1979 Southeastern 500

February 2025 CUST Race 7 of 31 in the 1979 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season Southeastern 500 http://www.almanac.com/weather/history/TN/Bristol/1979-04-01 Weather at the 1979 Southeastern 500 race The Old Farmers' Almanac 2012-08-05 http://www.racing-reference.info/race/1979_Southeastern_500/W 1979 Southeastern 500 racing results Racing Reference 2011-01-11 1979 04 1 1979 7 31 Bristol Motor Speedway map.png Map of the Bristol Motor Speedway Southeastern 500 Bristol International Raceway, Bristol, Tennessee 0.533 0.857 500 266.5 428.8 Mild with temperatures reaching a maximum of 71.1 F C; wind speeds approaching 7 mph km/h 91.033 mi/h 26,000 Buddy Baker Ranier Racing Dale Earnhardt Osterlund Motorsports 163 2 Dale Earnhardt Osterlund Motorsports untelevised none Motor Racing Network The 1979 Southeastern 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that took place on April 1, 1979, at Bristol Motor Speedway in the American community of Bristol, Tennessee. The race was notable as then-rookie driver Dale Earnhardt got the first win of his career, he would later go on to win 76 races and 7 championships. This race was not televised or recorded in any format, watching it live or listening to it on local radio were the only methods of watching this race. Summary Five hundred laps were completed on a paved oval track spanning 0.533 mi km in only two hours and fifty-five minutes. Six cautions slowed the race for 44 laps. Twenty-six thousand people attended this live event to see Dale Earnhardt defeat Bobby Allison by a time of three seconds. http://www.decadesofracing.net/FirstWins2.htm Dale Earnhardt's 1st Win Statistics Decades of Racing 2011-01-12 Jake Elder was Earnhardt's crew chief at that time; his nickname was "Suitcase" because he would help a NASCAR driver achieve glory and then leave him for another driver the following season. The notable speeds were: 91.033 mph km/h for the average speed http://www.ultimateracinghistory.com/race.php?raceid=10021 Average Speed (1979 Southeastern 500) Ultimate Racing History 2011-01-12 and 111.668 mph km/h for the pole position speed achieved by Buddy Baker. Chevrolet vehicles made up the majority of the 30-car racing grid. Millikan would catch something in his eye and would have to report to hospital; J.D. McDuffie ended up being the substitute driver for him. The winner of the race would receive a purse of $19,800 ($ when adjusted for inflation). http://hardcoreracefans.com/nascar-cup-news/4580-1979-southeastern-500-bristol-intl-raceway Dale Earnhardt's First Victory Purse Hardcore Fans 2011-01-24 https://web.archive.org/web/20110817164811/http://hardcoreracefans.com/nascar-cup-news/4580-1979-southeastern-500-bristol-intl-raceway 2011-08-17 dead Earnhardt took the lead on lap 474 from Darrell Waltrip and lead until the finish. If he wrecked Waltrip, it must not have been too bad because he still finished on the lead lap. http://auto.howstuffworks.com/auto-racing/nascar/season-recaps/1970s/1979-nascar.htm The Earnhardt-Waltrip Fiasco How Stuff Works 2011-01-12 2011-07-12 https://web.archive.org/web/20110712225756/http://auto.howstuffworks.com/auto-racing/nascar/season-recaps/1970s/1979-nascar.htm dead Ralph Jones (a driver-owner) was the last-place finisher of this race; he was forced to end his participation in the race due to brake issues on lap 31. There were three terminal crashes in the race along with three engine failures, one quitter along with a driver with a water pump issues in his vehicle and a driver with a defective rear end on his vehicle. Mike Potter's career of sporadic starts in Cup and start-and-parks in Busch began in this race. Elmo Langley would enjoy his last real competitive race at this venue. He'd have a few start and parks after this but this was the last time he really tried to finish a race. Qualifying Grid No. Car number Driver Manufacturer Owner 1 28 Buddy Baker Chevrolet Harry Ranier 2 88 Darrell Waltrip Chevrolet DiGard Motorsports 3 1 Donnie Allison Chevrolet Hoss Ellington 4 15 Bobby Allison Ford Bud Moore 5 11 Cale Yarborough Oldsmobile Junior Johnson 6 27 Benny Parsons Oldsmobile M.C. Anderson 7 70 J.D. McDuffie Chevrolet J.D. McDuffie 8 02 Dave Marcis Chevrolet Dave Marcis 9 2 Dale Earnhardt Chevrolet Rod Osterlund 10 44 Terry Labonte Chevrolet Billy Hagan 11 40 D.K. Ulrich Chevrolet D.K. Ulrich 12 72 Joe Millikan Chevrolet L.G. DeWitt 13 43 Richard Petty Oldsmobile Petty Enterprises 14 3 Richard Childress Chevrolet Richard Childress 15 90 Ricky Rudd Ford Junie Donlavey 16 48 James Hylton Chevrolet James Hylton 17 47 Harry Gant Oldsmobile Jack Beebe 18 25 Ronnie Thomas Chevrolet Don Robertson 19 79 Frank Warren Dodge Frank Warren 20 17 Roger Hamby Oldsmobile Roger Hamby Results Dale Earnhardt (No. 2) Bobby Allison (No. 15) Darrell Waltrip (No. 88) Richard Petty (No. 43), 2 laps down Benny Parsons (No. 27), 3 laps down Donnie Allison (No. 1), 5 laps down Terry Labonte (No. 44), 10 laps down Joe Millikan (No. 72), 14 laps down James Hylton (No. 78), 14 laps down Ricky Rudd (No. 90), 15 laps down Richard Childress (No. 3), 16 laps down D.K. Ulrich (No. 40), 19 laps down Buddy Arrington (No. 67), 20 laps down Roger Hamby (No. 17), 27 laps down Cecil Gordon (No. 24), 30 laps down Mike Potter (No. 76), 37 laps down Dave Marcis (No. 02), 38 laps down Tommy Gale (No. 64), 40 laps down Baxter Price (No. 45), 44 laps down Frank Warren (No. 79), 71 laps down Harry Gant (No. 47), Dropped out after 385 laps with blown engine Dick Brooks (No. 85), Dropped out after 366 laps due to a faulty water pump Ronnie Thomas (No. 25), Crashed out after 335 laps Cale Yarborough (No. 11), Crashed out after 216 laps Buddy Baker (No. 28), Crashed out after 211 laps J.D McDuffie (No. 70), Dropped out after 197 laps with rear end failure Dick May (No. 19), Dropped out after 141 laps with blown engine Jimmy Means (No. 52), Dropped out after 100 laps with blown engine Bobby Wawak (No. 74) Quit after 33 laps Ralph Jones (No. 98), had brake failure after 31 laps Timeline Section reference: Start of race: Buddy Baker had the pole position to begin the event. Lap 31: Ralph Jones' brakes became problematic; forcing him out of the event. Lap 33: Bobby Wawak chose to quit the race. Lap 100: Jimmy Means fell out with engine failure. Lap 139: Dale Earnhardt took over the lead from Buddy Baker. Lap 141: Donnie Allison took over the lead from Dale Earnhardt; Dick May fell out with engine failure. Lap 142: Cale Yarborough took over the lead from Donnie Allison. Lap 143: Darrell Waltrip took over the lead from Cale Yarborough. Lap 197: J.D. McDuffie lost the rear end of his vehicle, forcing an early exit due to safety concerns. Lap 211: Buddy Baker had a terminal crash. Lap 213: Bobby Allison took over the lead from Darrell Waltrip. Lap 216: Cale Yarborough had a terminal crash. Lap 255: Dale Earnhardt took over the lead from Bobby Allison. Lap 335: Ronnie Thomas had a terminal crash. Lap 366: Dick Brooks had to leave the event due to his vehicle having a faulty water pump. Lap 385: Harry Gant fell out with engine failure. Lap 389: Darrell Waltrip took over the lead from Dale Earnhardt. Lap 474: Dale Earnhardt took over the lead from Darrell Waltrip. Finish: Dale Earnhardt was officially declared the winner of the event. Standings after the race Pos Driver Points Differential 1 10px Bobby Allison 1146 -0 2 10px Darrell Waltrip 1132 -14 3 10px Cale Yarborough 1028 -118 4 10px Benny Parsons 978 -168 5 Dale Earnhardt 975 -171 6 Donnie Allison 972 -174 7 Joe Millikan 953 -193 8 10px Richard Petty 939 -207 9 10px D.K. Ulrich 886 -260 10 10px Richard Childress 854 -292 References 2 1979 Northwestern Bank 400 1979 CRC Chemicals Rebel 500 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Season 1979 Southeastern 500 Southeastern 500 Category:Dale Earnhardt Category:NASCAR races at Bristol Motor Speedway