1979 World 600

1979 World 600

Race details
Race 13 of 31 in the 1979 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season
Map of Charlotte Motor Speedway
Date	May 27, 1979 (1979-May-27)
Location	Charlotte Motor Speedway (Concord, North Carolina)
Course	Permanent racing facility 1.500 mi (2.414 km)
Distance	400 laps, 600 mi (965 km)
Weather	Temperatures reaching up to 75.9 °F (24.4 °C); wind speeds up to 18.1 miles per hour (29.1 km/h)[1]
Average speed	136.674 miles per hour (219.955 km/h)
Pole position
Driver	Neil Bonnett	Wood Brothers Racing
Most laps led
Driver	Darrell Waltrip	DiGard Motorsports
Laps	175
Winner
No. 88	Darrell Waltrip	DiGard Motorsports
Television in the United States
Network	CBS
Announcers	Ken Squier David Hobbs

The 1979 World 600 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race that took place on May 27, 1979, at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina.

Before the performance, a skydiver was brought in to bring thrills to the live audience; he would parachute into one of the turns. There was also an invocation service followed by the American national anthem. Vehicles that were entered into this race would have a wheelbase of 115 inches or 2.9 metres; bringing a form of stock car racing that emulates the production vehicles of the late-1970s. NASCAR's decision to reduce the wheelbase size to 110 inches or 2.8 metres would scale down the adrenaline level of the Cup Series races starting in 1981.

Summary

Darrell Waltrip and Dale Earnhardt would fight it out on the closing laps of this race; Richard Petty would make a comeback and lose to Darrell Waltrip by a time of nearly six seconds.^[2]

While Earnhardt seemed to be the natural choice to win the race due to the 122 laps that he led, Waltrip would mount an incredible racing strategy; causing him to lead at the most opportune times in the race. While Bobby Allison felt like a survivor after the race was over, Tighe Scott would see his opportunity for a "top ten" finished ruined with a tie rod issue on lap 372. Ron Hutcherson and Chuck Bown would fail to start the race due to various issues with their vehicle. There were 41 drivers on the starting grid; all of them born in the United States of America.^[2] The duration of this race was 263 minutes with a live audience of 136,000 in attendance for what would become a race loaded with lead changes. Chevrolet vehicles dominated the starting grid; as they were the dominant American manufacturer during the late-1970s.^[2]

Winnings for this event ranged from the winner's portion of $55,400 ($180,018.25 when adjusted for inflation) to the last-place takings of $1,165 ($3,785.58 when adjusted for inflation). NASCAR officials on-track handed out a grand total of $321,780 to everyone who qualified ($1,045,600.58 when adjusted for inflation).^[3]

Top twenty finishers

Standings after the race

References