The Dixie 500, held on November 6, 1977, at Atlanta International Raceway in Hampton, Georgia, was the 29th race of the 30-event NASCAR Winston Cup Series season. This 500-mile event was scheduled for 328 laps on the 1.522-mile quad-oval but was shortened to 268 laps due to rain and darkness, with Darrell Waltrip claiming the victory in the #88 Gatorade/DiGard Chevrolet after starting eighth and leading 15 laps in a dramatic finish. The top three finishers were Darrell Waltrip in first, David Pearson in second (driving the #21 Purolator Mercury), and Benny Parsons in third (in the #72 King’s Row Fireplace Chevrolet). Cale Yarborough (in the #11 Holly Farms Chevrolet for Junior Johnson & Associates) finished fifth, having led 33 laps, but by this penultimate race of the season, he had already clinched his second consecutive Winston Cup championship earlier in the year. The race purse totaled $148,975, featured multiple lead changes, and included strategy influenced by the weather-shortened conditions. Attendance was announced at 32,000 at one of NASCAR’s key Southern tracks during the 1970s stock car era.
