1978 Talladega 500
Race details[1]
Race 19 of 30 in the 1978 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season
Official poster for the 1978 Talladega 500
Official poster for the 1978 Talladega 500
Date August 6, 1978 (1978-August-06)
Official name Talladega 500
Location Alabama International Motor Speedway, Talladega, Alabama
Course Permanent racing facility
2.660 mi (4.280 km)
Distance 188 laps, 500.1 mi (804.8 km)
Weather Temperatures of 88.9 °F (31.6 °C); wind speeds of 6.6 miles per hour (10.6 km/h)
Average speed 174.7 miles per hour (281.2 km/h)
Attendance 60,000[2]
Pole position
Driver
Junior Johnson & Associates
Most laps led
Driver Cale Yarborough Junior Johnson & Associates
Laps 79
Winner
No. 54 Lennie Pond Ranier Racing
Television in the United States
Network CBS
Announcers Ken Squier
Lee Petty

The 1978 Talladega 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race that took place on August 6, 1978, at Alabama International Motor Speedway in Talladega, Alabama.

Background

Talladega Superspeedway, originally known as Alabama International Motor Superspeedway (AIMS), is a motorsports complex located north of Talladega, Alabama. It is located on the former Anniston Air Force Base in the small city of Lincoln. The track is a Tri-oval and was constructed by International Speedway Corporation, a business controlled by the France Family, in the 1960s. Talladega is most known for its steep banking and the unique location of the start/finish line - located just past the exit to pit road. The track currently hosts the NASCAR series such as the Sprint Cup Series, Xfinity Series, and the Camping World Truck Series. Talladega Superspeedway is the longest NASCAR oval with a length of 2.66 miles (4.28 km), and the track at its peak had a seating capacity of 175,000 spectators.[3]

Race report

Four cautions were waved for seventeen laps; making the race last almost three hours in length,[2] with 67 lead changes the race.[2] James Hylton finished last due to a transmission issue on the first lap of 188 laps.[2] Lennie Pond became the third driver whose only career victory was at the summer Talladega race (Richard Brickhouse in 1969 and Dick Brooks in 1973).[2] He would defeat Donnie Allison by two car lengths in front of 60,000 spectators.[2][4] Yarborough lost half a lap near the end of the race, losing the leaders because he missed the pit entry and made his stop on lap 181.[2]

There was one foreigner in the 41-car lineup: Claude Ballot-Léna from Paris, France.[2] Cale Yarborough would earn the pole position with a speed of 192.717 miles per hour (310.148 km/h) while the average speed of the race was 174.7 miles per hour (281.2 km/h).[2] It was a 500 mile world's record in 1978.[5] Bill Elliott would break that record at the 1985 Winston 500 with an average of 186.288 miles per hour (299.801 km/h).[6] Female driver Janet Guthrie was also a part of the grid; finishing in 29th place due to a crash on lap 129.[2] Country music star and part-time NASCAR driver Marty Robbins made his only start of the season and came home 18th driving his Dodge Magnum.[7]

Richard Petty would stop racing in Chrysler cars after this race. Only the 1984 Winston 500 would see more lead changes than this event.

Qualifying

Grid No. Driver Manufacturer Speed[8] Qualifying time[8] Owner
1 11Cale YarboroughOldsmobile192.91749.638Junior Johnson
2 72Benny ParsonsOldsmobile192.10449.848L.G. DeWitt
3 21David PearsonMercury192.02749.868Wood Brothers
4 27Buddy BakerOldsmobile191.57049.987M.C. Anderson
5 54Lennie PondOldsmobile191.02350.130Harry Ranier
6 43Richard PettyDodge190.17750.353Petty Enterprises
7 22Ricky RuddChevrolet189.82350.447Al Rudd
8 14Coo Coo MarlinChevrolet189.07050.648H.B. Cunningham
9 1Donnie AllisonOldsmobile188.96950.675Hoss Ellington
10 92Skip ManningBuick188.93950.683Billy Hagan

Finishing order

Section reference: [2]

  1. Lennie Pond
  2. Donnie Allison
  3. Benny Parsons
  4. Cale Yarborough
  5. David Pearson
  6. Bobby Allison
  7. Richard Petty
  8. Neil Bonnett
  9. Dick Brooks
  10. Tighe Scott
  11. Ferrell Harris
  12. Dale Earnhardt
  13. Bill Elliott
  14. Dave Marcis
  15. Buddy Arrington
  16. Dick May
  17. J.D. McDuffie
  18. Marty Robbins
  19. D.K. Ulrich
  20. Tommy Gale
  21. Gary Myers
  22. Grant Adcox
  23. Baxter Price
  24. Ronnie Thomas
  25. Richard Childress
  26. Coo Coo Marlin
  27. Steve Moore
  28. Buddy Baker
  29. Janet Guthrie
  30. Al Holbert
  31. Earle Canavan
  32. Jimmy Means
  33. Frank Warren
  34. Darrell Waltrip
  35. Bruce Hill
  36. Roger Hamby
  37. Claude Ballot-Lena
  38. Skip Manning
  39. Ricky Rudd
  40. Blackie Wangerin
  41. James Hylton

Timeline

Section reference: [2]

  • Start: Cale Yarborough was leading the starting grid as the cars were approaching the start/finish line.
  • Lap 9: Blackie Wangerin had some engine issues that forced him out of the event.
  • Lap 22: Ricky Rudd had some engine issues that forced him out of the event.
  • Lap 46: Skip Manning had some engine issues that forced him out of the event.
  • Lap 48: Claude Ballot-Lena had some engine issues that forced him out of the event.
  • Lap 94: Roger Hamby's vehicle had a clutch that went bad which caused him to exit the race.
  • Lap 96: The axle on Bruce Hill's vehicle became unsafe for further racing.
  • Lap 105: Darrell Waltrip had some engine issues that forced him out of the event.
  • Lap 118: Jimmy Means had a terminal crash.
  • Lap 124: Al Holbert had some engine issues that forced him out of the event.
  • Lap 129: Janet Guthrie had a terminal crash.
  • Lap 149: Buddy Baker had some engine issues that forced him out of the event.
  • Lap 158: Coo Coo Marlin had some engine issues that forced him out of the event.
  • Finish: Lennie Pond was officially declared the winner of the event.

Standings after the race

Pos Driver Points[2] Differential
1 Cale Yarborough 2982 0
2 Dave Marcis 2824 -158
3 Benny Parsons 2801 -181
4 Increase Bobby Allison 2579 -403
5 Decrease Darrell Waltrip 2568 -414
6 Richard Petty 2515 -467
7 Lennie Pond 2391 -591
8 Buddy Arrington 2328 -654
9 Richard Childress 2278 -704
10 Dick Brooks 2245 -737

References

  1. ↑ 1978 Talladega 500 weather information at The Old Farmers' Almanac
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 1978 Talladega 500 at Racing Reference
  3. ↑ "Track Facts". talladegasuperspeedway.com. Talladega Superspeedway. November 1, 2012. Archived from the original on November 1, 2012. Retrieved April 27, 2015.
  4. ↑ 1978 Talladega 500 racing information at Race Database
  5. ↑ Profile of Lenny Pond at Decades of Racing
  6. ↑ Bill Elliott's Record Breaking Run at Racing Reference
  7. ↑ Finishing position of Marty Robbins Archived 2012-03-16 at the Wayback Machine at MartyRobbins.net
  8. 1 2 Qualifying information at Racing Reference
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