| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 21 of 29 in the 1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Series | |||
 The 1988 Southern 500 program cover, featuring Dale Earnhardt. | |||
| Date | September 4, 1988 | ||
| Official name | 39th Annual Southern 500 | ||
| Location | Darlington Raceway, Darlington, South Carolina | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 1.366 mi (2.221 km) | ||
| Distance | 367 laps, 501.322 mi (806.799 km) | ||
| Scheduled Distance | 367 laps, 501.322 mi (806.799 km) | ||
| Average speed | 128.297 miles per hour (206.474 km/h) | ||
| Attendance | 50,000 | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Melling Racing | ||
| Time | 30.577 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Bill Elliott | Melling Racing | |
| Laps | 154 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 9 | Bill Elliott | Melling Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | ESPN | ||
| Announcers | Bob Jenkins, Ned Jarrett, Gary Nelson | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | Motor Racing Network | ||
The 1988 Southern 500 was the 21st stock car race of the 1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 39th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, September 4, 1988, before an audience of 50,000 in Darlington, South Carolina, at Darlington Raceway, a 1.366 miles (2.198 km) permanent egg-shaped oval racetrack. The race took the scheduled 367 laps to complete. In the final laps of the race, Melling Racing's Bill Elliott would manage to fend off Blue Max Racing's Rusty Wallace to the finish to take his 28th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his fifth victory of the season.[1][2] To fill out the top three, the aforementioned Rusty Wallace and Richard Childress Racing's Dale Earnhardt would finish second and third, respectively.
- ^ Higgins, Tom (September 5, 1988). "Elliott Holds Off Wallace At Darlington". The Charlotte Observer. pp. 1C, 4C. Retrieved July 18, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ McLaurin, Jim (September 5, 1988). "Elliott nabs Southern 500". The State. pp. 1C, 4C. Retrieved July 18, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
