The 1979 Coca-Cola 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that took place on July 30, 1979 at Pocono International Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania.[1][2]
While originally scheduled for July 29, 1979, it was postponed one day due to rain.[3]
Two hundred laps were completed in four hours and twenty minutes.[1][2] Seven cautions flags were given out by NASCAR for 49 laps; Cale Yarborough eventually defeated Richard Petty under the race's final yellow flag.[1][2] This would result in Yarborough's third win of the year.[4] 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).[1][2] Harry Gant qualified for the pole position with a speed of 148.711 miles per hour (239.327 km/h).[1][2] The majority of the vehicles involved in the race had Chevrolet as their manufacturer.[1][2] Steve Gray would make his NASCAR debut that resulted in a last-place finish.[1][2] He crashed on the very first lap of the race with Roger Hamby and Al Holbert; taking home only $1,305 in winnings ($3,948.62 in today's money).[1][2][5]
Cale Yarborough would take home $21,465 in winnings for finishing first in the race ($64,947.92 in today's money).[1][2] More than 50 lead changes were recorded in the race; a rarity outside Talladega Superspeedway.[1][2] Dale Earnhardt fractured both of his clavicles[4] by crashing into a wall on lap 98 of this race.[1][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.[1]