A program of the event.
The 1959 Southern 500 is the 36th race of the 1959 Grand National Series season, held at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina on September 7, 1959. It is the 10th running of the event.
52 cars entered the event, but two withdrew (Billy Cash and Junior Johnson). During time trials, Junior crashed hard and cut a 140-foot hole in the guardrail in turn 3. Fireball Roberts was awarded the pole for the race with a speed of 123.734 mph.
In the race, Speedy Thompson gained the lead quickly, but Fireball snatched it back and led the next 42 laps. However, Fireball had tire issues, which he would have the whole race. 22-year-old Richard Petty, who was running in his first Southern 500, was in the mix at one point, leading 7 laps, but ultimately ended up spinning out. He later decided to be swapped out of the car so that Marvin Panch could finish it for him. Panch drove the car to a 4th-place finish despite crashing. Meanwhile, short track ace Jim Reed surprisingly came into the picture, leading 51 laps. After Bob Burdick led the following 25 laps, Reed took back the lead on lap 264, leading the final 101 laps en route to his 7th and final Cup Series victory.
Joe Weatherly's #12 Ford was sponsored by Coca-Cola, marking the first time in NASCAR history that Coca-Cola sponsored a car. Weatherly went on to finish 43rd.
The 1960 movie, Thunder in Carolina, mainly takes place in the 1959 Southern 500. Footage of the race can be seen throughout most of the movie.
Results[]
| Pos. | Start | No. | Driver | Owner | Manufacturer | Laps | Laps led | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 14 | 7 | Jim Reed | Jim Reed | Chevrolet | 364 | 152 | Running |
| 2 | 5 | 73 | Bob Burdick | Roy Burdick | Ford | 362 | 25 | Running |
| 3 | 22 | 72 | Bobby Johns | Shorty Johns | Chevrolet | 362 | 57 | Running |
| 4 | 6 | 43 | Richard Petty | Petty Enterprises | Plymouth | 361 | 7 | Running |
| 5 | 16 | 36 | Tommy Irwin | Tommy Irwin | Ford | 358 | 0 | Running |
| 6 | 23 | 88 | Jim Paschal | Lynton Tyson | Chevrolet | 356 | 0 | Running |
| 7 | 1 | 3 | Fireball Roberts | Jim Stephens | Pontiac | 354 | 42 | Running |
| 8 | 20 | 76 | Larry Frank | Larry Frank | Chevrolet | 350 | 0 | Running |
| 9 | 15 | 87 | Buck Baker | Lynton Tyson | Chevrolet | 347 | 0 | Running |
| 10 | 18 | 41 | Jimmy Thompson | Doc White | Ford | 346 | 0 | Running |
| 11 | 28 | 64 | Shep Langdon | Shep Langdon | Ford | 345 | 0 | Running |
| 12 | 25 | 27 | Bill Champion | N/A | Ford | 343 | 0 | Running |
| 13 | 12 | 2 | Joe Caspolich | Paper Hangers | Oldsmobile | 342 | 0 | Running |
| 14 | 3 | 22 | Speedy Thompson | W.J. Ridgeway | Chevrolet | 333 | 2 | Spring |
| 15 | 29 | 16 | Charlie Cregar | Happy Steigel | Pontiac | 331 | 0 | Running |
| 16 | 34 | 19 | Herman Beam | Herman Beam | Chevrolet | 328 | 0 | Running |
| 17 | 4 | 4 | Rex White | Rex White | Chevrolet | 326 | 0 | Driveshaft |
| 18 | 39 | 66 | L.D. Austin | L.D. Austin | Ford | 326 | 0 | Running |
| 19 | 19 | 6 | Cotton Owens | W.H. Watson | Ford | 320 | 24 | Running |
| 20 | 9 | 42 | Lee Petty | Petty Enterprises | Plymouth | 319 | 0 | Running |
| 21 | 32 | 56 | Bud Crothers | Bud Crothers | Chevrolet | 318 | 0 | Running |
| 22 | 47 | 35 | Al White | Al White | Ford | 286 | 0 | Running |
| 23 | 31 | 34 | G.C. Spencer | G.C. Spencer | Chevrolet | 272 | 0 | Battery |
| 24 | 30 | 13 | Earl Balmer | Tommy Thompson | Chevrolet | 234 | 0 | Piston |
| 25 | 27 | 26 | Dick Blackwell | Tommy Irwin | Ford | 225 | 0 | Crash |
| 26 | 24 | 20 | Tiny Lund | Spook Crawford | Ford | 221 | 0 | Clutch |
| 27 | 33 | 30 | Cale Yarborough | Bob Weatherly | Ford | 219 | 0 | Tires |
| 28 | 10 | 47 | Jack Smith | Jack Smith | Chevrolet | 218 | 0 | Axle |
| 29 | 21 | 98 | Marvin Panch | Tom Vernon | Ford | 194 | 0 | Camshaft |
| 30 | 50 | 55 | Johnny Patterson | Bernard Friedland | Chevrolet | 180 | 0 | Axle |
| 31 | 7 | 93 | Banjo Matthews | Banjo Matthews | Ford | 178 | 55 | Crash |
| 32 | 46 | 32 | George Green | Jess Potter | Chevrolet | 175 | 0 | Engine |
| 33 | 35 | 9 | Roy Tyner | Roy Tyner | Chevrolet | 166 | 0 | Timing |
| 34 | 38 | 5 | Bob Duell | Julian Buesink | Ford | 151 | 0 | Pistons |
| 35 | 11 | 49 | Bob Welborn | Bob Welborn | Chevrolet | 130 | 0 | Crash |
| 36 | 17 | 59 | Tom Pistone | Carl Rupert | Ford | 119 | 0 | Engine |
| 37 | 41 | 91 | Neil Castles | N/A | Ford | 92 | 0 | Running |
| 38 | 13 | 92 | Possum Jones | Gerald Duke | Ford | 74 | 0 | Brakes |
| 39 | 43 | 83 | Lennie Page | Lennie Page | Ford | 71 | 0 | Engine |
| 40 | 40 | 95 | Buddy Baker | Julian Buesink | Ford | 64 | 0 | Engine |
| 41 | 42 | 23 | Bob Perry | Bob Perry | Plymouth | 63 | 0 | Engine |
| 42 | 49 | 44 | Joe Lee Johnson | Chester Barron | Chevrolet | 58 | 0 | Transmission |
| 43 | 8 | 12 | Joe Weatherly | Doc White | Ford | 54 | 0 | Oil pressure |
| 44 | 36 | 71 | Dick Joslin | Dick Joslin | Dodge | 46 | 0 | Head gasket |
| 45 | 2 | 10 | Elmo Langley | Ratus Walters | Buick | 41 | 0 | Engine |
| 46 | 26 | 61 | Joe Eubanks | W.H. Watson | Pontiac | 26 | 0 | Pistons |
| 47 | 48 | 15 | Marvin Porter | Marvin Porter | Ford | 19 | 0 | Head gasket |
| 48 | 45 | 82 | Elmo Henderson | Don Every | Ford | 16 | 0 | Engine |
| 49 | 44 | 86 | Larry Flynn | Larry Flynn | Ford | 11 | 0 | Rear end |
| 50 | 37 | 14 | Carl Burris | N/A | Ford | 2 | 0 | Engine |
Gallery[]
Images[]
Videos[]
