The 1979 Southeastern 500 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 ...

racing event that took place on April 1, 1979, at

Bristol Motor Speedway Bristol Motor Speedway (formerly known as the Bristol International Raceway from 1978 to 1996 and as the Bristol International Speedway from 1961 to 1978) is a oval Oval track racing#Short track, short track in Bristol, Tennessee. The track ha ...

in the American community of

Bristol, Tennessee Bristol is a city in Sullivan County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 27,147 at the 2020 census. It is the twin city of Bristol, Virginia, which lies directly across the state line between Tennessee and Virginia. The boundary be ...

. The race was notable as then-rookie driver

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 ...

got the first win of his career, he would later go on to win 76 races and 7 championships. This race was not televised or recorded in any format, watching it live or listening to it on local radio were the only methods of watching this race.

Summary

Five hundred laps were completed on a paved

oval track Oval track racing is a form of motorsport that is contested on an oval-shaped race track. An oval track differs from a road course in that the layout resembles an oval with turns in only one direction, and the direction of traffic is almost univ ...

spanning in only two hours and fifty-five minutes. Six cautions slowed the race for 44 laps. Twenty-six thousand people attended this live event to see

defeat

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 ...

by a time of three seconds.

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 ...

was Earnhardt's crew chief at that time; his nickname was "Suitcase" because he would help a NASCAR driver achieve glory and then leave him for another driver the following season. The notable speeds were: for the average speed and for the pole position speed achieved by

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 ...

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 made up the majority of the 30-car racing grid. Millikan would catch something in his eye and would have to report to hospital; J.D. McDuffie ended up being the substitute driver for him. The winner of the race would receive a purse of $19,800 ($ when adjusted for inflation). Earnhardt took the lead on lap 474 from Darrell Waltrip and lead until the finish. If he wrecked Waltrip, it must not have been too bad because he still finished on the lead lap.

Ralph Jones Ralph Robert "Curley" Jones (September 22, 1880 – July 26, 1951) was an American football and basketball coach. He also served as the head coach for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL) from 1930 to 1932, leading them to the ...

(a driver-owner) was the last-place finisher of this race; he was forced to end his participation in the race due to

brake A brake is a machine, mechanical device that inhibits motion by absorbing energy from a moving system. It is used for Acceleration, slowing or stopping a moving vehicle, wheel, axle, or to prevent its motion, most often accomplished by means of ...

issues on lap 31. There were three terminal crashes in the race along with three engine failures, one quitter along with a driver with a water pump issues in his vehicle and a driver with a defective rear end on his vehicle. Mike Potter's career of sporadic starts in Cup and start-and-parks in Busch began in this race. Elmo Langley would enjoy his last real competitive race at this venue. He'd have a few start and parks after this but this was the last time he really tried to finish a race.

Qualifying

Results

(No. 2) #

(No. 15) #

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 ...

(No. 88) #

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 ...

(No. 43), 2 laps down #

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 ...

(No. 27), 3 laps down #

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 ...

(No. 1), 5 laps down #

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), 10 laps down # Joe Millikan (No. 72), 14 laps down #

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 ...

(No. 78), 14 laps down #

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), 15 laps down #

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 ...

(No. 3), 16 laps down # D.K. Ulrich (No. 40), 19 laps down #

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 ...

(No. 67), 20 laps down # Roger Hamby (No. 17), 27 laps down # Cecil Gordon (No. 24), 30 laps down # Mike Potter (No. 76), 37 laps down #

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 ...

(No. 02), 38 laps down # Tommy Gale (No. 64), 40 laps down # Baxter Price (No. 45), 44 laps down # Frank Warren (No. 79), 71 laps down #

Harry Gant Harold Phil Gant"Harry P. Gant"
(born January 10, 1940) is an American former

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. 85), Dropped out after 366 laps due to a faulty water pump # Ronnie Thomas (No. 25), Crashed out after 335 laps #

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 ...

(No. 11), Crashed out after 216 laps #

(No. 28), Crashed out after 211 laps # J.D McDuffie (No. 70), Dropped out after 197 laps with rear end failure # Dick May (No. 19), Dropped out after 141 laps with blown engine # Jimmy Means (No. 52), Dropped out after 100 laps with blown engine # Bobby Wawak (No. 74) Quit after 33 laps #Ralph Jones (No. 98), had brake failure after 31 laps

Timeline

Section reference: * Start of race: Buddy Baker had the pole position to begin the event. * Lap 31: Ralph Jones' brakes became problematic; forcing him out of the event. * Lap 33: Bobby Wawak chose to quit the race. * Lap 100: Jimmy Means fell out with engine failure. * Lap 139: Dale Earnhardt took over the lead from Buddy Baker. * Lap 141: Donnie Allison took over the lead from Dale Earnhardt; Dick May fell out with engine failure. * Lap 142: Cale Yarborough took over the lead from Donnie Allison. * Lap 143: Darrell Waltrip took over the lead from Cale Yarborough. * Lap 197: J.D. McDuffie lost the rear end of his vehicle, forcing an early exit due to safety concerns. * Lap 211: Buddy Baker had a terminal crash. * Lap 213: Bobby Allison took over the lead from Darrell Waltrip. * Lap 216: Cale Yarborough had a terminal crash. * Lap 255: Dale Earnhardt took over the lead from Bobby Allison. * Lap 335: Ronnie Thomas had a terminal crash. * Lap 366: Dick Brooks had to leave the event due to his vehicle having a faulty water pump. * Lap 385: Harry Gant fell out with engine failure. * Lap 389: Darrell Waltrip took over the lead from Dale Earnhardt. * Lap 474: Dale Earnhardt took over the lead from Darrell Waltrip. * Finish: Dale Earnhardt was officially declared the winner of the event.

Standings after the race

References

{{1979 Winston Cup

Southeastern 500 The Food City 500 is an annual 500-lap, NASCAR Cup Series points race held at the Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee. This is one of two NASCAR races held at Bristol, the other being the Bass Pro Shops Night Race. It was the first ven ...

Dale Earnhardt NASCAR races at Bristol Motor Speedway