1978 American 500
Encyclopedia
The 1978 American 500 was a NASCAR
Winston Cup Series (now Sprint Cup Series) race that took place on October 22, 1978 at North Carolina Motor Speedway in Rockingham
, North Carolina
, USA
. Four hundred and ninety-two laps were done on a paved oval track spanning 1.017 miles (1.6 km). Forty-six thousand people would attend the race live to see 36 cars (and only 19 of them finish the race). Other notable drivers included: Darrell Waltrip
(who went on to be a NASCAR announcer for FOX), Benny Parsons
, Richard Petty
, Richard Childress
(driving for himself under the Kansas Jack sponsorship), and J.D. McDuffie
(who would die at Watkins Glen during a racing event in the 1991 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season
).
North Carolina Motor Speedway was affectionally referred to at the time as The Action Track; delivering lots of action from motorcycle racing
to stock car events. The Baby Grand 125 was an ARCA
(Automobile Racing Club of America) companion race that took place the previous day. People could buy the official program during both races at a relatively low price of $3 USD ($ in today's money).
lost to Yarborough by more than two laps. Gatorade
and Hawaiian Tropic
were considered to be a small sample of non-automotive sponsors for the drivers; they both were the brand names of non-alcoholic soft drinks. Automotive sponsors were still the norm in NASCAR during the late 1970s due to the general lack of awareness of NASCAR in most of America during that era. Cale Yarborough
automatically clinched his third straight NASCAR Winston Cup championship as a result of winning this race. As a result of recent rule changes brought about by the Chase for the Sprint Cup; this situation is no longer possible in today's NASCAR.
The racing entries were mostly made of Chevrolet
vehicles with very few Ford
and Dodge
entries. Four hours, fifteen minutes, and fifty-eight seconds was the duration of the entire race. The first green flag was waved at noon while the checkered flag was waved at approximately 4:15 P.M.. Engine
problems were dominant in the race with only Bill Hollar
actually quitting the race for "personal reasons." Donnie Allison
would become ill after leading 12 laps and would drop out of the race; no relief driver was ever found. Five cautions were given out for fifty-two laps and Baxter Price
(in his self-sponsored Chevrolet
Chevelle Laguna) was the lowest driver to actually finish the race.
Joe Frasson
would finish his NASCAR Cup Series career by participating in this race and finishing in 23rd place after starting in 25th place (improving his position by two places). Charlie Blanton
and Johnny Halford
would also retire from NASCAR after this race. Frasson drove the race using a self-owned #18 vehicle with a 1978 Buick Century
as his manufacturer and model. The number would be transferred over to a Chevrolet machine when it was transferred to Joe Gibbs Racing
starting in the 1992 Daytona 500
and remains with JGR to the present day. The number in question would ultimately become synonomous with Kyle Busch
's Toyota Camry
starting in 2008
. Top prize at this race would be $23,360 in American dollars ($ when inflation is taken into effect).
† Driver is known to be deceased
* Driver failed to finish race
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...
Winston Cup Series (now Sprint Cup Series) race that took place on October 22, 1978 at North Carolina Motor Speedway in Rockingham
Rockingham, North Carolina
Rockingham is a city in Richmond County, North Carolina, United States named after the Marquis of Rockingham. The population was 9,672 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Richmond County...
, North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
, USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Four hundred and ninety-two laps were done on a paved oval track spanning 1.017 miles (1.6 km). Forty-six thousand people would attend the race live to see 36 cars (and only 19 of them finish the race). Other notable drivers included: Darrell Waltrip
Darrell Waltrip
Darrell Lee Waltrip is a 3-time NASCAR Cup Series champion , 3-time runner-up , winner of the 1989 Daytona 500 and 5-time winner of the prestigeous Coca-Cola 600 ,...
(who went on to be a NASCAR announcer for FOX), Benny Parsons
Benny Parsons
Benjamin Stewart Parsons was an American NASCAR driver, and later an announcer/analyst on TBS, ESPN, NBC and TNT...
, Richard Petty
Richard Petty
Richard Lee Petty is a former NASCAR driver who raced in the Strictly Stock/Grand National Era and the NASCAR Winston Cup Series...
, Richard Childress
Richard Childress
Richard Childress is a former NASCAR driver and the current team owner of Richard Childress Racing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup series. As a business entrepreneur, Childress became one of the wealthiest men in North Carolina...
(driving for himself under the Kansas Jack sponsorship), and J.D. McDuffie
J.D. McDuffie
John Delphus McDuffie was a NASCAR Winston Cup driver. He raced in the top division of NASCAR from 1963 to 1991. McDuffie had 106 top-tens in his Cup Series career...
(who would die at Watkins Glen during a racing event in the 1991 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season
1991 Budweiser At The Glen
The 1991 Budweiser At The Glen racing event was officially sanctioned as part of the NASCAR Winston Cup Series. Taking place on August 11, 1991 at Watkins Glen International, this race was the 18th race completed out of the 29 attempted during the 1991 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season. Television...
).
North Carolina Motor Speedway was affectionally referred to at the time as The Action Track; delivering lots of action from motorcycle racing
Motorcycle racing
Motorcycle sport is a broad field that encompasses all sporting aspects of motorcycling. The disciplines are not all "races" or timed-speed events, as several disciplines test a competitor's various riding skills.-Motorcycle racing:...
to stock car events. The Baby Grand 125 was an ARCA
Automobile Racing Club of America
Automobile Racing Club of America is an auto racing sanctioning body in the United States, founded in 1953 by John Marcum. The current president of ARCA is Ron Drager. The ARCA RE/MAX Series races stock cars similar to those seen in past years in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, and indeed most cars...
(Automobile Racing Club of America) companion race that took place the previous day. People could buy the official program during both races at a relatively low price of $3 USD ($ in today's money).
Summary
Cale Yarborough won the race's pole position and would evenutally go onto leading 376 laps of the 492 that were actually done. Bobby AllisonBobby Allison
Robert Arthur Allison is a former NASCAR Winston Cup driver and was named one of NASCAR's 50 greatest drivers. His two sons, Clifford Allison and Davey Allison followed him into racing, and both died within a year of each other....
lost to Yarborough by more than two laps. Gatorade
Gatorade
Gatorade is a brand of sports-themed food and beverage products, built around its signature product: a line of sports drinks. Gatorade is currently manufactured by PepsiCo, distributed in over 80 countries...
and Hawaiian Tropic
Hawaiian Tropic
Hawaiian Tropic is a brand of suntan lotion sold around the world, but more widely available in the United States.The Company was founded by Ron Rice in 1969. It was the largest private manufacturer of sun care products in the United States until being acquired in May 2007 by Playtex Products, Inc...
were considered to be a small sample of non-automotive sponsors for the drivers; they both were the brand names of non-alcoholic soft drinks. Automotive sponsors were still the norm in NASCAR during the late 1970s due to the general lack of awareness of NASCAR in most of America during that era. Cale Yarborough
Cale Yarborough
William Caleb "Cale" Yarborough , is a farmer, businessman and former NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver and owner. He is one of only two drivers in NASCAR history to win three consecutive championships...
automatically clinched his third straight NASCAR Winston Cup championship as a result of winning this race. As a result of recent rule changes brought about by the Chase for the Sprint Cup; this situation is no longer possible in today's NASCAR.
The racing entries were mostly made of Chevrolet
Chevrolet
Chevrolet , also known as Chevy , is a brand of vehicle produced by General Motors Company . Founded by Louis Chevrolet and ousted GM founder William C. Durant on November 3, 1911, General Motors acquired Chevrolet in 1918...
vehicles with very few Ford
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
and Dodge
Dodge
Dodge is a United States-based brand of automobiles, minivans, and sport utility vehicles, manufactured and marketed by Chrysler Group LLC in more than 60 different countries and territories worldwide....
entries. Four hours, fifteen minutes, and fifty-eight seconds was the duration of the entire race. The first green flag was waved at noon while the checkered flag was waved at approximately 4:15 P.M.. Engine
Engine
An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert energy into useful mechanical motion. Heat engines, including internal combustion engines and external combustion engines burn a fuel to create heat which is then used to create motion...
problems were dominant in the race with only Bill Hollar
Bill Hollar
Bill Hollar is a retired NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver who participated in 29 races out of his nine-year career in NASCAR....
actually quitting the race for "personal reasons." Donnie Allison
Donnie Allison
Dunkiny "Donnie" Allison is a former driver on the NASCAR Grand National/Winston Cup circuit, who won ten times during his racing career, which spanned the 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s. He was part of the "Alabama Gang," and is the brother of 1983 champion Bobby Allison and uncle of Davey Allison...
would become ill after leading 12 laps and would drop out of the race; no relief driver was ever found. Five cautions were given out for fifty-two laps and Baxter Price
Baxter Price
Baxter Price is an American racing driver from Monroe, North Carolina who competed in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series.Price made 90 Winston Cup starts beginning in 1973, often as an owner-driver. He competed nearly full-time in 1978, when he finished a career-best 23rd in points, and 1979 when he...
(in his self-sponsored Chevrolet
Chevrolet
Chevrolet , also known as Chevy , is a brand of vehicle produced by General Motors Company . Founded by Louis Chevrolet and ousted GM founder William C. Durant on November 3, 1911, General Motors acquired Chevrolet in 1918...
Chevelle Laguna) was the lowest driver to actually finish the race.
Joe Frasson
Joe Frasson
Joseph "Joe" Frasson is a retired NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver with four finishes in the top five and nineteen finishes in the top ten under his belt. He has experienced 20284 laps of racing and an overall career windfall of $148,930...
would finish his NASCAR Cup Series career by participating in this race and finishing in 23rd place after starting in 25th place (improving his position by two places). Charlie Blanton
Charlie Blanton
Charlie Blanton is a retired NASCAR Winston Cup Series race car driver who raced from 1973 to 1978.-Summary:This driver participated in 634 laps of racing action - the equivalent of . He would earn a total of $3,135 in his total racing career while starting and finishing in 27th place on average....
and Johnny Halford
Johnny Halford
Johnny Halford is a retired NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver who raced from 1969 to 1978.-Summary:He would earn one top ten finish in the 1972 Firecracker 400 while leading 16 laps out of 6924 - the equivalent of . Halford's average starting position would be 24th while he would finish 21st on...
would also retire from NASCAR after this race. Frasson drove the race using a self-owned #18 vehicle with a 1978 Buick Century
Buick Century
Buick Century is the model name used by the Buick division of General Motors for a line of full-size performance vehicles from 1936 to 1942 and 1954 to 1958, and from 1973 to 2005 for a mid-size car....
as his manufacturer and model. The number would be transferred over to a Chevrolet machine when it was transferred to Joe Gibbs Racing
Joe Gibbs Racing
Joe Gibbs Racing is a group of NASCAR racing teams owned and operated by former Washington Redskins coach Joe Gibbs, who first started racing on the NASCAR circuit in 1991, and J. D. Gibbs, his son...
starting in the 1992 Daytona 500
1992 Daytona 500
The 1992 Daytona 500 by STP was held February 16 at Daytona International Speedway. Sterling Marlin won the pole award for Junior Johnson in the #22 Maxwell House Ford. Richard Petty gave the command to start the engines from the cockpit of the famous #43 STP Pontiac in his final appearance in the...
and remains with JGR to the present day. The number in question would ultimately become synonomous with Kyle Busch
Kyle Busch
Kyle Thomas Busch, is an American NASCAR driver and team owner. He currently drives the No. 18 Mars/Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing in the Sprint Cup Series, the No. 18 Z-Line Designs/NOS Energy Drink Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs in the Nationwide Series, and the No...
's Toyota Camry
Toyota Camry
The Toyota Camry is a series of mid-size automobiles manufactured by Toyota since 1982, and sold in the majority of automotive markets throughout the world...
starting in 2008
2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
The 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season began on February 9, 2008 at Daytona International Speedway with the Budweiser Shootout, followed by pole qualifying on Sunday, February 10, 2008 for the 50th Daytona 500 on February 17...
. Top prize at this race would be $23,360 in American dollars ($ when inflation is taken into effect).
Finishing order
- Cale Yarborough
- Bobby Allison
- Darrell Waltrip
- Benny Parsons†
- Dick BrooksDick BrooksRichard "Dick" Brooks was an American NASCAR driver. Born in Porterville, California, he was the 1969 NASCAR Rookie of the Year, and went on to win the 1973 Talladega 500...
† - Richard Petty
- Lennie PondLennie PondLennie Pond is a former NASCAR driver. He won NASCAR Winston Cup Rookie of the Year honors in 1973, and won his only race at Talladega Superspeedway in 1978 for Ronnie Elder and Harry Ranier....
- Dave MarcisDave MarcisDave Marcis is a retired driver on the NASCAR Winston Cup circuit whose career spanned five decades. Marcis won five times over this tenure, twice at Richmond, including his final win in 1982...
- Buddy ArringtonBuddy ArringtonBuddy Arrington is a retired NASCAR Grand National/Winston Cup driver.- Biography :...
- Richard Childress
- Dick MayDick MayDick May was a NASCAR driver who competed in 185 races in the NASCAR Grand National/Winston Cup between 1967 and 1985....
† - J.D. McDuffie†
- Jimmy MeansJimmy MeansJames "Jimmy" Means is a former Winston Cup/Nextel Cup owner/driver. Currently, he is an adviser for Front Row Motorsports and owns his own team, Means Racing. He competed in NASCAR for eighteen years in mostly his own equipment, posting seventeen career top-tens...
- James HyltonJames HyltonJames Harvey Hylton is a part-time race car driver. He is a two-time winner in NASCAR and competes in the ARCA RE/MAX Series,finishing 16th in points in 2006. He made headlines while attempting to qualify for the 2007 Daytona 500 at age 72...
- Cecil GordonCecil GordonCecil Gordon was a NASCAR driver. He is not related to Sprint Cup driver Jeff Gordon although the two drivers drove in car number 24....
- Frank WarrenFrank Warren (NASCAR driver)Frank Warren is a retired NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver who raced from 1963 to 1980.Out of 88863 laps finished in his career, Warren had led 72 of them. Warren's total career earnings were $625,886 and while his average finish was 20th place in his entire career. The total amount of miles...
- Gary Myers
- Tommy GaleTommy GaleThomas "Tommy" Gale was an English footballer who played for Sheffield Wednesday and York City in the Football League.-Career:...
- Baxter Price
- Donnie Allison*
- Tighe ScottTighe ScottTighe Scott is a retired American racecar driver from Pen Argyl, Pennsylvania. He competed in dirt modified racing before moving up into the NASCAR Winston Cup...
* - Buddy BakerBuddy BakerElzie Wylie Baker, Jr. , nicknamed "Leadfoot" or more famously Buddy, is a former American NASCAR racecar driver.-Early life:...
* - Joe Frasson*
- David Pearson*
- Ricky RuddRicky RuddRicky Rudd is a former American NASCAR driver. He is the uncle of actor Skeet Ulrich and Nationwide Series driver Jason Rudd. Rudd is known as the "Iron Man" of NASCAR; holding the record for most consecutive starts in NASCAR racing. At the conclusion of the 2005 season, Rudd had made 788...
* - Roger Hamby*
- Bobby WawakBobby WawakBobby Wawak was an American NASCAR driver from Villa Park, Illinois. He made 141 Grand National/Winston Cup starts, with 14 Top 10 finishes.-Local racing:...
*† - Junior MillerJunior MillerJunior Miller is a former professional American football player. A 6'4", . tight end from the University of Nebraska, Miller played five seasons from 1980 to 1984 for the Atlanta Falcons and New Orleans Saints, and was selected to the Pro Bowl after the 1980 and 1981 seasons. Miller played...
* - Elmo Langley*†
- Johnny HalfordJohnny HalfordJohnny Halford is a retired NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver who raced from 1969 to 1978.-Summary:He would earn one top ten finish in the 1972 Firecracker 400 while leading 16 laps out of 6924 - the equivalent of . Halford's average starting position would be 24th while he would finish 21st on...
* - Neil BonnettNeil BonnettLawrence Neil Bonnett was a NASCAR driver who compiled 18 victories and 20 poles over his 18-year career. The Alabama native currently ranks 35th in all-time NASCAR Cup victories. He appeared in the 1983 film Stroker Ace and the 1990 film Days of Thunder...
*† - Charlie BlantonCharlie BlantonCharlie Blanton is a retired NASCAR Winston Cup Series race car driver who raced from 1973 to 1978.-Summary:This driver participated in 634 laps of racing action - the equivalent of . He would earn a total of $3,135 in his total racing career while starting and finishing in 27th place on average....
* - Ronnie Thomas*
- Ferrel HarrisFerrel HarrisFerrel Harris was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver whose career spanned from 1975 to 1982 .-Summary:...
*† - Ed NegreEd NegreEd Negre is a retired NASCAR Grand National and Winston Cup Series driver who raced from 1955 to 1979....
* - Bill Hollar*
† Driver is known to be deceased
* Driver failed to finish race