1979 Coca-Cola 500

Pocono Raceway is one of six superspeedways to hold NASCAR races; the others are Daytona International Speedway, Michigan International Speedway, Auto Club Speedway, Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway.[3] The standard track at Pocono Raceway is a three-turn superspeedway that is 2.5 miles (4.0 km) long.[4] The track's turns are banked differently; the first is banked at 14°, the second turn at 8° and the final turn with 6°. However, each of the three straightaways are banked at 2°.[4]

While originally scheduled for July 29, 1979, it was postponed one day due to rain.[5] The race was run on Monday, so most of the NASCAR fans had to go work that day.

Two hundred laps were completed in four hours and twenty minutes.[2] Seven cautions flags slowed the race for 49 laps; Cale Yarborough eventually defeated Richard Petty under the race's final yellow flag.[2] This would result in Yarborough's third win of the year.[6] Forty thousand fans attended a live racing event where the average speed of the vehicles would be 115.207 miles per hour (185.408 km/h). None of the drivers on the starting grid were born in Wisconsin; which is still true in 2016.[2] Harry Gant qualified for the pole position with a speed of 148.711 miles per hour (239.327 km/h).[2] The majority of the vehicles involved in the race had Chevrolet as their manufacturer.[2] Steve Gray would make his NASCAR debut that resulted in a last-place finish.[2] He crashed on the very first lap of the race with Roger Hamby and Al Holbert; taking home only $1,305 in winnings ($4,597 when adjusted for inflation).[2][7]

A freight train of cars ended up drafting and swapping positions for a majority of the event.[2] It took 62 starts, but Ricky Rudd finally collects his first lead-lap finish in Winston Cup, nevertheless managing to collect 20 top-10s prior to this event.[8]

Cale Yarborough would take home $21,465 in winnings for finishing first in the race ($75,615 when adjusted for inflation).[2] 56 lead changes were recorded in this race; a rarity outside Talladega Superspeedway and a definite record setter for Pocono Raceway.[9] Dale Earnhardt fractured both of his clavicles[6] by crashing into a wall on lap 98 of this race.[2] As a result, he had to miss the next four races (re-emerging at the 1979 running of the Capital City 400). All of the 39 drivers that qualified for the race were American-born males.[2]