1978 Delaware 500
| Race details[1][2] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 24 of 30 in the 1978 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season | |||
 Layout of Dover International Speedway | |||
| Date | September 17, 1978 | ||
| Official name | Delaware 500 | ||
| Location | Dover Downs International Speedway, Dover, Delaware | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 1.000 mi (1.609 km) | ||
| Distance | 500 laps, 500.0 mi (804.6 km) | ||
| Weather | Warm with temperatures reaching a maximum of 79 °F (26 °C); wind speeds up to 9.9 miles per hour (15.9 km/h) | ||
| Average speed | 119.323 miles per hour (192.032 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | McDuffie Racing | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Bobby Allison | Bud Moore Engineering | |
| Laps | 267 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 15 | Bobby Allison | Bud Moore Engineering | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | untelevised | ||
| Announcers | none | ||
The 1978 Delaware 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series (now Sprint Cup Series) racing event that took place on September 17, 1978, at Dover Downs International Speedway (now Dover International Speedway) in the American community of Dover, Delaware.
By 1980, NASCAR had completely stopped tracking the year model of all the vehicles and most teams did not take stock cars to the track under their own power any more.
Background
Dover Downs International Speedway, now called Dover International Speedway, is one of five short tracks to hold NASCAR races; the others are Bristol Motor Speedway, Richmond International Raceway, Martinsville Speedway, and Phoenix International Raceway.[3] The NASCAR race makes use of the track's standard configuration, a four-turn short track oval that is 1 mile (1.6 km) long.[4] The track's turns are banked at twenty-four degrees, and both the front stretch (the location of the finish line) and the backstretch are banked at nine degrees.[4]
Summary
Five hundred laps were completed on a paved oval track spanning 1.000 mile (1.609 km).[2] The race took four hours, eleven minutes, and twenty seconds to complete.[2] Three cautions were given out by NASCAR for eighteen laps.[2] Thirty thousand stock car racing fans attended this live event.[2] Notable speeds were: 119.323 miles per hour (192.032 km/h) for the average speed and 135.480 miles per hour (218.034 km/h) for the pole position speed (accomplished by J.D. McDuffie[5]).[2]
Bobby Allison defeated Cale Yarborough by 11½ seconds.[2] Other notable names in the event included: Darrell Waltrip (now a NASCAR on Fox broadcaster), Richard Childress (now the owner of Richard Childress Racing), Richard Petty, and J.D. McDuffie.[2] J.D. McDuffie established the pole position[2] while using tires manufactured by the McCreary Tire Company. This pole position start also got him a guaranteed ride in the first running of the Busch Clash (now the Sprint Unlimited);[6] Buddy Baker would ultimately win that race on February 1979. The Busch Clash consisted of a racing event with a single twenty-lap (50-mile) green flag sprint with no pit stops required.
Jabe Thomas would retire from NASCAR after this race. Bobby Allison would gain his 50th career Winston Cup Series victory from this race. Although McDuffie would never win a race with a Winston Cup Series vehicle, his best overall finish would come at the 1979 Sun-Drop Music City USA 420 in Nashville, Tennessee.[7]
Finishing order
- Bobby Allison (defeated Cale Yarborough by one car length)
- Cale Yarborough
- Buddy Baker† (highest finishing Chevrolet vehicle)
- David Pearson
- Darrell Waltrip
- Dick Brooks†
- Lennie Pond†
- Dave Marcis
- Donnie Allison
- Dick May†
- Ronnie Thomas
- Richard Childress
- Al Holbert†
- Cecil Gordon†
- Ed Negre† (highest finishing Dodge vehicle)
- Earle Canavan
- Tommy Gale†
- Roger Hamby
- Nestor Peles
- Gary Myers*
- Frank Warren
- Buddy Arrington
- Baxter Price
- Nelson Oswald*
- Tighe Scott*
- Benny Parsons*†
- Richard Petty*
- Dave Dion*
- Neil Bonnett*†
- Ralph Jones*
- Joey Arrington*
- Jimmy Means*
- J.D. McDuffie*†
- James Hylton*
- Louis Gatto*
- Ferrel Harris*† (only Chrysler entry of the entire race)
- Jabe Thomas*†
* Driver failed to finish race
† signifies that the driver is known to be deceased
Timeline
- Start of race: J.D. McDuffie had the pole position to start the event
- Lap 3: Ferrel Thomas quit the race due to unknown reasons
- Lap 5: Louis Gatto was black flagged due to unsportmanlike conduct
- Lap 10: James Hylton quit the race due to unknown reasons
- Lap 11: Bobby Allison took over the lead from J.D. McDuffie
- Lap 21: Cale Yarborough took over the lead from Bobby Allison
- Lap 80: J.D. McDuffie blew his engine while driving at high speeds
- Lap 98: Darrell Waltrip took over the lead from Cale Yarborough
- Lap 99: Cale Yarborough took over the lead from Darrell Waltrip
- Lap 110: Caution due to Nestor Peles spinning into turn 2, ended on lap 112
- Lap 140: Jimmy Means blew his engine while driving at high speeds
- Lap 143: Joey Arrington managed to lose the rear end of his vehicle
- Lap 213: Caution due to Ralph Jones' problematic engine, ended on lap 220
- Lap 224: Caution due to an accident involving Neil Bonnett and four other drivers on turn 3, ended on lap 230
- Lap 238: Dave Dion blew his engine while driving at high speeds
- Lap 243: Bobby Allison took over the lead from Cale Yarborough
- Lap 269: The ignition on Richard Petty's vehicle stopped working, ending his day on the track
- Lap 311: Benny Parsons blew his engine while driving at high speeds
- Lap 318: Buddy Baker took over the lead from Bobby Allison
- Lap 319: Bobby Allison took over the lead from Buddy Baker
- Lap 320: The oil pan on Tighe Scott's vehicle developed some major issues
- Lap 335: Nelson Oswald blew his engine while driving at high speeds
- Lap 438: Gary Myers blew his engine while driving at high speeds
- Finish: Bobby Allison was officially declared the winner of the event
Standings after the race
| Pos | Driver | Points[2] | Differential |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cale Yarborough | 3867 | 0 |
| 2 | Dave Marcis | 3482 | -385 |
| 3 | Benny Parsons | 3479 | -388 |
| 4 | Darrell Waltrip | 3423 | -444 |
| 5 | Bobby Allison | 3361 | -506 |
| 6 | Richard Petty | 3156 | -711 |
| 7 | Lennie Pond | 2986 | -881 |
| 8 | Dick Brooks | 2948 | -919 |
| 9 | Buddy Arrington | 2936 | -931 |
| 10 | Richard Childress | 2843 | -1024 |
References
- ↑ "1978 Delaware 500 weather information". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved 2012-07-06.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "1978 Delaware 500 racing results". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2011-01-06.
- ↑ "NASCAR Race Tracks". NASCAR. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on 12 September 2010. Retrieved 23 September 2010.
- 1 2 "NASCAR Tracks—The Dover International Speedway". Dover International Speedway. Archived from the original on 21 September 2010. Retrieved 23 September 2010.
- ↑ "Dover International Speedway - Racing Records". Dover International Speedway. Archived from the original on 15 December 2010. Retrieved 2011-01-08.
- ↑ "Old #70 - The J.D. McDuffie Story" (PDF). CarolinaCountry.com. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 December 2010. Retrieved 2011-01-08.
- ↑ "J.D. McDuffie information". Legends of NASCAR. Retrieved 2012-03-18.
| Preceded by 1978 Capital City 400 |
NASCAR Winston Cup Series Season 1978 |
Succeeded by 1978 Old Dominion 500 |