1978 Talladega 500

1978 Talladega 500
Race details
Race 19 of 30 in the 1978 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season

Official poster for the 1978 Talladega 500
Date August 6, 1978
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)
WeatherTemperatures reaching up to 88.9 °F (31.6 °C); average wind speeds of 6.6 miles per hour (10.6 km/h)[1]
Average speed 174.7 miles per hour (281.2 km/h)
Pole position
Driver Cale Yarborough 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 is a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that took place on August 6, 1978, at Alabama International Motor Speedway in Talladega, Alabama, U.S..[2]

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][3] 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.[4] 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).[5] 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.[6]

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.

Top twenty finishers

  1. Lennie Pond
  2. Donnie Allison
  3. Benny Parsons
  4. Cale Yarborough
  5. David Pearson
  6. Bobby Allison
  7. Richard Petty
  8. Neil Bonnett
  9. Dick Brooks
  10. Tighe Scott
  11. Ferrell Harris
  12. Dale Earnhardt
  13. Bill Elliott
  14. Dave Marcis
  15. Buddy Arrington
  16. Dick May
  17. J.D. McDuffie
  18. Marty Robbins
  19. D.K. Ulrich
  20. Tommy Gale

Standings after the race

Pos Driver Points[2]
1 Cale Yarborough 2982
2 Dave Marcis 2824
3 Benny Parsons 2801
4 Bobby Allison 2579
5 Darrell Waltrip 2568

References

  1. ↑ 1978 Talladega 500 weather information at The Old Farmers' Almanac
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 1978 Talladega 500 at Racing Reference
  3. ↑ 1978 Talladega 500 racing information at Race Database
  4. ↑ Profile of Lenny Pond at Decades of Racing
  5. ↑ Bill Elliott's Record Breaking Run at Racing Reference
  6. ↑ Finishing position of Marty Robbins at MartyRobbins.net
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