1979 Talladega 500

Race 20 of 31

Talladega
188 laps
Time of race: 3:06:06
Average speed of winner: 161.229 mph
Margin of victory: 62 sec.
Lead changes: 34 among 8 drivers
Cautions: 5 for 28 laps
Lap leaders: Bonnett pole, Pearson 1, Bonnett 2-4, Waltrip 5, Bonnett 6-8, Yarborough 9, Bonnett 10-15, Yarborough 16, Bonnett 17-21, R. Petty 22-25, Yarborough 26-28, Bonnett 29, Yarborough 30, Bonnett 31-51, Yarborough 52, Waltrip 53-58, Pearson 59-62, Bonnett 63, Adcox 64-67, Pearson 68-73, Waltrip 74-81, Pearson 82-83, Yarborough 84, Pearson 85, Yarborough 86, Waltrip 87-90, Yarborough 91-94, Parsons 95-99, Millikan 100, Waltrip 101-108, Yarborough 109, Waltrip 110-129, Adcox 130, Pearson 131-133, Waltrip 134-188

Race notes: Debut for Kyle Petty. Finale for Bob Burcham and Al Holbert.

Video links: Highlights (Part 1), Highlights (Part 2), Highlights (Part 3), Highlights (Part 4)

Finish	Start	Driver	Car #	Sponsor	Car	Owner	Crew Chief	Qualifying Speed	Laps	X Led	Laps Led	Status	Money	Points
1	8	Darrell Waltrip	88	Gatorade	Oldsmobile	DiGard	Buddy Parrott		188	7	102	running	32325	185
2	2	David Pearson	2	Osterlund	Oldsmobile	Osterlund	Elder		188	6	17	running	20925	175
3	11	Ricky Rudd	90	Truxmore	Mercury	Donlavey			186	0	0	running	13920	165
4	13	Richard Petty	43	STP	Oldsmobile	Petty	Inman		186	1	4	running	11475	165
5	25	Jody Ridley	77	Sunny King Ford	Mercury	Donlavey			186	0	0	running	6025	155
6	3	Tighe Scott	30	Russ Togs	Buick	Ballard	Hyde		186	0	0	running	8000	150
7	21	Harry Gant	47	Race Hill Farm	Oldsmobile	Jack Beebe			184	0	0	running	4815	146
8	6	Buddy Arrington	67	Rossmeyer	Dodge	Arrington			181	0	0	running	5980	142
9	18	Kyle Petty	42	STP	Dodge	Petty			181	0	0	running	3315	138
10	20	Richard Childress	3	CRC Chemicals	Oldsmobile	Childress			179	0	0	running	5520	134
11	24	Dick Brooks	05	Bearfinder	Oldsmobile	Malloch			177	0	0	running	4560	130
12	22	Bill Elliott	9	Yandle/Thermo-King	Mercury	George Elliott	Elliott		176	0	0	running	2865	127
13	37	Jimmy Means	52	Mr. Transmission	Chevrolet	Means			175	0	0	running	4740	124
14	38	Bob Burcham	19	Belden Asphalt	Chevrolet	Henley Gray			172	0	0	running	4480	121
15	34	Rick Newsom	20	Mars, Inc.	Oldsmobile	Newsom			172	0	0	running	2565	118
16	10	Bruce Hill	50	Global Heat Exchange	Oldsmobile	Ballard			171	0	0	engine	2465	115
17	39	Steve Moore	73	Gilbert Moore	Chevrolet	Gilbert Moore			170	0	0	running	2415	112
18	31	J.D. McDuffie	70	Bailey Excavating	Chevrolet	McDuffie			163	0	0	running	3920	109
19	7	Grant Adcox	41	Adcox-Kirby	Oldsmobile	Adcox			162	2	5	valve	2515	111
20	30	James Hylton	48	Palatine Automotive	Oldsmobile	Hylton			159	0	0	running	3510	103
21	12	Benny Parsons	27	Griffin's Marine	Oldsmobile	M.C. Anderson	Ifft		146	1	5	engine	3400	105
22	32	Ronnie Thomas	25	Stone's Cafeteria	Buick	Don Robertson			143	0	0	engine	3965	97
23	9	Frank Warren	79	Native Tan	Dodge	Frank Warren			142	0	0	running	2830	94
24	5	Cale Yarborough	11	Busch	Oldsmobile	Johnson	Carter		138	9	14	engine	8015	96
25	26	Joe Millikan	72	Appliance Wheels	Oldsmobile	L.G. DeWitt			120	1	1	engine	6615	93
26	36	Baxter Price	45	Iron Peddlers	Oldsmobile	Baxter Price			95	0	0	engine	2670	85
27	35	D.K. Ulrich	40	Ulrich	Buick	Ulrich			92	0	0	engine	2600	82
28	19	Bobby Allison	15	Hodgdon/Moore	Ford	Moore	Moore		90	0	0	engine	5365	79
29	33	Coo Coo Marlin	14	Cunningham-Kelley	Chevrolet	Cunningham-Kelley			87	0	0	engine	1590	76
30	23	Donnie Allison	1	Hawaiian Tropic	Chevrolet	Ellington	Pittman		83	0	0	valve	1515	73
31	14	Dave Marcis	71	Shoney's	Chevrolet	Marcis			83	0	0	timing chain	1350	70
32	40	Marty Robbins	36	Robbins Racing	Dodge	Robbins			75	0	0	engine	1325	67
33	15	Terry Labonte	44	Stratagraph	Buick	Hagan			75	0	0	engine	2300	64
34	1	Neil Bonnett	21	Purolator	Mercury	Wood Brothers	Leonard Wood	193.600	71	7	40	engine	6025	66
35	16	Jack Ingram	12	Kencoal	Oldsmobile	Childers			70	0	0	clutch	1250	58
36	27	Tommy Gale	64	Sunny King Ford & Honda	Ford	Langley			58	0	0	engine	1725	55
37	29	Blackie Wangerin	39	Wangerin	Mercury	Wangerin			50	0	0	oil pressure	1350	52
38	17	Al Holbert	7	Holbert Porsche-Audi	Oldsmobile	Holbert			47	0	0	engine	1175	0
39	4	Buddy Baker	28	W.I.N., Inc.	Oldsmobile	Ranier	Wilson		41	0	0	valve	1750	46
40	41	Cecil Gordon	24	Gordon	Oldsmobile	Cecil Gordon			40	0	0	engine	1550	43
41	28	Dick May	87	Fast Lane Ltd.	Oldsmobile	Harvey			1	0	0	oil pressure	1050	0

Points standings

Rank	Driver	Points	Starts	Poles	Wins	Top 5s	Top 10s
1	Darrell Waltrip	3246	20	4	6	15	16
2	Richard Petty	3017	20	0	2	15	16
3	Cale Yarborough	2946	20	0	3	12	14
4	Bobby Allison	2924	20	2	4	11	13
5	Benny Parsons	2665	20	1	0	10	13
6	Dale Earnhardt	2588	19	1	1	7	10
7	Joe Millikan	2564	20	1	0	3	14
8	Richard Childress	2390	20	0	0	1	8
9	J.D. McDuffie	2377	20	0	0	1	6
10	Buddy Arrington	2312	20	0	0	1	5
11	D.K. Ulrich	2279	20	0	0	0	2
12	Terry Labonte	2255	20	0	0	1	8
13	James Hylton	2236	19	0	0	0	5
14	Buddy Baker	2171	18	5	2	7	10
15	Frank Warren	2096	20	0	0	0	3
16	Ricky Rudd	2085	17	0	0	2	8
17	Ronnie Thomas	1862	19	0	0	0	1
18	Donnie Allison	1750	14	1	0	4	7
19	Cecil Gordon	1703	17	0	0	0	0
20	Tommy Gale	1683	17	0	0	0	1
21	Dick Brooks	1640	17	0	0	1	5
22	Jimmy Means	1617	17	0	0	0	1
23	Baxter Price	1482	15	0	0	0	0
24	Dave Marcis	1456	14	0	0	0	1
25	Harry Gant	1418	14	1	0	0	4