1979 Winston Western 500

Race 1 of 31

Riverside
119 laps
Time of race: 2:53:30
Average speed of winner: 107.820 mph
Margin of victory: 3.27 sec.
Lead changes: 13 among 5 drivers
Cautions: 0 for 0 laps
Lap leaders: Pearson pole, Yarborough 1-3, Waltrip 4-20, B. Allison 21-27, Pearson 28, Holbert 29-30, Waltrip 31-59, Holbert 60-62, Pearson 63, Waltrip 64-90, Pearson 91-94, B. Allison 95-102, Pearson 103-105, Waltrip 106-119

Race notes: Debut for Jim Robinson and Tim Williamson. Finale for Don Graham, Don Noel, and Jim Thirkettle.

Finish	Start	Driver	Car #	Sponsor	Car	Owner	Crew Chief	Qualifying Speed	Laps	X Led	Laps Led	Status	Money	Points
1	4	Darrell Waltrip	88	Gatorade	Chevrolet	DiGard	Buddy Parrott		119	4	87	running	21150	185
2	1	David Pearson	21	Purolator	Mercury	Wood Brothers	Leonard Wood	113.659	119	4	9	running	14200	175
3	2	Cale Yarborough	11	Busch	Oldsmobile	Johnson	Carter		119	1	3	running	12675	170
4	8	Bill Schmitt	73	Old Milwaukee	Oldsmobile	Schmitt			118	0	0	running	8000	160
5	17	Donnie Allison	1	Hawaiian Tropic	Chevrolet	Ellington	Pittman		118	0	0	running	7550	155
6	15	Joe Millikan	72	DeWitt	Chevrolet	L.G. DeWitt			118	0	0	running	7050	150
7	11	Buddy Baker	28	W.I.N.	Chevrolet	Ranier	Wilson		118	0	0	running	6350	146
8	14	Jim Thirkettle	51	Allied Box & Crate	Buick				117	0	0	running	2450	142
9	26	Tim Williamson	74	Cal-Four	Chevrolet	Williamson			116	0	0	running	2300	138
10	21	Harry Gant	12	Black Diamond	Chevrolet	Childers			116	0	0	running	2350	134
11	16	James Hylton	48	Palatine Automotive	Chevrolet	Hylton			114	0	0	running	4200	130
12	24	Ronnie Thomas	25	1st National City Travelers Checks	Chevrolet	Don Robertson			114	0	0	running	4780	127
13	34	Vince Giamformaggio	19	Belden Asphalt	Chevrolet	Henley Gray			113	0	0	running	3470	124
14	12	D.K. Ulrich	40	Midwestern Farm Lines	Buick	Ulrich			113	0	0	running	3310	121
15	23	Richard Childress	3	CRC Chemicals	Oldsmobile	Childress			112	0	0	running	3090	118
16	7	Jimmy Insolo	01	Lake's Drywall	Oldsmobile	Craker			111	0	0	oil pump	3380	115
17	20	J.D. McDuffie	70	Bailey Excavating	Chevrolet	McDuffie			109	0	0	running	2720	112
18	30	Buddy Arrington	67	Switzer Contractors	Ford	Arrington			109	0	0	running	2560	109
19	3	Bobby Allison	15	Norris Industries	Ford	Moore	Moore		105	2	15	valve	4950	111
20	13	Al Holbert	7	Bosch	Chevrolet	Holbert			104	2	5	running	1195	108
21	10	Dale Earnhardt	2	Osterlund	Chevrolet	Osterlund	Elder		103	0	0	running	2230	100
22	35	Don Graham	52	City Tow	Chevrolet				100	0	0	engine	1495	97
23	33	Harry Goularte	17	Associated Concrete	Chevrolet	Goularte			82	0	0	running	1460	94
24	9	Dave Marcis	02	Shoney's Big Boy	Chevrolet	Marcis			81	0	0	running	1055	91
25	19	Cecil Gordon	24	Gordon & Barnicle	Oldsmobile	Cecil Gordon			66	0	0	engine	1875	88
26	5	Benny Parsons	27	Hodgdon Tool	Chevrolet	M.C. Anderson	Ifft		56	0	0	transmission	955	85
27	18	Frank Warren	79	10,000 RPM Speed Equipment	Dodge	Frank Warren			48	0	0	engine	1755	82
28	32	Don Puskarich	13	Puskarich Racing	Chevrolet	Don Puskarich			47	0	0	running	855	79
29	27	Richard White	22	Boulevard Automotive	Chevrolet	Mike White			32	0	0	oil leak	805	76
30	31	Jim Robinson	81	Borneman	Chevrolet	Borneman			17	0	0	engine	755	73
31	29	Don Noel	99	Noel's Welding	Chevrolet	Noel			15	0	0	transmission	700	70
32	6	Richard Petty	43	STP	Chevrolet	Petty	Inman		14	0	0	engine	4600	67
33	22	Dick Brooks	05	Bearfinder	Oldsmobile	Malloch			12	0	0	piston	600	64
34	28	Neil Bonnett	5	Tune Up Masters	Chevrolet	Stacy			10	0	0	clutch	1050	61
35	25	Terry Labonte	44	Duck Industries	Chevrolet	Hagan			7	0	0	engine	1000	58

Points standings

Rank	Driver	Points	Starts	Poles	Wins	Top 5s	Top 10s
1	Darrell Waltrip	185	1	0	1	1	1
2	David Pearson	175	1	1	0	1	1
3	Cale Yarborough	170	1	0	0	1	1
4	Bill Schmitt	160	1	0	0	1	1
5	Donnie Allison	155	1	0	0	1	1
6	Joe Millikan	150	1	0	0	0	1
7	Buddy Baker	146	1	0	0	0	1
8	Jim Thirkettle	142	1	0	0	0	1
9	Tim Williamson	138	1	0	0	0	1
10	Harry Gant	134	1	0	0	0	1
11	James Hylton	130	1	0	0	0	0
12	Ronnie Thomas	127	1	0	0	0	0
13	Vince Giamformaggio	124	1	0	0	0	0
14	D.K. Ulrich	121	1	0	0	0	0
15	Richard Childress	118	1	0	0	0	0
16	Jimmy Insolo	115	1	0	0	0	0
17	J.D. McDuffie	112	1	0	0	0	0
18	Bobby Allison	111	1	0	0	0	0
19	Buddy Arrington	109	1	0	0	0	0
20	Al Holbert	108	1	0	0	0	0
21	Dale Earnhardt	100	1	0	0	0	0
22	Don Graham	97	1	0	0	0	0
23	Harry Goularte	94	1	0	0	0	0
24	Dave Marcis	91	1	0	0	0	0
25	Cecil Gordon	88	1	0	0	0	0