1978 Winston Western 500

Race 1 of 30

Riverside
119 laps
Time of race: 3:02:55
Average speed of winner: 102.269 mph
Margin of victory: 1 sec.
Lead changes: 12 among 4 drivers
Cautions: 4 for 17 laps
Lap leaders: Pearson 1-2, Yarborough 3-22, Pearson 23-27, Parsons 28-29, Pearson 30-62, Yarborough 63-67, Pearson 68, Insolo 69-70, Yarborough 71-73, Parsons 74-78, Yarborough 79-83, Parsons 84-94, Yarborough 95-119

Race notes: Debut for Rick McCray and Rocky Moran. Finale for Eddie Bradshaw, Gary Johnson, and Jack Simpson.

Finish	Start	Driver	Car #	Sponsor	Car	Owner	Crew Chief	Qualifying Speed	Laps	X Led	Laps Led	Status	Money	Points
1	4	Cale Yarborough	11	1st National City Travelers Checks	Oldsmobile	Johnson	Carter		119	5	58	running	16200	185
2	3	Benny Parsons	72	1st National City Travelers Checks	Chevrolet	L.G. DeWitt	Elder		119	3	18	running	11800	175
3	1	David Pearson	21	Purolator	Mercury	Wood Brothers	Leonard Wood	113.204	119	4	41	running	8000	170
4	16	Neil Bonnett	5	Jim Stacy	Dodge	Stacy			119	0	0	running	8200	160
5	7	Dave Marcis	2	Osterlund	Chevrolet	Osterlund	Livengood		118	0	0	running	3800	155
6	29	Hershel McGriff	95	Jefferson Racing	Ford	Harry Jefferson			118	0	0	running	2850	0
7	11	Jimmy Insolo	01	Lake's Drywall	Chevrolet	Craker			118	1	2	running	4400	151
8	9	Al Holbert	48	Southland Cork & Rubber	Chevrolet	Hylton	Shelmerdine		117	0	0	running	4450	142
9	20	Roy Smith	29	Mercury Marine	Chevrolet	Midgley			115	0	0	running	2300	138
10	19	D.K. Ulrich	40	Pacific Coast	Chevrolet	Ulrich			115	0	0	running	3880	134
11	27	Buddy Arrington	67	Arrington	Ford	Arrington			114	0	0	running	3470	130
12	34	Rick McCray	08	McCray Racing	Dodge	McCray			113	0	0	running	1800	127
13	15	Frank Warren	79	Native Tan	Dodge	Frank Warren			112	0	0	running	3160	124
14	10	Norm Palmer	93	American	Dodge	Norm Palmer			111	0	0	engine	1600	121
15	25	Dick Brooks	64	Sunny King Ford & Honda	Ford	Langley			111	0	0	running	2840	118
16	5	Richard Petty	43	STP	Dodge	Petty	Inman		104	0	0	differential	5100	115
17	22	Jim Thirkettle	51	Timec/Speedway Engineering	Buick				104	0	0	running	1350	112
18	31	Tighe Scott	30	Scotty's Fashions	Chevrolet	Ballard			103	0	0	running	2530	109
19	23	Ernie Stierly	41	Allied Plating	Chevrolet	Stierly			99	0	0	running	1870	106
20	18	Richard Childress	3	Kansas Jack	Chevrolet	Childress			90	0	0	running	2205	103
21	12	Skip Manning	92	Stratagraph	Chevrolet	Hagan			85	0	0	running	1980	100
22	35	Jack Simpson	53	Don Automotive	Chevrolet				74	0	0	running	1105	97
23	2	Darrell Waltrip	88	Gatorade	Chevrolet	DiGard	Buddy Parrott		70	0	0	transmission	4780	94
24	24	Richard White	12	Lindsey Auto Parts	Chevrolet	Mike White			70	0	0	running	1195	91
25	30	Cecil Gordon	24	Transmissions Unlimited	Chevrolet	Cecil Gordon			52	0	0	clutch	1635	88
26	32	Rocky Moran	58	Daisy Shoppe	Chevrolet				51	0	0	engine	955	85
27	13	John Borneman	81	Borneman	Chevrolet	Art Godfrey			50	0	0	clutch	1025	82
28	21	J.D. McDuffie	70	Simpson Safety Equipment	Chevrolet	McDuffie			45	0	0	differential	1455	79
29	17	Vince Giamformaggio	39	Cal-French	Chevrolet				41	0	0	overheating	805	76
30	6	Bobby Allison	15	Norris	Ford	Moore	Moore		40	0	0	valve spring	4455	73
31	28	Don Puskarich	13	Oil Field Construction	Chevrolet	Puskarich			36	0	0	engine	700	70
32	8	Bill Schmitt	73	Old Milwaukee	Chevrolet	Schmitt			19	0	0	differential	1650	67
33	33	Eddie Bradshaw	09	C&M Racing	Chevrolet	C and M			15	0	0	drive shaft	600	64
34	26	Ray Elder	32	Midland Motor Homes	Dodge	Dave Hill			12	0	0	transmission	550	61
35	14	Gary Johnson	44	Armstrong Electric	Chevrolet	Ted Armstrong			3	0	0	differential	500	58

Points standings

Rank	Driver	Points	Starts	Poles	Wins	Top 5s	Top 10s
1	Cale Yarborough	185	1	0	1	1	1
2	Benny Parsons	175	1	0	0	1	1
3	David Pearson	170	1	1	0	1	1
4	Neil Bonnett	160	1	0	0	1	1
5	Dave Marcis	155	1	0	0	1	1
6	Jimmy Insolo	151	1	0	0	0	1
7	Al Holbert	142	1	0	0	0	1
8	Roy Smith	138	1	0	0	0	1
9	D.K. Ulrich	134	1	0	0	0	1
10	Buddy Arrington	130	1	0	0	0	0
11	Rick McCray	127	1	0	0	0	0
12	Frank Warren	124	1	0	0	0	0
13	Norm Palmer	121	1	0	0	0	0
14	Dick Brooks	118	1	0	0	0	0
15	Richard Petty	115	1	0	0	0	0
16	Jim Thirkettle	112	1	0	0	0	0
17	Tighe Scott	109	1	0	0	0	0
18	Ernie Stierly	106	1	0	0	0	0
19	Richard Childress	103	1	0	0	0	0
20	Skip Manning	100	1	0	0	0	0
21	Jack Simpson	97	1	0	0	0	0
22	Darrell Waltrip	94	1	0	0	0	0
23	Richard White	91	1	0	0	0	0
24	Cecil Gordon	88	1	0	0	0	0
25	Rocky Moran	85	1	0	0	0	0