The 1996 Mountain Dew Southern 500, the 47th running of the event, was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race held on September 1, 1996 at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina. Contested over 367 laps on the speedway, it was the 23rd race of the 1996 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season. Jeff Gordon of Hendrick Motorsports won the race.