1978 Talladega 500
| Race details[1] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 19 of 30 in the 1978 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season | |||
 Official poster for the 1978 Talladega 500 | |||
| Date | August 6, 1978 | ||
| Official name | Talladega 500 | ||
| Location | Alabama International Motor Speedway, Talladega, Alabama | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 2.660 mi (4.280 km) | ||
| Distance | 188 laps, 500.1 mi (804.8 km) | ||
| Weather | Hot with temperatures approaching 88.9 °F (31.6 °C); average wind speeds of 6.6 miles per hour (10.6 km/h) | ||
| Average speed | 174.7 miles per hour (281.2 km/h) | ||
| Attendance | 60,000[2] | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Junior Johnson & Associates | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Cale Yarborough | Junior Johnson & Associates | |
| Laps | 79 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 54 | Lennie Pond | Ranier Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | CBS | ||
| Announcers |
Ken Squier Lee Petty | ||
The 1978 Talladega 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that took place on August 6, 1978, at Alabama International Motor Speedway in Talladega, Alabama.
By 1980, 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.
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 Sprint Cup Series, Xfinity Series, and the Camping World Truck Series. Talladega Superspeedway is the longest NASCAR oval with a length of 2.66 miles (4.28 km), and the track at its peak had a seating capacity of 175,000 spectators.[3]
Summary
Four cautions were waved for seventeen laps; making the race last almost three hours in length.[2] There were 67 different changes in the first-place position of the race.[2] James Hylton finished in last place due to a transmission issue on the first lap of this 188-lap race.[2] This race would lead to Lennie Pond's only NASCAR Cup Series win; he would defeat Donnie Allison by two car lengths in front of 60,000 live spectators.[2][4] Because he would get fired at the end of 1978, Waddell Wilson kept changing the setup on the car without telling Lennie. He would end up sleeping in his car so that Waddell wouldn't be able to change the setup on his vehicle without him knowing about it. Pond still got fired from Ranier's team in the end; making Ranier an owner/driver again because Darrell Waltrip's contract with DiGard Motorsports was too strong to be broken with negotiations.
There was only one foreigner in the 41-car lineup: Claude Ballot-Léna from Paris, France.[2] Cale Yarborough would earn the pole position with a speed of 192.717 miles per hour (310.148 km/h) while the average speed of the race was 174.7 miles per hour (281.2 km/h).[2] It was considered to be a world's record in 1978.[5] However, Bill Elliott would break that record at the 1985 Winston 500 by driving an average of 186.288 miles per hour (299.801 km/h).[6] Female driver Janet Guthrie was also a part of the grid; finishing in 29th place due to a crash on lap 129.[2] Country music sensation and part-time NASCAR driver Marty Robbins would finish in 18th place in his 1978 Dodge Magnum vehicle.[7]
Richard Petty would stop racing in Chrysler cars after this race. Only the 1984 Winston 500 would see more lead changes than this racing event.
Qualifying
| Grid | No. | Driver | Manufacturer | Speed[8] | Qualifying time[8] | Owner |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 | Cale Yarborough | Oldsmobile | 192.917 | 49.638 | Junior Johnson |
| 2 | 72 | Benny Parsons | Oldsmobile | 192.104 | 49.848 | L.G. DeWitt |
| 3 | 21 | David Pearson | Mercury | 192.027 | 49.868 | Wood Brothers |
| 4 | 27 | Buddy Baker | Oldsmobile | 191.570 | 49.987 | M.C. Anderson |
| 5 | 54 | Lennie Pond | Oldsmobile | 191.023 | 50.130 | Harry Ranier |
| 6 | 43 | Richard Petty | Dodge | 190.177 | 50.353 | Petty Enterprises |
| 7 | 22 | Ricky Rudd | Chevrolet | 189.823 | 50.447 | Al Rudd |
| 8 | 14 | Coo Coo Marlin | Chevrolet | 189.070 | 50.648 | H.B. Cunningham |
| 9 | 1 | Donnie Allison | Oldsmobile | 188.969 | 50.675 | Hoss Ellington |
| 10 | 92 | Skip Manning | Buick | 188.939 | 50.683 | Billy Hagan |
Finishing order
Section reference: [2]
- Lennie Pond
- Donnie Allison
- Benny Parsons
- Cale Yarborough
- David Pearson
- Bobby Allison
- Richard Petty
- Neil Bonnett
- Dick Brooks
- Tighe Scott
- Ferrell Harris
- Dale Earnhardt
- Bill Elliott
- Dave Marcis
- Buddy Arrington
- Dick May
- J.D. McDuffie
- Marty Robbins
- D.K. Ulrich
- Tommy Gale
- Gary Myers
- Grant Adcox
- Baxter Price
- Ronnie Thomas
- Richard Childress
- Coo Coo Marlin
- Steve Moore
- Buddy Baker
- Janet Guthrie
- Al Holbert
- Earle Canavan
- Jimmy Means
- Frank Warren
- Darrell Waltrip
- Bruce Hill
- Roger Hamby
- Claude Ballot-Lena
- Skip Manning
- Ricky Rudd
- Blackie Wangerin
- James Hylton
Timeline
Section reference: [2]
- Start: Cale Yarborough was leading the starting grid as the cars were approaching the start/finish line
- Lap 9: Blackie Wangerin had some engine issues that forced him out of the event
- Lap 22: Ricky Rudd had some engine issues that forced him out of the event
- Lap 46: Skip Manning had some engine issues that forced him out of the event
- Lap 48: Claude Ballot-Lena had some engine issues that forced him out of the event
- Lap 94: Roger Hamby's vehicle had a clutch that went bad which caused him to exit the race
- Lap 96: The axle on Bruce Hill's vehicle became unsafe for further racing
- Lap 105: Darrell Waltrip had some engine issues that forced him out of the event
- Lap 118: Jimmy Means had a terminal crash
- Lap 124: Al Holbert had some engine issues that forced him out of the event
- Lap 129: Janet Guthrie had a terminal crash
- Lap 149: Buddy Baker had some engine issues that forced him out of the event
- Lap 158: Coo Coo Marlin had some engine issues that forced him out of the event
- Finish: Lennie Pond was officially declared the winner of the event
Standings after the race
| Pos | Driver | Points[2] | Differential |
|---|---|---|---|
1  |
Cale Yarborough | 2982 | 0 |
| 2 |
Dave Marcis | 2824 | -158 |
| 3 |
Benny Parsons | 2801 | -181 |
4  |
Bobby Allison | 2579 | -403 |
5  |
Darrell Waltrip | 2568 | -414 |
| 6 |
Richard Petty | 2515 | -467 |
| 7 |
Lennie Pond | 2391 | -591 |
| 8 |
Buddy Arrington | 2328 | -654 |
| 9 |
Richard Childress | 2278 | -704 |
| 10 |
Dick Brooks | 2245 | -737 |
References
- ↑ 1978 Talladega 500 weather information at The Old Farmers' Almanac
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 1978 Talladega 500 at Racing Reference
- ↑ "Track Facts". talladegasuperspeedway.com. Talladega Superspeedway. November 1, 2012. Archived from the original on November 1, 2012. Retrieved April 27, 2015.
- ↑ 1978 Talladega 500 racing information at Race Database
- ↑ Profile of Lenny Pond at Decades of Racing
- ↑ Bill Elliott's Record Breaking Run at Racing Reference
- ↑ Finishing position of Marty Robbins at MartyRobbins.net
- 1 2 Qualifying information at Racing Reference
| Preceded by 1978 Coca-Cola 500 |
NASCAR Winston Cup Series Season 1978 |
Succeeded by 1978 Champion Spark Plug 400 |
| Preceded by 1977 |
Talladega 500 races 1978 |
Succeeded by 1979 |