| 1979 American 500 NASCAR Cup Series Race 29 of 31 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Race Information | Track Information | ||||
| Total Purse: | $138,750 | Race Date: | Oct 21, 1979 | Rockingham Speedway | |
| Margin of Victory: | .170 Seconds | Race Duration: | 4h 37m 4s | Rockingham, North Carolina | |
| Lead Changes: | 23 | Average Speed: | 108.356 MPH | 1.017 Mile Paved | |
| No. of Cars: | 37 | No. of Cautions: | 12 For 82 Laps | rockingham-speedway.com/ | |
| Winner, Pole and Manufacturer Information | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner Information | Pole Information | Manufacturer Points | ||||||
| Driver: | Richard Petty R. Petty | Driver: | Buddy Baker B. Baker | Chevrolet: | 9 | |||
| Car No.: | #43 Chevrolet | Car No.: | #28 Chevrolet | Ford: | 0 | |||
| Team: | Petty Enterprises | Team: | Ranier Racing with MDM | Oldsmobile: | 0 | |||
| Crew Chief: | Dale Inman | Crew Chief: | Waddell Wilson | Dodge: | 0 | |||
| Laps Led: | 139 of 492 | Pole Speed: | 141.315 MPH | |||||
| Official 1979 American 500 Results |
|---|
| Finish | Start | Num | Driver | Sponsor | Status | Mfg | Points | Laps | Led |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | 43 | Richard Petty | STP | Running |  | 180 | 492 | 139 |
| 2 | 2 | 27 | Benny Parsons | Griffin's Marine | Running | | 180 | 492 | 168 |
| 3 | 9 | 11 | Cale Yarborough | Busch | Running | | 170 | 492 | 50 |
| 4 | 6 | 1 | Donnie Allison | Hawaiian Tropic | Running | | 165 | 490 | 6 |
| 5 | 10 | 2 | Dale Earnhardt (R) | Osterlund Racing | Running | | 155 | 488 | 0 |
| 6 | 3 | 88 | Darrell Waltrip | Gatorade | Running | | 155 | 484 | 29 |
| 7 | 15 | 3 | Richard Childress | CRC Chemicals | Running | | 146 | 476 | 0 |
| 8 | 20 | 25 | Ronnie Thomas | Stone's Cafeteria | Running | | 142 | 476 | 0 |
| 9 | 16 | 71 | Dave Marcis | Shoney's | Running | | 138 | 475 | 0 |
| 10 | 30 | 51 | Slick Johnson | Johnson Racing | Running | | 134 | 474 | 0 |
| 11 | 22 | 48 | James Hylton | Palatine Automotive | Running | | 130 | 470 | 0 |
| 12 | 32 | 64 | Tommy Gale | Sunny King Ford & Honda | Running |  | 127 | 456 | 0 |
| 13 | 29 | 24 | Cecil Gordon | Gordon Racing | Running |  | 124 | 456 | 0 |
| 14 | 36 | 75 | Bill Elswick | Rahmoc Racing | Running | | 0 | 453 | 0 |
| 15 | 11 | 5 | Dick Brooks | Compcon Incorporated | Engine | | 118 | 452 | 0 |
| 16 | 34 | 0 | Freddy Smith | Petty's Of Spartanburg | Running | | 0 | 452 | 0 |
| 17 | 25 | 67 | Buddy Arrington | Reid Trailer Sales | Running |  | 112 | 434 | 0 |
| 18 | 5 | 72 | Joe Millikan (R) | Appliance Wheels | Running | | 109 | 426 | 0 |
| 19 | 8 | 15 | Bobby Allison | Hodgdon / Moore | Accident | | 106 | 422 | 0 |
| 20 | 13 | 90 | Ricky Rudd | Truxmore Industries | Accident | | 103 | 420 | 0 |
| 21 | 12 | 47 | Harry Gant (R) | Race Hill Farm | Running | | 100 | 416 | 0 |
| 22 | 28 | 45 | Baxter Price | Iron Peddlers | Accident | | 97 | 412 | 0 |
| 23 | 19 | 17 | Bill Elliott | Kings Inn Daytona | Running | | 94 | 391 | 0 |
| 24 | 33 | 79 | Frank Warren | Native Tan | Rear Gear | | 91 | 376 | 0 |
| 25 | 37 | 70 | J.D. McDuffie | Bailey Excavating | Rear Gear | | 88 | 354 | 0 |
| 26 | 31 | 99 | Dick May | Bill Hollar (Car Owner) | Rear Gear | | 0 | 267 | 0 |
| 27 | 14 | 44 | Terry Labonte (R) | Technicraft | Engine | | 87 | 259 | 1 |
| 28 | 21 | 40 | D.K. Ulrich | U.S. Army | Running |  | 79 | 253 | 0 |
| 29 | 4 | 21 | Neil Bonnett | Purolator | Accident |  | 81 | 233 | 95 |
| 30 | 27 | 18 | Randy Ogden | Ogden Racing | Driver Fatigue | | 0 | 227 | 0 |
| 31 | 23 | 52 | Jimmy Means | Mr. Transmission | Rear Gear | | 70 | 227 | 0 |
| 32 | 18 | 19 | Glenn Jarrett | Belden Asphalt | Oil Pressure | | 67 | 164 | 0 |
| 33 | 1 | 28 | Buddy Baker | W.I.N. Incorporated | Rear Gear | | 69 | 141 | 4 |
| 34 | 24 | 46 | Travis Tiller | Ring Enterprises | Ignition | | 61 | 76 | 0 |
| 35 | 35 | 76 | Mike Potter | Potter Racing | Engine | | 0 | 73 | 0 |
| 36 | 26 | 61 | Bub Strickler | Budweiser | Accident | | 55 | 67 | 0 |
| 37 | 17 | 30 | Tighe Scott | Russ Togs | Oil Cooler | | 52 | 17 | 0 |
