1978 American 500

Race 28 of 30

Rockingham
492 laps
Time of race: 4:15:58
Average speed of winner: 117.288 mph
Margin of victory: 2 laps
Lead changes: 22 among 13 drivers
Cautions: 5 for 52 laps
Lap leaders: Yarborough 1-4, D. Allison 5-16, Yarborough 17-36, Scott 37-39, Hylton 40-49, Waltrip 50-51, Pond 52-56, Waltrip 57-77, Pond 78, Brooks 79, Baker 80-93, Pearson 94-101, Pond 102, Marcis 103-104, McDuffie 105, Petty 106-120, Parsons 121-125, Pond 126-131, Parsons 132-137, Petty 138-140, Yarborough 141-492

Race notes: Finale for Charlie Blanton, Joe Frasson, and Johnny Halford.

Finish	Start	Driver	Car #	Sponsor	Car	Owner	Crew Chief	Qualifying Speed	Laps	X Led	Laps Led	Status	Money	Points
1	1	Cale Yarborough	11	1st National City Travelers Checks	Oldsmobile	Johnson	Carter	142.067	492	3	376	running	17310	185
2	4	Bobby Allison	15	Norris Industries	Ford	Moore	Moore		490	0	0	running	11650	170
3	3	Darrell Waltrip	88	Gatorade	Chevrolet	DiGard	Buddy Parrott		488	2	23	running	9550	170
4	12	Benny Parsons	72	1st National City Travelers Checks	Chevrolet	L.G. DeWitt	Elder		486	2	11	running	7900	165
5	8	Dick Brooks	90	Truxmore	Ford	Donlavey			486	1	1	running	6050	160
6	11	Richard Petty	43	STP	Chevrolet	Petty	Inman		485	2	18	running	7000	155
7	5	Lennie Pond	54	W.I.N.	Chevrolet	Ranier	Wilson		485	4	13	running	6100	151
8	10	Dave Marcis	2	Osterlund	Chevrolet	Osterlund	Livengood		484	1	2	running	4200	147
9	21	Buddy Arrington	67	Falls Radiator	Dodge	Arrington			473	0	0	running	4230	138
10	24	Richard Childress	3	Kansas Jack	Chevrolet	Childress			472	0	0	running	4320	134
11	14	Dick May	92	Duck Industries	Chevrolet	Hagan			471	0	0	running	3560	130
12	20	J.D. McDuffie	70	Bailey Excavating	Chevrolet	McDuffie			468	1	1	running	3240	132
13	23	Jimmy Means	52	Means Racing	Chevrolet	Means			465	0	0	running	2960	124
14	13	James Hylton	48	Palatine Automotive	Chevrolet	Hylton	Shelmerdine		464	1	10	running	2720	126
15	26	Cecil Gordon	24	Transmissions Unlimited	Chevrolet	Cecil Gordon			459	0	0	running	2510	118
16	28	Frank Warren	79	Native Tan	Dodge	Frank Warren			448	0	0	running	2250	115
17	27	Gary Myers	4	Spencer's Baby Wear	Chevrolet	Gary Myers			444	0	0	running	1300	112
18	18	Tommy Gale	64	Sunny King Ford & Honda	Ford	Langley			444	0	0	running	1865	109
19	30	Baxter Price	45	Price Racing	Chevrolet	Baxter Price			441	0	0	running	1730	106
20	2	Donnie Allison	1	Hawaiian Tropic	Chevrolet	Ellington	Pittman		423	3	12	driver ill	1250	108
21	17	Tighe Scott	30	Russ Togs	Chevrolet	Ballard			374	1	3	spindle	1495	105
22	7	Buddy Baker	27	M.C. Anderson	Chevrolet	M.C. Anderson	Ifft		324	1	14	cylinder head	1400	102
23	25	Joe Frasson	18	Frasson Racing	Buick	Frasson			293	0	0	engine	775	94
24	16	David Pearson	21	Purolator	Mercury	Wood Brothers	Leonard Wood		284	1	8	clutch	1325	96
25	6	Ricky Rudd	22	1st National City Travelers Checks	Chevrolet	Al Rudd			262	0	0	valve	2225	88
26	19	Roger Hamby	17	Hamby/Ellis Automotive	Chevrolet	Hamby			215	0	0	head gasket	1200	85
27	36	Bobby Wawak	31	Jim Norris	Chevrolet	Norris			214	0	0	engine	675	82
28	33	Junior Miller	95	Miller Roofing	Chevrolet	Junior Miller			122	0	0	withdrew	630	79
29	29	Elmo Langley	19	Belden Asphalt	Chevrolet	Henley Gray			88	0	0	engine	1120	76
30	32	Johnny Halford	87	Satterfield Heating	Chevrolet	Satterfield			84	0	0	engine	610	0
31	9	Neil Bonnett	5	Armor-All	Chevrolet	Stacy			76	0	0	engine	4300	70
32	34	Charlie Blanton	59	Danny Queen	Chevrolet				52	0	0	ignition	590	0
33	22	Ronnie Thomas	25	Louise Smith	Chevrolet	Don Robertson			34	0	0	engine	1080	64
34	31	Ferrel Harris	81	L.R. Cook	Chevrolet	Robert Gee			6	0	0	accident	570	61
35	15	Ed Negre	8	D&D Medial	Dodge	Negre			4	0	0	engine	1060	58
36	35	Bill Hollar	29	Hollar Auto Parts	Chevrolet	Hollar			0	0	0	withdrew	550	55

Points standings

Rank	Driver	Points	Starts	Poles	Wins	Top 5s	Top 10s
1	Cale Yarborough	4519	28	6	10	22	22
2	Darrell Waltrip	4123	28	2	6	18	19
3	Dave Marcis	4083	28	0	0	13	23
4	Benny Parsons	4043	28	2	3	14	19
5	Bobby Allison	4027	28	1	4	13	20
6	Richard Petty	3708	28	0	0	10	16
7	Lennie Pond	3593	26	5	1	11	18
8	Dick Brooks	3504	28	0	0	5	16
9	Buddy Arrington	3453	28	0	0	1	7
10	Richard Childress	3363	28	0	0	1	12
11	J.D. McDuffie	3049	28	1	0	1	6
12	Neil Bonnett	3016	28	3	0	7	12
13	Tighe Scott	3013	28	0	0	0	7
14	Frank Warren	2878	28	0	0	0	0
15	Dick May	2760	26	0	0	0	2
16	David Pearson	2640	20	6	4	11	11
17	Jimmy Means	2565	25	0	0	0	2
18	Ronnie Thomas	2542	25	0	0	0	2
19	Tommy Gale	2457	24	0	0	0	0
20	D.K. Ulrich	2452	22	0	0	0	3
21	Baxter Price	2418	24	0	0	0	0
22	Cecil Gordon	2414	24	0	0	0	1
23	Roger Hamby	2360	24	0	0	0	2
24	Buddy Baker	1860	17	1	0	3	7
25	James Hylton	1850	18	0	0	0	4