34°17′50.5″N 79°54′18.4″W / 34.297361°N 79.905111°W
| Race details[1][2] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 44 of 56 in the 1956 NASCAR Grand National Series season | |||
 1956 Southern 500 program cover | |||
| Date | September 3, 1956 | ||
| Location | Darlington Raceway, Darlington, South Carolina | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 1.375 mi (2.221 km) | ||
| Distance | 400 laps, 500 mi (800 km) | ||
| Weather | Very hot with temperatures of 89.1 °F (31.7 °C); wind speed of 13 miles per hour (21 km/h) | ||
| Average speed | 95.167 mph (153.156 km/h) | ||
| Attendance | 70,000[3] | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Carl Kiekhaefer | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Curtis Turner | Charlie Schwam | |
| Laps | 225 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 99 | Curtis Turner | Charlie Schwam | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | WJMX (local AM radio) | ||
| Announcers | Local radio announcers | ||
The 1956 Southern 500, the seventh running of the event, was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on September 3, 1956, at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina.
This race was considered to be the "Labor Day Classic" for 1956; complete with a pre-race beauty pageant with a judging panel led by Fonty Flock for the title of Ms. Southern 500 (won by 19 year old Robin Williamson of South Carolina[4]) and a parade down the front stretch of the race track.
- ^ "1956 Southern 500 weather information". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved 2011-03-03.
- ^ "1956 Southern 500 racing results (second reference)". Legends of NASCAR. Retrieved 2011-08-26.
- ^ "1956 Southern 500 racing results". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2011-01-18.
- ^ 1956 Darlington Southern 500 (in color), retrieved 2021-05-01[dead YouTube link]