The 1979 Northwestern Bank 400 was a

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...

Winston Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), the most prestigious stock car racing series in the United States. The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, and fro ...

race that took place on March 25, 1979, at

North Wilkesboro Speedway North Wilkesboro Speedway is a paved oval Oval track racing#Short track, short track in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina. The track has hosted a variety of racing events since its inaugural season of racing in 1947; primarily races sanctioned by ...

North Wilkesboro, North Carolina North Wilkesboro is a town in Wilkes County, North Carolina, Wilkes County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 4,131 at the 2020 US Census. North Wilkesboro is the birthplace and original home of Lowe's, Lowe's Home Improvement, whi ...

. A crowd of 17,500 fans attended, approximately 44% of the track's most recent capacity (before it closed in 2011). Admission to one of the premium seats for this event costs $15 USD ($ in current US dollars).

Background

Three drivers entered the 1970 Wilkes 400 in a very close points race.

Bobby Isaac Robert Vance Isaac (August 1, 1932 – August 14, 1977) was an American stock car racing driver. Isaac made his first NASCAR appearance in 1961, and quickly forged a reputation of one of the toughest competitors of the 1960s and 1970s. He was most ...

was just ahead of

James Hylton James Harvey Hylton (August 26, 1934 – April 28, 2018) was an American stock car racing driver. He was a two-time winner in NASCAR Winston Cup Series competition and was a long-time competitor in the ARCA Racing Series. Hylton finished secon ...

, and

Bobby Allison Robert Arthur Allison (December 3, 1937 – November 9, 2024) was an American professional stock car racing driver and owner. Allison was the founder of the Alabama Gang, a group of drivers based in Hueytown, Alabama, where there were abundant ...

was close behind. But

Richard Petty Richard Lee Petty (born July 2, 1937), nicknamed "the King", is an American former stock car racing driver who competed from 1958 to 1992 in the former NASCAR Grand National and Winston Cup Series (now called the NASCAR Cup Series), most nota ...

, who was out of the points because of a shoulder injury suffered at Darlington in May, was considered the favorite to win the race. Isaac started from the pole for a record-tying fourth consecutive time, matching Fred Lorenzen and Herb Thomas with a qualifying lap time of 21.346 seconds / 105.406 mph. Fans were given quite a show as Isaac and Petty exchanged the lead 11 times throughout the race. Isaac, in the

Nord Krauskopf Nord Krauskopf (January 26, 1922 – August 3, 1986) was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race car owner whose career spanned from 1966 to 1977. He was the owner of K&K Insurance and a part of the business since its foundation in 1952. This w ...

's K&K Insurance Dodge, led 179 laps and took the win by six car lengths over Petty. Petty, who had started the race in third position led the most laps in the race with 216. Bobby Allison started fourth and finished fourth behind his brother,

Donnie Allison Donnie Allison (born September 7, 1939) is an American former driver on the NASCAR Grand National/Winston Cup circuit, who won ten times during his racing career, which spanned from 1966 to 1988. He is part of the " Alabama Gang", and is the br ...

. And Hylton finished fifth at the end of day. Isaac advanced to become the 1970 Winston Cup Champion at season's end, with Allison being the runner-up in points. Bad weather in 1971 caused the Wilkes 400 to be postponed to November 21. Due to the

Grand National Series The name NASCAR Grand National Series refers to former names of the following NASCAR series: *National-level stock car series: **NASCAR Cup Series (the top NASCAR series, known as NASCAR Grand National Series between 1950 and 1970, then the NASCAR ...

' struggling car counts, cars from NASCAR's Grand American Series were allowed to run in this race.

Charlie Glotzbach Charles Lee Glotzbach (June 19, 1938 – April 23, 2021) was an American Auto Racing Club of America, ARCA and NASCAR Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, Winston Cup Series driver. He holds one of the oldest race records in NASCAR. He has the recor ...

broke the track record in qualifying at 20.919 seconds / 107.558 mph. It was the first lap ever run under 21 seconds at North Wilkesboro, ending

's run of five consecutive poles at the track.

Tiny Lund DeWayne Louis "Tiny" Lund (November 14, 1929 – August 17, 1975) was an American stock car racer. He was a journeyman racer-for-hire in the top level NASCAR Grand National Series, running partial seasons for a number of years, including a vict ...

, driving a 1970 Camaro, qualified sixth and led just seven laps on his way to the victory. Lund also won another race driving the Camaro that season at Hickory. Glotzbach finished second, six seconds behind Lund, after leading 76 laps in the race.

started from the outside pole and led 306 laps to finish third.

Dave Marcis David Alan Marcis (born March 1, 1941) is an American former professional stock car racing 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 ...

finished fourth, two laps down, and

Benny Parsons Benjamin Stewart Parsons (July 12, 1941 – January 16, 2007) was an American NASCAR driver, and later an announcer/analyst/pit reporter on SETN, TBS, ABC, ESPN, NBC, and TNT. He became famous as the 1973 NASCAR Winston Cup Series champion, an ...

rounded out the top five.

was the only other driver to lead, running 11 laps out front before losing an engine before the half. The Wilkes 400 in 1972 was one of the wildest finishes in

NASCAR Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), the most prestigious stock car racing series in the United States. The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, ...

history.

Buddy Baker Elzie Wylie "Buddy" Baker Jr. (January 25, 1941 – August 10, 2015) was an American professional stock car racing driver and commentator. Over the course of his 33-year racing career, he won 19 races in the NASCAR Cup Series, including the 19 ...

won the pole in the No. 71 K&K Insurance Dodge owned by

, but he only led the first lap of the race.

and

swapped the lead for the rest of the race, beating, and banging each other for the win. At times was more of a demolition derby than a race. Both cars were destroyed by the end, with Allison's car noticeably smoking. This was the peak of the Petty-Allison rivalry. Petty was declared the winner, but in Victory Lane, a fan tried to attack him. But he was defended by his helmet-wielding brother,

Maurice Petty Maurice Petty (March 27, 1939July 25, 2020) was an American NASCAR crew chief and engine builder for Petty Enterprises, of which he was part owner. He was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2011. He was subsequently ens ...

. This was Richard Petty's last of 137 wins in a Plymouth. In the Gwyn Staley 400 of 1973,

landed on the pole with a qualifying lap of 21.077 seconds / 106.750 MPH.

qualified on the outside pole, and in dominating fashion he led 386 laps, winning by over four laps. It was Petty's tenth career win at North Wilkesboro and his 151st career NASCAR victory.

led six laps and finished second.

finished third in the No. 71 K&K Insurance Dodge owned by

. Allison lead seven laps and finished fourth in the race. Cecil Gordon rounded out the top five finishers.

Yvon DuHamel Yvon Duhamel (October 17, 1939 – August 17, 2021) was a French Canadians, French Canadian professional motorcycle sport, motorcycle and snowmobile racer. A six-time winner of the White Trophy, the highest award in Canadian motorcycle racing, ...

, a top AMA road racer from Quebec, drove a Mercury prepared by

Junie Donlavey Wesley Christian "Junie" Donlavey Jr. (April 8, 1924June 9, 2014), a native of Richmond, Virginia, was the owner of Donlavey Racing; he began fielding the team in 1950. He drove for his team at first, but soon gave way to other drivers. Donlavey e ...

and finished in tenth place in his only career Cup race. Twenty of the 30 cars that entered the race were running at the finish. In the Wilkes 400 of 1973

, driving for his own No. 12 Coca-Cola team, won the pole position. He and

led most of the race, Allison with 161 and Petty with 222. As Petty led the race late, Allison pitted and got fresh tires on a late pit stop, running down Petty and passing him on the final lap. It was considered as one of the most exciting races ever at North Wilkesboro Speedway. In 1975 the

Baby Grand Series, later known as Goody's Dash Series, ran its first race at North Wilkesboro, with a win by

Dean Combs Dean Combs (born February 23, 1952) is a former NASCAR driver. In his limited career, Combs competed in twenty-four Nextel Cup Series, Winston Cup Series events. Combs is best known for dominance on NASCAR's lower level International Sport Compact ...

. Thirty-seven races were run at the track from 1975-1984,1986-1987, and 1995-1996. Dean Combs had the most wins at the track with 15 victories. In the Gwyn Staley 400 of 1977,

Cale Yarborough William Caleb Yarborough (March 27, 1939 – December 31, 2023) was an American NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver and owner, businessman, farmer, and rancher. He was the first driver in NASCAR history to win three consecutive championships, winn ...

became the first driver to win a

race on his birthday.

Neil Bonnett Lawrence Neil Bonnett (July 30, 1946 – February 11, 1994) was an American NASCAR driver who compiled 18 victories and 20 poles over his 18-year career. Bonnett was a member of the Alabama Gang, and started his career with the help of Bobby a ...

beat Yarborough for the pole, but in the race Yarborough led 320 laps on the way to his birthday victory. Only the top three, Yarborough,

and

finished on the lead lap. In the Wilkes 400 of 1978,

Darrell Waltrip Darrell Lee Waltrip (born February 5, 1947) is an American motorsports Color analyst, analyst, author as well as a former national television broadcaster and stock car driver. He raced from 1972 to 2000 in the NASCAR Cup Series (known as the NAS ...

won the pole in his No. 88 Gatorade DiGard team Chevrolet. Waltrip led the first 381 laps of the 400-lap race. But with 19 laps remaining,

passed Waltrip and took the win. Yarborough and Waltrip were the only drivers to finish on the lead lap in the 27-car field. This ninth win of the season for Yarborough virtually locked his third straight NASCAR Cup Series championship driving for car owner Junior Johnson.

Race report

Chevrolet Chevrolet ( ) is an American automobile division of the manufacturer General Motors (GM). In North America, Chevrolet produces and sells a wide range of vehicles, from subcompact automobiles to medium-duty commercial trucks. Due to the promi ...

vehicles filled up the majority of the 30-car racing grid. Parsons would earn the

pole position In a motorsports race, the pole position is usually the best and "statistically the most advantageous" starting position on the track. The pole position is usually earned by the driver with the best qualifying times in the trials before the ra ...

for the race with a qualifying speed of , while the winner of the race posted an average race speed of .Racing information for the ''1979 Northwestern Bank 400''
at Racing Reference

jumped to the lead at the start of the race, and led the first 64 laps. During that period, several drivers dropped out-

Jimmy Means James Means (born May 29, 1950) is an American former racing driver and owner, who competed in the Winston Cup Series as an owner-driver. He is currently an adviser for Front Row Motorsports and a former owner of NASCAR Xfinity Series team Jim ...

dropped out with a blown engine on lap 14,

Bill Hollar William Mack "Bill" Hollar, Sr. (September 6, 1938 - November 26, 2012) was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver who participated in 29 races out of his nine-year career in NASCAR. He was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Theodore Hollar. Prior to his NASCAR ...

had rear-end issues on lap 32, and

Ronnie Thomas Ronald Darrell Thomas (born March 8, 1955) is an American former NASCAR driver who drove in the Winston Cup series from 1977 to 1989 and the Busch Series in 1982 and 1985. He was the 1978 NASCAR Winston Cup Rookie of the Year, edging out Roger H ...

crashed out. After pit stop shuffling,

inherited the lead on lap 77, and held it through lap 231, only giving it up during a pit stop sequence. Other DNFs occurred during this period, as Earl Brooks dropped out with rear end failure, Nelson Oswald crashed out on lap 142,

Buddy Arrington Buddy Rogers Arrington (July 26, 1938 – August 2, 2022) was an American NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver and owner. Racing career Arrington has the second-most starts without a win, and finished in the top 10 of NASCAR points twice; in 1 ...

dropped out with rear-end issues on lap 168, and

Slick Johnson Julius David "Slick" Johnson III (February 23, 1948 – February 14, 1990) was an American stock car racing driver. A veteran of short track competition in the Carolinas, he competed in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series during the 1980s; his best fin ...

crashed out on lap 211. Benny Parsons would take the lead on lap 240, but Petty grabbed it back on 272. Finally,

would make the winning pass on lap 354, winning the race over Petty by three and a half seconds. The suspension on Bobby Allison's #15 Ford collapsed as he crossed the finish line on the final lap of this race. The victory lap was relatively smokey as the car threw sparks but by that time he had already won and was headed to victory lane. This is the first race for Richard Petty in the Chevrolet Caprice. The Chevrolet Caprice and the Chevrolet Impala were virtually identical except for a few cosmetic things. The 1977 and 1978 Chevrolet Impalas had the front turn signal combined with the headlamp cluster. The Caprice on the other hand had its turn signal in the front bumper. Twenty different drivers exchanged the lead over the course of the 400-lap event, which lasted two hours and 50 minutes. Only four drivers would be on the lead lap at the end of this race: Allison, Petty,

, and

Dale Earnhardt Ralph Dale Earnhardt (; April 29, 1951February 18, 2001) was an American professional Stock car racing, stock car driver and racing team owner, who raced from 1975 to 2001 in the former NASCAR Winston Cup Series (now called the NASCAR Cup Serie ...

(matching his career-best finish of fourth, one week before notching his very first Winston Cup victory).

rounded out the top 5, while the rest of the top ten consisted of

J.D. McDuffie John Delphus McDuffie Jr. (December 5, 1938 – August 11, 1991) was an American racing driver. He competed in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series from 1963 to 1991, collecting 106 top-10 finishes during his career, despite never finishing on the lead ...

Richard Childress Richard Reed Childress (born September 21, 1945) is an American former race car driver in NASCAR. Childress is the owner of Richard Childress Racing (RCR). In 2004, he opened a vineyard in the Yadkin Valley AVA near Lexington, North Carolina, Le ...

, and

Joe Millikan Joseph "Joe" Milikan (born April 30, 1950 in Randleman, North Carolina) is an American former NASCAR Winston Cup race car driver who competed from the 1979 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season to the 1986 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season. Career T ...

. At the end of the race, Bobby Allison would be a mere nine points ahead of Darrell Waltrip in championship standings, with Cale Yarborough, Benny Parsons, and

making up the rest of the top five. Earl Brooks would participate his 262nd and final NASCAR race. Along the way Earl scored three top 5s and 37 top 10s. Notable crew chiefs who actively participated in this race were

Joey Arrington Joey Arrington (born July 25, 1956) is an American former NASCAR driver, team owner, and crew chief from Rocky Mount, Virginia. He made nine Winston Cup Series starts with a best finish of 12th. He made his first start in 1974 as a 17-year-old a ...

Kirk Shelmerdine Edward Kirk Shelmerdine V (born March 8, 1958) is an American former stock car racing driver and former championship-winning crew chief for Dale Earnhardt. Crew chief After spending his early NASCAR career as an engineer for Hylton Engineering, ...

Darrell Bryant Darrell Bryant is a retired NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver whose claim to fame was his two "top ten" finishes in addition to racing 2389 laps - for a distance of . Bryant has driven for Chevrolet, Dodge, Oldsmobile, and Mercury during his driv ...

Dale Inman Dale Inman (born August 19, 1936) is a retired NASCAR Grand National/ Winston Cup Series crew chief. He is best known for being the crew chief of Richard Petty at Petty Enterprises during three decades. They won 188 races and seven championsh ...

, Bud Moore,

Tim Brewer Timothy Ivan "Tim" Brewer (born February 4, 1955) is an American former stock car racing crew chief and television analyst for ''NASCAR on ESPN''. He was part of '' NASCAR Countdown'', the pre-race show, with host Brent Musburger and fellow analy ...

, and

Jake Elder J. C. "Jake" Elder (November 22, 1936 – February 24, 2010) was a NASCAR Grand National/Winston Cup Series crew chief. He was the championship crew chief for two years and for part of a third season. Elder had these successes despite never pas ...

. The race started at 2:00 PM and would finish around 4:50 PM. Prize money for each finishing contestant varied from $13,750 for the winner ($ in current US dollars) to a meager $625 for the last-place finisher ($ in current US dollars). The total prize purse for this race was $80,375 ($ in current US dollars).NASCAR Race Results for the ''1979 Northwestern Bank 400''
at Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet Petty Enterprises fielded mostly Chevrolet and Buick vehicles from

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...

, before switching to Pontiacs.

Qualifying

Finishing order

Section reference: #

† (No. 15) #

(No. 43) #

† (No. 27) #

† (No. 2) #

(No. 88) #

† (No. 70) #

(No. 3) #

† (No. 28) #

† (No. 11) #

(No. 72) #

(No. 1) #

(No. 02) #

Dick Brooks Richard Harold Brooks (April 14, 1942 – February 1, 2006) 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. Brooks held off veteran Buddy ...

† (No. 05) #

Ricky Rudd Richard Lee Rudd (born September 12, 1956), nicknamed "the Rooster", is an American former racing driver and racing team owner. He is the uncle of actor Skeet Ulrich and former NASCAR Busch Series driver Jason Rudd. He retired in 2007 with 23 ...

(No. 90) #

Terry Labonte Terrance Lee Labonte (born November 16, 1956), nicknamed "Texas Terry" or "the Iceman", is an American former stock car racing, stock car driver. He raced from 1978 to 2014 in the former NASCAR Winston Cup and Sprint Cup Series (now called the NAS ...

(No. 44) #

† (No. 48) # Frank Warren (No. 79) #

D.K. Ulrich Donald Keith Ulrich (born April 10, 1944) is an American former driver/owner in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series. As a driver, he had sixteen top ten finishes in 273 starts. His last race came in 1992. As car owner, he fielded cars for many years f ...

(No. 40) #

Roger Hamby Roger Hamby (born July 2, 1943, in Ferguson, North Carolina, Ferguson, North Carolina) is an American former NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Winston Cup Series driver and NASCAR team owner whose career spanned from 1977 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, 1977 ...

(No. 17) # Tommy Gale† (No. 64) #

Dick May Richard Shelton "Dick" May (November 7, 1930June 9, 2009) was an American NASCAR driver who competed in 185 races in the NASCAR Grand National/Winston Cup Series between 1967 and 1985. Racing career May began his racing career at the St. Lawre ...

† (No. 19) #

Cecil Gordon Cecil Gordon (June 21, 1941 – September 19, 2012) was an American stock car racing, stock car racing driver. A competitor in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Winston Cup Series between 1968 and 1985, he competed in 449 events without winning a race ...

† (No. 24) #

Baxter Price Baxter Price (born November 29, 1938) is an American racing driver from Monroe, North Carolina who competed in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series. He made 90 Winston Cup starts from 1973 to 1981, never recording a top ten. Racing career Price ran nea ...

(No. 45) #

*† (No. 87) #

* (No. 67) # Nelson Oswald* (No. 09) # Earl Brooks*† (No. 7) #

* (No. 25) #

*† (No. 99) #

* (No. 52) ''† signifies that the driver is known to be deceased''
''* Driver failed to finish race''

Standings after the race

References

{{1979 Winston Cup

Northwestern Bank 400 The First Union 400 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series stock car race held annually from 1951 to 1996 at the North Wilkesboro Speedway in Wilkes County, North Carolina. It was the first of two Winston Cup Series races held annually (with the autum ...

NASCAR races at North Wilkesboro Speedway