1979 Firecracker 400

Race 17 of 31

Daytona
160 laps
Time of race: 2:18:49
Average speed of winner: 172.890 mph
Margin of victory: 1 sec.
Lead changes: 28 among 8 drivers
Cautions: 2 for 11 laps
Lap leaders: Baker 1-3, Waltrip 4-5, Baker 6-7, Waltrip 8-14, Baker 15-17, Waltrip 18, Baker 19, Waltrip 20, Hylton 21, Foyt 22-24, Waltrip 25-28, Baker 29-30, Waltrip 31-34, Baker 35, Waltrip 36, Baker 37, Waltrip 38-47, Baker 48, Waltrip 49, Baker 50-51, Waltrip 52-57, Parsons 58, Petty 59-60, Waltrip 61-77, Bonnett 78-91, Earnhardt 92, Bonnett 93-127, Parsons 128-132, Bonnett 133-160

Race notes: Finale for Claude Ballot-Léna.

Video links: Finish

Finish	Start	Driver	Car #	Sponsor	Car	Owner	Crew Chief	Qualifying Speed	Laps	X Led	Laps Led	Status	Money	Points
1	2	Neil Bonnett	21	Purolator	Mercury	Wood Brothers	Leonard Wood		160	3	77	running	21705	185
2	3	Benny Parsons	27	Griffin's Marine	Oldsmobile	M.C. Anderson	Ifft		160	2	6	running	16875	175
3	21	Dale Earnhardt	2	Osterlund	Oldsmobile	Osterlund	Elder		160	1	1	running	14980	170
4	6	Darrell Waltrip	88	Gatorade	Oldsmobile	DiGard	Buddy Parrott		159	11	54	running	12280	165
5	11	Richard Petty	43	STP	Oldsmobile	Petty	Inman		158	1	2	running	9480	160
6	12	Chuck Bown	68	King Mountain Truck	Buick	Testa			157	0	0	running	4990	150
7	15	Harry Gant	47	Race Hill Farm	Oldsmobile	Jack Beebe			157	0	0	running	4240	146
8	24	Joe Millikan	72	Appliance Wheels	Oldsmobile	L.G. DeWitt			156	0	0	running	7540	142
9	37	Dick Brooks	05	Sub-Tropic	Oldsmobile	Malloch			156	0	0	running	5575	138
10	8	A.J. Foyt	51	Valvoline	Oldsmobile	Foyt			156	1	3	running	3140	0
11	27	Bill Elliott	9	Yandle/Thermo-King	Mercury	George Elliott	Elliott		156	0	0	running	2960	130
12	23	Donnie Allison	1	Hawaiian Tropic	Chevrolet	Ellington	Pittman		155	0	0	running	2935	127
13	19	Ricky Rudd	90	Truxmore	Mercury	Donlavey			155	0	0	running	5075	124
14	9	Tighe Scott	30	Russ Togs	Buick	Ballard	Hyde		154	0	0	running	4865	121
15	7	Buddy Arrington	67	Rossmeyer	Dodge	Arrington			154	0	0	running	4555	118
16	26	Gary Balough	87	Fast Lane Ltd.	Oldsmobile	Harvey			154	0	0	running	1750	0
17	22	Dave Marcis	71	Shoney's	Chevrolet	Marcis			151	0	0	running	3635	112
18	35	D.K. Ulrich	40	U.S. Army	Buick	Ulrich			151	0	0	running	3775	109
19	30	James Hylton	48	Palatine Automotive	Chevrolet	Hylton			151	1	1	running	3415	111
20	5	Cale Yarborough	11	Busch	Oldsmobile	Johnson	Carter		149	0	0	running	6960	103
21	32	J.D. McDuffie	70	Bailey Excavating	Chevrolet	McDuffie			146	0	0	running	2855	100
22	38	Jimmy Means	52	Mr. Transmission	Chevrolet	Means			146	0	0	running	2645	97
23	40	Rick Newsom	20	Mars	Oldsmobile	Newsom			145	0	0	running	1410	94
24	33	Blackie Wangerin	39	Wangerin	Mercury	Wangerin			144	0	0	tire	1385	91
25	28	Coo Coo Marlin	14	Cunningham-Kelley	Chevrolet	Cunningham-Kelley			138	0	0	engine	1360	88
26	17	Roger Hamby	17	Kings Inn	Oldsmobile	Hamby			137	0	0	running	2260	85
27	36	Tommy Gale	64	Sunny King Ford & Honda	Ford	Langley			121	0	0	rear end	2225	82
28	13	Lennie Pond	12	Kencoal	Oldsmobile	Childers			105	0	0	engine	1285	79
29	10	Terry Labonte	44	Stratagraph	Buick	Hagan			89	0	0	accident	2165	76
30	20	Bobby Allison	15	Hodgdon/Moore	Ford	Moore	Moore		89	0	0	accident	4925	73
31	31	Claude Ballot-Léna	6	Lady & Son	Oldsmobile	G.C. Spencer			83	0	0	engine	1130	0
32	18	Al Holbert	7	Holbert Porsche-Audi	Chevrolet	Holbert			82	0	0	spindle	895	0
33	4	Grant Adcox	41	Adcox-Kirby	Oldsmobile	Adcox			81	0	0	engine	1180	64
34	1	Buddy Baker	28	Spectra	Oldsmobile	Ranier	Wilson	193.196	57	9	16	ignition	4255	66
35	41	Cecil Gordon	24	Gordon	Oldsmobile	Cecil Gordon			50	0	0	valve	1915	58
36	39	Travis Tiller	46	Ring Enterprises	Dodge	Tiller			46	0	0	valve	1025	55
37	16	Richard Childress	3	CRC Chemicals	Oldsmobile	Childress			28	0	0	piston	1520	52
38	29	Sandy Satullo	38	Copper Kettle Marina	Buick	Satullo			18	0	0	accident	1015	49
39	34	Jimmy Finger	32	Vita Fresh/Pharis Chevy	Buick	Bierschwale			17	0	0	accident	1010	46
40	14	Frank Warren	79	Native Tan	Dodge	Frank Warren			7	0	0	engine	1505	43
41	25	Bruce Hill	50	Global Heat Exchange	Buick	Ballard			1	0	0	engine	1030	40

Points standings

Rank	Driver	Points	Starts	Poles	Wins	Top 5s	Top 10s
1	Darrell Waltrip	2720	17	3	4	13	13
2	Bobby Allison	2587	17	2	4	11	12
3	Richard Petty	2522	17	0	2	12	13
4	Cale Yarborough	2500	17	0	2	10	12
5	Dale Earnhardt	2342	17	1	1	6	9
6	Benny Parsons	2240	17	1	0	8	11
7	Joe Millikan	2221	17	1	0	3	13
8	Terry Labonte	2009	17	0	0	1	8
9	J.D. McDuffie	2002	17	0	0	1	5
10	Richard Childress	1983	17	0	0	1	6
11	D.K. Ulrich	1973	17	0	0	0	2
12	Buddy Arrington	1961	17	0	0	1	4
13	Buddy Baker	1955	16	5	2	6	9
14	James Hylton	1919	16	0	0	0	4
15	Frank Warren	1775	17	0	0	0	3
16	Ricky Rudd	1765	15	0	0	0	6
17	Donnie Allison	1677	13	1	0	4	7
18	Ronnie Thomas	1506	16	0	0	0	0
19	Tommy Gale	1437	14	0	0	0	1
20	Cecil Gordon	1421	14	0	0	0	0
21	Dave Marcis	1386	13	0	0	0	1
22	Dick Brooks	1301	14	0	0	1	5
23	Jimmy Means	1244	14	0	0	0	0
24	Baxter Price	1218	12	0	0	0	0
25	Neil Bonnett	1169	11	2	2	3	3