1978 World 600

Auto race held at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 1978 February 2025 CUST Race 12 of 30 in the 1978 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season World 600 Weather information for the 1978 World 600 at The Old Farmers' Almanac 1978 05 28 1978 12 30 Lowe's Motor Speedway.svg Layout of Charlotte Motor Speedway World 600 Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord, North Carolina 1.500 2.414 400 600 965 Temperatures of 84.9 F C; wind speeds of 8 mph km/h 138.355 mi/h 125,000 David Pearson Wood Brothers Racing Darrell Waltrip DiGard Motorsports 144 88 Darrell Waltrip DiGard Motorsports CBS Ken Squier The 1978 World 600, the 19th running of the event, was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that was held on May 28, 1978, at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina. Race report Zsa Zsa Gabor served as the celebrity grand marshall. There were 40 drivers on the starting grid. An audience of 125,000 fans would see 43 lead changes along with 32 laps under a caution flag. The entire race from green flag to checkered flag lasted for four hours and twenty minutes. During the first 100 laps, David Pearson, Darrell Waltrip, and Donnie Allison were fighting for the lead. The final laps would become a battle between Donnie Allison, Darrell Waltrip, and Benny Parsons. Waltrip would eventually defeat Donnie Allison by two seconds in his 1978 Chevrolet Monte Carlo. Joining him on victory lane would be his wife Stevie. Jerry Jolly would be the last-place finisher due to problems with his suspension on lap 20. The lowest driver to actually finish the race was D.K. Ulrich.1978 World 600 racing information at Racing Reference After the race, Cale Yarborough would only be 30 points behind Benny Parsons in the overall championship standings. The number of points for Dale Earnhardt and Ron Hutcherson were never recorded. Earnhardt was given the #98 car ride when Willy T. Ribbs was arrested for reckless driving and fired. Ribbs had qualified the vehicle in 28th place but Earnhardt would finish the race in 17th place. The entire prize purse for this race was $310,491 ($ when adjusted for inflation); Waltrip received $48,608 ($ when adjusted for inflation) while Jerry Jolly took home $1,090 ($ when adjusted for inflation).1978 World 600 racing information at Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet Roland Wlodyka would end his professional driving career with the NASCAR Cup Series after the end of this racing event.1978 World 600 racing information at Race Database Racial controversy Willy T. Ribbs was expected to be at this NASCAR Cup Series event, being a popular African-American race car driver of the time. After failing to appear at two special practice sessions, he was sacked and replaced with then-obscure driver Dale Earnhardt; who back then specialized in short track racing and was not yet a serious championship contender.The Decision That Would Change the 1978 World 600 https://web.archive.org/web/20121226044717/http://auto.howstuffworks.com/auto-racing/nascar/season-recaps/1970s/1978-nascar.htm 2012-12-26 at How Stuff Works Many traditionalists chided the opportunities that Ribbs received, such as entering higher levels of NASCAR simply because he was black.Racing While Black at Google Books Qualifying Grid No. Car number Driver Manufacturer Speed Speed in miles per hourQualifying information https://web.archive.org/web/20170401232315/http://www.racing-reference.info/getqualify/1978-12/W April 1, 2017 at Racing Reference Owner 1 21 David Pearson Mercury 160.551 Wood Brothers 2 11 Cale Yarborough Oldsmobile 159.736 Junior Johnson 3 2 Dave Marcis Chevrolet 159.432 Rod Osterlund 4 12 Harry Gant Chevrolet 159.040 Kennie Childers 5 90 Dick Brooks Ford 158.936 Junie Donlavey 6 15 Bobby Allison Ford 158.801 Bud Moore 7 14 Sterling Marlin Chevrolet 158.548 H.B. Cunningham 8 48 Al Holbert Oldsmobile 158.431 James Hylton 9 54 Lennie Pond Oldsmobile 158.306 Harry Ranier 10 27 Buddy Baker Chevrolet 158.058 M.C. Anderson Finishing order Section reference: 30em Darrell Waltrip Donnie Allison Bobby Allison Cale Yarborough David Pearson Benny Parsons Buddy Baker Richard Petty Sterling Marlin Bruce Hill Grant Adcox Morgan Shepherd Dick May Bill Elliott Buddy Arrington John Utsman Dale Earnhardt Gary Myers Dick Brooks Richard Childress Roland Wlodyka J.D. McDuffie Frank Warren Tommy Gale Baxter Price Skip Manning Jim Vandiver* Ricky Rudd D.K. Ulrich Ronnie Thomas* Tighe Scott* Dave Marcis* Lennie Pond* Connie Saylor* Neil Bonnett* Harry Gant* Jimmy Means* Al Holbert* Ron Hutcherson* Jerry Jolly* thumb|upright|300px|Darrell Waltrip at the 1978 World 600. He won the race. * Driver failed to finish race Timeline Section reference: Start of race: David Pearson had the advantage over all the other drivers as the green flag was waved. Lap 20: Problems with the vehicle's suspension forced Jerry Jolly into becoming the last-place finisher. Lap 117: Caution due to a four-car accident on turn two; caution ended on lap 129. Lap 129: The vehicle's throttle was dying, Jimmy Means had to exit the event early. Lap 140: Harry Gant managed to overheat his racing vehicle after racing at high speeds. Lap 157: Neil Bonnett overheated his vehicle's engine and had to leave the race. Lap 184: Connie Saylor actually overheated his engine after racing for so long. Lap 198: The vehicle's engine could not stand any more high speed racing, forcing Dave Marcis out of the race. Lap 207: Lennie Pond had a terminal crash. Lap 308: Tighe Scott had a rough time with his vehicle's engine and had to accept a 31st-place finish. Lap 318: The steering on Ronnie Thomas's vehicle wasn't raceworthy anymore, ending his day on the track. Lap 343: Engine problems forced Jim Vandiver to be the final DNF of the race. Lap 368: Caution due to debris on turn four; caution ended on lap 371. Lap 396: Dale Earnhardt managed to spin his vehicle, caution ended on lap 398. Lap 400: David Pearson and Benny Parsons had an accident on turn two. Finish: Darrell Waltrip was officially declared the winner of the event. Standings after the race Pos Driver Points Differential 1 10px Benny Parsons 1862 0 2 Cale Yarborough 1832 -30 3 Dave Marcis 1738 -124 4 10px Darrell Waltrip 1683 -179 5 Bobby Allison 1665 -197 6 Lennie Pond 1562 -300 7 Richard Petty 1537 -325 8 Buddy Arrington 1527 -335 9 10px Skip Manning 1455 -407 10 10px Richard Childress 1444 -418 References 1978 Mason-Dixon 500 1978 Music City USA 420 NASCAR Winston Cup Season 1978 1977 1979 World 600 races 1978 World 600 World 600 Category:1978 controversies in the United States Category:May 1978 sports events in the United States Category:NASCAR races at Charlotte Motor Speedway