busch had an engine issue that forced him to retire from the race, Jones inherited the lead and never looked back. Holding off a hard-charging Denny Hamlin, Jones captured the first win in No. 43 since Aric Almirola won in 2014.
These were some of our favorite Southern 500 moments. What are some of yours? Do you agree with the ones we picked? Were there any you can think of that we missed? Let us know! Connect with us on our socials at The Daily Downforce, and stick with us all season for the latest NASCAR news.
