History
NASCAR's first 500-mile race was launched in 1950 at the first superspeedway, Darlington Raceway in Darlington, SC.
Darlington was originally planned as an oval track, but the owner of the land wanted to preserve a minnow pond near turn 2, so the layout was drawn in and turns 1 and 2 were narrowed, giving the 1.366-mile track a unique egg shape.
Harold Brasington built the speedway specifically to host a 500-mile race. There were many doubters, including Bill France, the founder of NASCAR.
However, a rival stock car organization announced plans to hold its own 500-mile race on a 1-mile dirt track. France persuaded the organization to move the race to Darlington's longer, paved track, guaranteeing that NASCAR's top drivers would participate, and the Southern 500 was born.
The race was originally run on Labor Day weekend, then moved to mid-November. Beginning in 2005, it will be held in May. The name has varied because of sponsorship. It was known as the Heinz 500 from 1989 through 1991 and as the Pepsi Southern 500 from 1998 through 2000. From 1992 through 1997, it was the Mountain Dew Southern 500, and it took that name again in 2001, when Mountain Dew resumed its sponsorship. In 2005, it became the Carolina Dodge Dealers 500. It's now the Dodge Challenger 500.