1978 American 500: Difference between revisions
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# Donnie Allison* |
# Donnie Allison* |
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# [[Tighe Scott]]* |
# [[Tighe Scott]]* |
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# [[Buddy Baker]]* |
# [[Buddy Baker]]*† |
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# Joe Frasson* |
# Joe Frasson* |
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# [[David Pearson (racing driver)|David Pearson]]* |
# [[David Pearson (racing driver)|David Pearson]]* |
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Revision as of 01:10, 30 August 2015
| Race details[1][2][3] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 28 of 30 in the 1978 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season | |||
 This is a program from the 1978 running of the American 500. | |||
| Date | October 22, 1978 | ||
| Official name | American 500 | ||
| Location | North Carolina Motor Speedway (Rockingham, North Carolina, USA) | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 1.017 mi (1.636 km) | ||
| Distance | 492 laps, 500.4 mi (804.2 km) | ||
| Weather | Temperature reaching a maximum of 80.1 °F (26.7 °C) with wind speeds reaching a maximum of 8 miles per hour (13 km/h) | ||
| Average speed | 117.288 miles per hour (188.757 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Junior Johnson & Associates | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Cale Yarborough | Junior Johnson & Associates | |
| Laps | 376 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 11 | Cale Yarborough | Junior Johnson & Associates | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | untelevised | ||
| Announcers | none | ||
The 1978 American 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series (now Sprint Cup Series) race that took place on October 22, 1978, at North Carolina Motor Speedway in Rockingham, North Carolina, USA. Four hundred and ninety-two laps were done on a paved oval track spanning 1.017 miles (1.637 km).[2] Forty-six thousand people would attend the race live to see 36 cars (and only 19 of them finish the race).[2][3] Other notable drivers included: Darrell Waltrip (who went on to be a NASCAR announcer for FOX), Benny Parsons, Richard Petty, Richard Childress (driving for himself under the Kansas Jack sponsorship), and J.D. McDuffie (who would die at Watkins Glen during a racing event in the 1991 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season).[2][3]
North Carolina Motor Speedway was affectionally referred to at the time as The Action Track; delivering lots of action from motorcycle racing to stock car events. The Baby Grand 125 was an ARCA (Automobile Racing Club of America) companion race that took place the previous day. People could buy the official program during both races at a relatively low price of $3 USD ($14.01 when adjusted for inflation).
Summary
Cale Yarborough won the race's pole position and would eventually go onto leading 376 laps of the 492 that were actually done.[2][3] Bobby Allison lost to Yarborough by more than two laps.[2] Gatorade and Hawaiian Tropic were considered to be a small sample of non-automotive sponsors for the drivers;[2] they both were the brand names of non-alcoholic soft drinks. Automotive sponsors were still the norm in NASCAR during the late 1970s due to the general lack of awareness of NASCAR in most of America during that era. Cale Yarborough automatically clinched his third straight NASCAR Winston Cup championship as a result of winning this race. As a result of recent rule changes brought about by the Chase for the Sprint Cup; this situation is no longer possible in today's NASCAR.
The racing entries were mostly made of Chevrolet vehicles with very few Ford and Dodge entries.[2][3] Four hours, fifteen minutes, and fifty-eight seconds was the duration of the entire race.[2] The first green flag was waved at noon while the checkered flag was waved at approximately 4:15 P.M.. Engine problems were dominant in the race with only Bill Hollar actually quitting the race for "personal reasons."[2][3] Donnie Allison would become ill after leading 12 laps and would drop out of the race;[2][3] no relief driver was ever found. Five cautions were given out for fifty-two laps and Baxter Price (in his self-sponsored Chevrolet Chevelle Laguna) was the lowest driver to actually finish the race.[2]
Joe Frasson would finish his NASCAR Cup Series career by participating in this race and finishing in 23rd place after starting in 25th place (improving his position by two places).[2][3] Charlie Blanton and Johnny Halford would also retire from NASCAR after this race.[4] Frasson drove the race using a self-owned #18 vehicle with a 1978 Buick Century as his manufacturer and model.[2] The number would be transferred over to a Chevrolet machine when it was transferred to Joe Gibbs Racing starting in the 1992 Daytona 500 and remains with JGR to the present day. The number in question would ultimately become synonymous with Kyle Busch's Toyota Camry starting in 2008. Top prize at this race would be $23,360 in American dollars ($109,124.57 when adjusted for inflation).[2]
Finishing order
- Cale Yarborough
- Bobby Allison
- Darrell Waltrip
- Benny Parsons†
- Dick Brooks†
- Richard Petty
- Lennie Pond
- Dave Marcis
- Buddy Arrington
- Richard Childress
- Dick May†
- J.D. McDuffie†
- Jimmy Means
- James Hylton
- Cecil Gordon†
- Frank Warren
- Gary Myers
- Tommy Gale†
- Baxter Price
- Donnie Allison*
- Tighe Scott*
- Buddy Baker*†
- Joe Frasson*
- David Pearson*
- Ricky Rudd*
- Roger Hamby*
- Bobby Wawak*†
- Junior Miller*
- Elmo Langley*†
- Johnny Halford*
- Neil Bonnett*†
- Charlie Blanton*
- Ronnie Thomas*
- Ferrel Harris*†
- Ed Negre*
- Bill Hollar*†
† Driver is known to be deceased
* Driver failed to finish race
Standings after the race
| Pos | Driver | Points[2] |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cale Yarborough | 4519 |
| 2 | Darrell Waltrip | 4123 |
| 3 | Dave Marcis | 4083 |
| 4 | Benny Parsons | 4043 |
| 5 | Bobby Allison | 4027 |
References
- ^ "1978 American 500 weather information". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved 2011-08-12.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p "1978 American 500 information". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2010-12-06.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "1978 American 500 information". Driver Averages. Retrieved 2011-08-12.
- ^ "1978 American 500 retirement information". Race Database. Retrieved 2011-08-12.