DRUNK DRIVING 👎DRUNK RACING ✅

Описание: The inaugural Southern 500, held on September 4, 1950, at Darlington Raceway, was the first 500-mile race in NASCAR history and a shock to drivers accustomed to much shorter events. The unusually long distance and rough, high-banked paved surface turned the race into a test of endurance as much as speed, lasting more than six hours in extreme heat with no modern cooling systems or driver aids.

Unprepared for such a grueling event, drivers brought improvised refreshments into their cars to help them endure the race. According to NASCAR great Buck Baker, one driver even brought beer to drink during the event. However, the constant bouncing and vibration caused the beer to foam violently, spilling out the car’s window. Baker later joked that the back of the car looked like a washing machine, with frothy beer sloshing everywhere.

Baker himself brought tomato juice, hoping it would sustain him, but his day ended in a crash. When safety workers reached his car and found him slumped over and soaked in red liquid, they briefly feared he was badly injured before realizing it was spilled juice.

The race was ultimately won by Johnny Mantz, who cleverly used durable truck tires to avoid frequent pit stops, finishing nine laps ahead of the field. The beer and tomato-juice stories have since become part of Southern 500 lore, illustrating how primitive, unpredictable, and improvisational early NASCAR racing was — a stark contrast to the highly engineered endurance events of today.

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