Photo finishes and a $1 million prize: 10 memorable NASCAR moments at Darlington

Shane Connuck, The Charlotte Observer on Apr 5, 2025

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Darlington is a staple in NASCAR, one of the Cup Series’ toughest ovals for the past 75 years.

The 1.366-mile track in South Carolina has hosted more than its share of historic moments since 1950. From Richard Petty to David Pearson to Carl Edwards, many of NASCAR’s greatest drivers have won races at the track famously known as being “too tough to tame.”

A look back at 10 memorable moments at Darlington Raceway:

Early on: The most cars entered in a NASCAR race

On Sept. 3, 1950, 82 cars entered the second Southern 500 at Darlington. Herb Thomas won the race featuring the biggest field a NASCAR race has had.

Largest margin of victory

Ned Jarrett recorded his only win at Darlington on Sept. 6, 1965. He finished 14 laps ahead of runner-up Buck Baker, marking the largest margin of victory in NASCAR history.

Darrell Waltrip edges Richard Petty for wild 1979 victory

The two NASCAR Hall of Famers led nearly the entire April 8, 1979, race at Darlington and traded the lead several times during the final laps. Waltrip made an epic pass from the inside to get the victory after he and Petty each led twice on the last lap.

Bill Elliott wins first Winston Million

Any driver who could win each of the sport’s three crown jewel races — the Daytona 500, Coca-Cola 600 and Southern 500 — became eligible for a $1 million prize from Winston in 1985. That year at Darlington, fan-favorite Bill Elliott passed Cale Yarborough late to win from the pole and complete the trifecta.

Jeff Gordon claims Southern 500 win, second Winston Million

Twelve years after “Million Dollar Bill,” Jeff Gordon, a four-time Cup Series champion added this accomplishment to his resume. Gordon won the Southern 500 on Aug. 31, 1997, pulling off the second Winston Million after he’d also won at Daytona and Charlotte en route to his second series title that year.

Photo finish at Darlington

Now the second-closest finish in Cup Series history after last season at Kansas, Ricky Craven edged Kurt Busch by 0.002 seconds on March 16, 2003, in the spring race at Darlington.

Regan Smith gets only Cup win

On May 7, 2011, Regan Smith — now a pit reporter for NASCAR on Fox — won the only race of his Cup Series career, defeating newly-inducted Hall of Famer Carl Edwards by 0.196 seconds in the Southern 500.

Edwards wins at ‘Carlington’

Edwards got his only win at Darlington on Sept. 6, 2015, as he won the Southern 500 during the first throwback weekend. His crew taped over part of the “D” on the painted “Darlington” sign, and Edwards joked that “we made it Carlington” as he celebrated one of the biggest wins of his career.

NASCAR returns during pandemic

After the sport had suspended its season because of the COVID-19 pandemic, NASCAR returned with a race at Darlington on May 17, 2020, and it was won by Kevin Harvick.

Chris Buescher confronts Tyler Reddick

Following a strong Brad Keselowski victory last May, two Cup Series playoff candidates got into it on pit road. Eventual regular-season champion Tyler Reddick slammed Chris Buescher into the wall late in the race, and the non-victorious RFK Racing driver gave the recent winner a piece of his mind.