The 1967 Southern 500, held on September 4 at the historic Darlington Raceway, was one of the most dominant performances of Richard Petty’s legendary season. A field of 44 cars took the start in front of a crowd of 57,000 fans. Petty captured the pole position and wasted little time asserting his superiority on the tricky 1.375-mile egg-shaped oval.
Driving the famous No. 43 Plymouth, Petty led a commanding 345 of the 364 laps. There were only three caution periods that slowed the race for a total of 25 laps. In the end, Petty cruised to victory, finishing a full five laps ahead of second-place finisher David Pearson. G.C. Spencer came home third, followed by Charlie Glotzbach in fourth and Bud Moore in fifth. Petty’s winning average speed was 130.423 mph.
The win marked Petty’s 21st victory of the 1967 season and his fourth consecutive win as part of his record 10-race winning streak. It also held special family significance — it was the first Southern 500 victory for the Petty family in eighteen years.
