The Mountain Dew Southern 500 is 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 will be run in November 2004 for the final time. In May 2005, Darlington's Spring race, the Carolina Dodge Dealers 400, will merge with the Southern 500, and will be run on a Saturday night on Mother's Day weekend. 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 500 (1989-1991) and the Pepsi Southern 500 (1998-2000).

See also: List of current NASCAR races

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	Southern 500 - definition of Southern 500 in Encyclopedia (185 words) The Mountain Dew Southern 500 is a 500 mile (805 km) NASCAR Nextel Cup race. The Mountain Dew Southern 500 will be run in November 2004 for the final time. The race was originally known as the Southern 500 when it was first held in 1950, and was the first 500 mile NASCAR race.
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