1979 Talladega 500

Auto race held at Alabama International Motor Speedway in 1979 February 2025 CUST Race 20 of 31 in the 1979 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season Talladega 500 Weather information for the 1979 Talladega 500 at the Old Farmers' Almanac 1979 08 5 1979 20 31 Talladega Superspeedway.png Layout of Talladega Superspeedway Talladega 500 Alabama International Motor Speedway, Talladega, Alabama 2.660 4.280 188 500.1 804.8 161.229 mi/h Hot with temperatures of 90.9 F C; wind speeds of 9.9 mph km/h 80,000 Neil Bonnett Wood Brothers Racing Darrell Waltrip DiGard Motorsports 102 88 Darrell Waltrip DiGard Motorsports CBS Ken Squier Lee Petty Motor Racing Network Jack Arute and Barney Hall Turns 1 & 2: Eli GoldBackstreatch & Turn 3: Hal HamrickTurn 4 & Tri-Oval: Mike JoyPit Reporter: Darel DieringerGarage Area: Joe Alloy The 1979 Talladega 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race that took place on August 5, 1979, at Alabama International Motor Speedway in Talladega, Alabama. Background Talladega Superspeedway, originally known as Alabama International Motor Superspeedway (AIMS), is a motorsports complex located north of Talladega, Alabama. It is located on the former Anniston Air Force Base in the small city of Lincoln. The track is a Tri-oval and was constructed by International Speedway Corporation, a business controlled by the France Family, in the 1960s. Talladega is most known for its steep banking and the unique location of the start/finish line - located just past the exit to pit road. The track currently hosts the NASCAR series such as the Cup Series, Xfinity Series, and the Craftsman Truck Series. Talladega Superspeedway is the longest NASCAR oval with a length of 2.66 mi km, and the track at its peak had a seating capacity of 175,000 spectators.http://www.talladegasuperspeedway.com/This-Is-Talladega/Track-Facts.aspx Track Facts Talladega Superspeedway November 1, 2012 talladegasuperspeedway.com April 27, 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20121101080016/http://www.talladegasuperspeedway.com/This-Is-Talladega/Track-Facts.aspx November 1, 2012 Race report There were 41 American-born drivers on the starting grid; 21 of them failed to finish the race. Most of the problems were engine failures. After 188 laps and five caution flags, Darrell Waltrip would defeat David Pearson by a minute and two seconds in front of a crowd of eighty thousand fans. After many lead changes, Waltrip lead the final 55 laps.1979 Talladega 500 racing information at Racing-Reference The race averaged 161.229 mph km/h for the 500 miles while Neil Bonnett would earn his pole position in qualifying with a speed of 193.6 mph km/h. Kyle Petty would earn ninth place in his inaugural Winston Cup race after starting 18th. Bob Burcham and Al Holbert would make this race their individual swan songs.1979 Talladega 500 at Race-Database The total prize purse at this event was $205,680 ($ when adjusted for inflation). While the winner would collect $32,325 of this purse ($ when adjusted for inflation), the last-place finisher, Dick May, would collect $1,050 ($ when adjusted for inflation).1979 Talladega 500 race information at Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet Oldsmobile would rack up their 100th victory in the history of the NASCAR Cup Series. Qualifying Grid No. Car number Driver Manufacturer Owner 1 21 Neil Bonnett Mercury Wood Brothers 2 2 David Pearson Oldsmobile Rod Osterlund 3 30 Tighe Scott Buick Walter Ballard 4 28 Buddy Baker Oldsmobile Harry Ranier 5 11 Cale Yarborough Oldsmobile Junior Johnson 6 67 Buddy Arrington Dodge Buddy Arrington 7 41 Grant Adcox Oldsmobile Herb Adcox 8 88 Darrell Waltrip Oldsmobile DiGard Racing 9 79 Frank Warren Dodge Frank Warren 10 50 Bruce Hill Oldsmobile Walter Ballard 11 90 Ricky Rudd Mercury Junie Donlavey 12 27 Benny Parsons Oldsmobile M.C. Anderson 13 43 Richard Petty Oldsmobile Petty Enterprises 14 71 Dave Marcis Chevrolet Dave Marcis 15 44 Terry Labonte Buick Billy Hagan 16 12 Jack Ingram Oldsmobile Kennie Childers 17 7 Al Holbert Oldsmobile Al Holbert 18 42 Kyle Petty Dodge Petty Enterprises 19 15 Bobby Allison Ford Bud Moore 20 3 Richard Childress Oldsmobile Richard Childress 21 47 Harry Gant Oldsmobile Jack Beebe 22 9 Bill Elliott Mercury George Elliott 23 1 Donnie Allison Chevrolet Hoss Ellington 24 05 Dick Brooks Oldsmobile Nelson Malloch 25 77 Jody Ridley Mercury Junie Donlavey Finishing order Section reference: 30em Darrell Waltrip David Pearson† Ricky Rudd Richard Petty Jody Ridley Tighe Scott Harry Gant Buddy Arrington† Kyle Petty Richard Childress Dick Brooks† Bill Elliott Jimmy Means Bob Burcham† Rick Newsom† Bruce Hill*† Steve Moore† J.D. McDuffie† Grant Adcox† James Hylton† Benny Parsons*† Ronnie Thomas* Frank Warren† Cale Yarborough*† Joe Millikan* Baxter Price* D.K. Ulrich* Bobby Allison*† Coo Coo Marlin*† Donnie Allison* Dave Marcis* Marty Robbins*† Terry Labonte* Neil Bonnett*† Jack Ingram*† Tommy Gale*† Blackie Wangerin*† Al Holbert*† Buddy Baker*† Cecil Gordon*† Dick May*† † signifies that the driver is known to be deceased * Driver failed to finish race Standings after the race Pos Driver Points Differential 1 10px Darrell Waltrip 3246 0 2 10px Richard Petty 3017 -229 3 10px Cale Yarborough 2946 -300 4 10px Bobby Allison 2924 -322 5 Benny Parsons 2662 -584 6 Dale Earnhardt 2588 -658 7 10px Joe Millikan 2564 -682 8 Richard Childress 2390 -856 9 J.D. McDuffie 2372 -874 10 Buddy Arrington 2312 -934 References 1979 Coca-Cola 500 1979 Champion Spark Plug 400 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Season 1979 1978 1980 Talladega 500 races 1979 Talladega 500 Talladega 500 Category:NASCAR races at Talladega Superspeedway