1979 Winston Western 500

Auto race held at Riverside International Raceway in 1979 February 2025 CUST Race 1 of 31 in the 1979 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season Winston Western 500 http://www.almanac.com/weather/history/CA/Moreno%20Valley/1979-01-14 1979 Winston Western 500 weather information The Old Farmers' Almanac 2012-08-02 http://www.driveraverages.com/nascar_stats/race.php?sked_id=1979001 1979 Winston Western 500 racing information Driver Averages 2012-03-24 https://web.archive.org/web/20120216235732/http://www.driveraverages.com/nascar_stats/race.php?sked_id=1979001 2012-02-16 dead http://fantasyracingcheatsheet.com/nascar/races/results/1979/riverside-international-raceway/winston-western-500/1469 1979 Winston Western 500 racing information Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet 2012-03-24 1979 01 14 1979 1 31 1979WinstonWestern500Program.jpg Souvenir magazine cover of the 1979 Winston Western 500 Winston Western 500 Riverside International Raceway, Riverside, California 2.62 4.216 119 311.8 501.7 Cold with temperatures of 60.1 F C; wind speeds of 9.9 mph km/h 107.820 mi/h 68,000 http://www.racing-reference.info/race?id=1979-01&series=W 1979 Winston Western 500 racing information Racing Reference 2012-03-24 David Pearson Wood Brothers Darrell Waltrip DiGard 87 88 Darrell Waltrip DiGard Untelevised None The 1979 Winston Western 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that took place on January 14, 1979, at Riverside International Raceway in Riverside, California. Buying a souvenir program at this race was relatively inexpensive for the era at $2 USD per copy ($ when adjusted for inflation). By the following season, NASCAR had completely stopped tracking the year model of all the vehicles and most teams did not take stock cars to the track under their own power anymore. Only manual transmission vehicles were allowed to participate in this race; a policy that NASCAR has retained to the present day. Summary This race was Williamson's Cup Series debut. He died in a racing accident the following year during the running of a Grand American series race. This race was the final caution-free race in NASCAR road course history; bringing the idea of a "perfect game" to an end. The final oval course race that went the entire distance without a single caution flag would be the 2002 EA Sports 500;http://www.jayski.com/next/2002/2002talla2.htm EA Sports 500 Jayski's Silly Season Site 2013-04-03 https://web.archive.org/web/20131002143011/http://www.jayski.com/next/2002/2002talla2.htm 2013-10-02 dead which was won by Dale Earnhardt Jr. of Dale Earnhardt, Inc. During the 1970s, Riverside International Raceway had its configurations modernized in order to create the fast-paced racing that the public started to demand for after engine technology picked up during the 1960s. http://insiderracingnews.com/Writers/AM/091407.html Tracks of Yesterday - Riverside International Raceway Insider Racing News 2012-09-04 NASCAR would develop a liking for mile and a half tracks by the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season; with Sonoma and Watkins Glen serving as the sole road course tracks. There were 35 American-born male drivers on the grid; Terry Labonte received the last-place finish due to an engine issue on lap 7 out of 119. Darrell Waltrip defeated David Pearson by 3.27 seconds in front of 68,000 live audience members. Waltrip would get his first-ever Cup road course victory; going on to win five times in total at Riverside. Drivers who failed to qualify were Gary Matthews (#51), Ed Hale (#20), Steve Pfeifer (#0), John Krebs (#91) and Rick McCray (#08). http://www.racing-reference.info/getqualify/1979-01/W 1979 Winston Western 500 qualifying information Racing Reference 2017-04-28 April 6, 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160406062329/http://www.racing-reference.info/getqualify/1979-01/W dead Although there were no cautions in this "perfect game," there were still 13 lead changes and the race lasted two hours and fifty-three minutes. While Pearson would clinch the pole position with an average speed of 113.659 mph km/h, the average speed of the race was 107.820 mph km/h. The other drivers in the top ten were: Cale Yarborough, Bill Schmitt, Donnie Allison, Joe Millikan, Buddy Baker, Jim Thirkettle, Tim Williamson, and Harry Gant. This was Richard Petty's first race after he had some serious stomach surgery during the offseason. There was concern he might not be able to go the distance this soon after that treatment and his former teammate Hershel McGriff was lined up as the possible relief driver. McGriff was supposed to run this race in James Hylton's #48 Chevrolet but he moved over to standby duty with Hylton racing his car himself. Petty expected to go the distance in the cool Southern California winter weather, but the #43 blew a motor and put him on the sidelines on lap 14. Timeline Section reference: Start: Cale Yarborough officially had the pole position when the green flag was waved. Lap 4: Darrell Waltrip took over the lead from Cale Yarborough. Lap 7: Terry Labonte fell out with engine failure. Lap 10: The clutch in Neil Bonnett's vehicle could not handle the pressures of high-speed racing. Lap 12: Dick Brooks fell out with engine failure. Lap 14: Richard Petty fell out with engine failure. Lap 15: Transmission problems managed to ruin Don Noel's day on the track. Lap 17: Jim Robinson fell out with engine failure. Lap 21: Bobby Allison took over the lead from Darrell Waltrip. Lap 28: David Pearson took over the lead from Bobby Allison. Lap 29: Al Holbert took over the lead from David Pearson. Lap 31: Darrell Waltrip took over the lead from Al Holbert. Lap 32: Richard White fell out with engine failure. Lap 48: Frank Warren fell out with engine failure. Lap 56: Benny Parsons managed to break his vehicle's transmission. Lap 60: Al Holbert took over the lead from Darrell Waltrip. Lap 63: David Pearson took over the lead from Al Holbert. Lap 64: Darrell Waltrip took over the lead from David Pearson. Lap 66: Cecil Gordon fell out with engine failure. Lap 91: David Pearson took over the lead from Darrell Waltrip. Lap 95: Bobby Allison took over the lead from David Pearson. Lap 100: Don Graham fell out with engine failure. Lap 103: David Pearson took over the lead from Bobby Allison. Lap 105: Bobby Allison fell out with engine failure. Lap 106: Darrell Waltrip took over the lead from David Pearson. Lap 111: Jimmy Insolo managed to bust his vehicle's oil pump. Finish: Darrell Waltrip was declared the winner of the event. Standings after the race Pos Driver Points Differential 1 Darrell Waltrip 185 0 2 David Pearson 175 -10 3 Cale Yarborough 170 -15 4 Bill Schmitt 160 -25 5 Donnie Allison 155 -30 6 Joe Millikan 150 -35 7 Buddy Baker 146 -39 8 Jim Thirkettle 142 -43 9 Tim Williamson 138 -47 10 Harry Gant 134 -51 References 1978 Los Angeles Times 500 1979 Daytona 500 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Season 1978-9 1978 1980 Winston Western 500 races 1979 Winston Western 500 Winston Western 500 Category:NASCAR races at Riverside International Raceway