The was a 500 mile (805 km)
NASCAR Nextel Cup race. Prior to 2004, this annual event was held on the
Labor Day weekend at
Darlington Raceway . For the 2004 season, the
Pop Secret 500 was moved from
North Carolina Speedway to
California Speedway and given the lucrative Labor Day weekend date. The Mountain Dew Southern 500 was run in
November 2004 for the final time. In
2005 , Darlington's
Spring race, the
Carolina Dodge Dealers 400 , and the Mountain Dew Southern 500 was removed from the schedule, and in its place, the
Dodge Charger 500 was added. The race was originally known as the '''Southern 500''' when it was first held in
1950 , and was the first 500 mile NASCAR race. Other names for this race include the '''Heinz Southern 500''' (1989-1991) and the '''Pepsi Southern 500''' (1998-2000).
''See also:''
List Of Current NASCAR Races
