1976 Southern 500

1976 Southern 500

Race details[1]
Race 22 of 30 in the 1976 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season
1976 Southern 500 program cover
Date	September 5, 1976 (1976-September-05)
Official name	Southern 500
Location	Darlington Raceway, Darlington, South Carolina
Course	Permanent racing facility 1.375 mi (2.212 km)
Distance	367 laps, 500.5 mi (805.4 km)
Weather	Very hot with temperatures of 84.9 °F (29.4 °C); wind speeds of 7 miles per hour (11 km/h)
Average speed	120.534 miles per hour (193.981 km/h)
Pole position
Driver	David Pearson	Wood Brothers Racing
Most laps led
Driver	David Pearson	Wood Brothers Racing
Laps	93
Winner
No. 21	David Pearson	Wood Brothers Racing
Television in the United States
Network	ABC
Announcers	Keith Jackson Chris Economaki

The 1976 Southern 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that took place on September 5, 1976, at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina.

The five drivers that dominated the 1976, NASCAR Winston Cup Series season were David Pearson (average finish of 7th place), Cale Yarborough (average finish of 8th place), Richard Petty (average finish of 9th place), Benny Parsons (average finish of 10th place), and Bobby Allison (average finish 12th place).

Jimmy Carter, who had at one time had been a ticket taker at the Atlanta Motor Speedway and was later the Governor of Georgia and who would be elected President in November, visited this race as part of his ultimately successful presidential campaign.