The 1977 Southern 500 was a NASCAR

NASCAR

The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...

 Winston Cup Series race that took place on September 5, 1977, at Darlington Raceway

Darlington Raceway

Darlington Raceway is a race track built for NASCAR racing located near Darlington, South Carolina. It is nicknamed the "Lady in Black" and "The Track Too Tough to Tame" by many NASCAR fans and drivers and advertised as "A NASCAR Tradition"...

 in Darlington

Darlington, South Carolina

Darlington is a city in and the county seat of Darlington County, in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of South Carolina. It is a center for tobacco farming. The population was 6,720 at the 2000 census and is part of the Florence Metropolitan Statistical Area...

, South Carolina

South Carolina

South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

.

Summary

Drivers competed for a total of purse $184,200 ($ in today's money).

Darrell Waltrip

Darrell Waltrip

Darrell Lee Waltrip is a 3-time NASCAR Cup Series champion , 3-time runner-up , winner of the 1989 Daytona 500 and 5-time winner of the prestigeous Coca-Cola 600 ,...

 qualified for the pole position with a speed of 153.493 miles per hour (247 km/h). The race covered 367 laps tof the 1.366 miles (2.2 km) paved track, totalling 501.3 miles (806.8 km). After six yellow flags for 93 laps and 32 different leaders, the race lasted four hours and forty-one minutes. Sixty thousand people would watch a race where David Pearson defeated Donnie Allison

Donnie Allison

Dunkiny "Donnie" Allison is a former driver on the NASCAR Grand National/Winston Cup circuit, who won ten times during his racing career, which spanned the 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s. He was part of the "Alabama Gang," and is the brother of 1983 champion Bobby Allison and uncle of Davey Allison...

 by 2.5 seconds with an average speed of 106.797 miles per hour (171.9 km/h).

Bill Elliott

Bill Elliott

William Clyde "Bill" Elliott , also known as Awesome Bill from Dawsonville or Million Dollar Bill, is a part-time driver and former champion of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Elliott was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America on August 15, 2007. He won the 1988 NASCAR Winston Cup...

 earned his first career top-ten finish. Terry Bivins

Terry Bivins

Terry Bivins is a retired NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver whose career spanned from 1975 to 1977.-Summary:He managed to lead only six laps out of 7,901 - the equivalent of . For starting an average of 20th place and finishing an average of 17th, Bivins earned a grand total of $61,725 in total...

 made his final NASCAR appearance in this race.

Top twenty finishers

1. David Pearson
2. Donnie Allison
3. Buddy Baker
   Buddy Baker
   Elzie Wylie Baker, Jr. , nicknamed "Leadfoot" or more famously Buddy, is a former American NASCAR racecar driver.-Early life:...
   
   
4. Richard Petty
   Richard Petty
   Richard Lee Petty is a former NASCAR driver who raced in the Strictly Stock/Grand National Era and the NASCAR Winston Cup Series...
   
   
5. Cale Yarborough
   Cale Yarborough
   William Caleb "Cale" Yarborough , is a farmer, businessman and former NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver and owner. He is one of only two drivers in NASCAR history to win three consecutive championships...
   
   
6. Darrell Waltrip
7. Ricky Rudd
   Ricky Rudd
   Ricky Rudd is a former American NASCAR driver. He is the uncle of actor Skeet Ulrich and Nationwide Series driver Jason Rudd. Rudd is known as the "Iron Man" of NASCAR; holding the record for most consecutive starts in NASCAR racing. At the conclusion of the 2005 season, Rudd had made 788...
   
   
8. Richard Childress
   Richard Childress
   Richard Childress is a former NASCAR driver and the current team owner of Richard Childress Racing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup series. As a business entrepreneur, Childress became one of the wealthiest men in North Carolina...
   
   
9. Bruce Hill
   Bruce Hill
   Bruce Edward Hill is a former professional American football player who selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the fourth round of the 1987 NFL Draft with a draft pick the Buccaneers had received for trading Steve Young. A 6'0", 175-lb. wide receiver from Arizona State, Hill played his entire NFL...
   
   
10. Bill Elliott
11. Ed Negre
    Ed Negre
    Ed Negre is a retired NASCAR Grand National and Winston Cup Series driver who raced from 1955 to 1979....
    
    
12. J.D. McDuffie
    J.D. McDuffie
    John Delphus McDuffie was a NASCAR Winston Cup driver. He raced in the top division of NASCAR from 1963 to 1991. McDuffie had 106 top-tens in his Cup Series career...
    
    
13. James Hylton
    James Hylton
    James Harvey Hylton is a part-time race car driver. He is a two-time winner in NASCAR and competes in the ARCA RE/MAX Series,finishing 16th in points in 2006. He made headlines while attempting to qualify for the 2007 Daytona 500 at age 72...
    
    
14. Buddy Arrington
    Buddy Arrington
    Buddy Arrington is a retired NASCAR Grand National/Winston Cup driver.- Biography :...
    
    
15. Gary Myers
16. Janet Guthrie
    Janet Guthrie
    Janet Guthrie is a retired professional race car driver and the first woman to qualify and compete in both the Indianapolis 500 and the Daytona 500....
    
     (the only female driver in the race)
17. Frank Warren
18. Tommy Gale
    Tommy Gale
    Thomas "Tommy" Gale was an English footballer who played for Sheffield Wednesday and York City in the Football League.-Career:...
    
    
19. Cecil Gordon
    Cecil Gordon
    Cecil Gordon was a NASCAR driver. He is not related to Sprint Cup driver Jeff Gordon although the two drivers drove in car number 24....
    
    
20. Mike Kempton