1978 Talladega 500


The 1978 Talladega 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event 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 , 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, and the track at its peak had a seating capacity of 175,000 spectators.

Race report

Four cautions were waved for seventeen laps; making the race last almost three hours in length, 67 lead changes the race. James Hylton finished last due to a transmission issue on the first lap of this 188-lap race. Lennie Pond became the third driver whose only career victory was at the summer Talladega race. He would defeat Donnie Allison by two car lengths in front of 60,000 spectators. 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.
Because he would get fired at the end of 1978, Waddell Wilson kept changing the setup on the car without telling Lennie. He would end up sleeping in his car so that Waddell wouldn't be able to change the setup on his vehicle without him knowing about it. Pond still got fired from Ranier's team in the end; making Ranier an owner/driver again because Darrell Waltrip's contract with DiGard Motorsports was too strong to be broken with negotiations.
There was one foreigner in the 41-car lineup: Claude Ballot-Léna from Paris, France. Cale Yarborough would earn the pole position with a speed of while the average speed of the race was. It was a 500 mile world's record in 1978. Bill Elliott would break that record at the 1985 Winston 500 with an average of. Female driver Janet Guthrie was also a part of the grid; finishing in 29th place due to a crash on lap 129. Country music star and part-time NASCAR driver Marty Robbins made his only start of the season and comes home in the top-20 driving his Dodge Magnum vehicle.
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

Finishing order

Section reference:
  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

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