The 1979 Texas 400 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race that took place on June 3, 1979, at Texas World Speedway in College Station, Texas.

Race report

Two hundred laps took place on an oval track spanning .

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

won the race; beating Bobby Allison by 60 seconds. Eleven thousand and five hundred fans would attend this live race with lasted more than two hours and thirty-three minutes; making it the least attended race in NASCAR's modern era even when comparing races from after the

2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series The 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series was the 60th season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 37th modern-era Cup season. It was contested over thirty-six races, and began on February 9 at Daytona International Speedway w ...

season. Waltrip's overall speed for the race was while

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 198 ...

achieved the pole position for the race with a speed of . Total winnings for this race were $161,250 ($ when considering inflation); Darrell would receive $21,750 of the total purse ($ when considering inflation). Dale Earnhardt was Waltrip's top challenger before he crashed late in the race. Waltrip had a lap lead but Allison, Baker, and Yarborough had a one-lap dash for second. Allison got second by about two feet over Baker, who was about four feet back. Some of the more notable names to make an appearance here were:

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

Richard Childress Richard Childress (born September 21, 1945 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina) is an American former race car driver in NASCAR. As the owner of Richard Childress Racing (RCR), he became one of the wealthiest men in North Carolina. In 2004, he opene ...

Cale Yarborough William Caleb "Cale" Yarborough (born March 27, 1939) is an American former NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver and owner, businessman, and farmer. He is one of only two drivers in NASCAR history to win three consecutive championships, winning in 1 ...

, Terry Labonte,

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

, and

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 ...

. Notable crew chiefs in attendance for this race were Buddy Parrott, Joey Arrington, Kirk Shelmerdine, Darrell Bryant,

Dale Inman Dale Inman (born August 19, 1936) is a retired NASCAR Grand National/Winston Cup Series crew chief from Level Cross, Randolph County, North Carolina. He is best known for being the crew chief of Richard Petty at Petty Enterprises during three de ...

, Bud Moore, Tim Brewer, 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 ...

. While Jim Hurlbert and John Rezek would make their NASCAR Cup Series debut, Billy Hagan would make his grand exit after this race along with three other drivers. Bill Meazel would make his only NASCAR appearance during this event.

Qualifying

Finishing order

(No. 88) # Bobby Allison (No. 15) #

† (No. 28) #

(No. 11) # Terry Labonte (No. 44) #

(No. 43) #

(No. 3) # Joe Millikan (No. 72) # Buddy Arrington (No. 67) # James Hylton† (No. 48) # John Rezek (No. 31) #

*† (No. 2) # Bruce Hill (No. 50) #

† (No. 70) #

D. K. Ulrich Donald Keith (D. K.) Ulrich (born April 10, 1944) is a 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 for ...

(No. 40) #

H. B. Bailey Herring Burl "H. B." Bailey (November 15, 1936 – April 17, 2003) was a NASCAR driver. He raced his No. 36 Pontiac (automobile), Pontiac part-time as an independent driver in the Grand National/Winston Cup series from 1962 to 1993, making 85 rac ...

† (No. 36) # Billy Hagan† (No. 19) #

Earle Canavan Earle Samuel Canavan (December 5, 1937 – February 9, 2016) was an American racing driver from Fort Johnson, New York. Canavan immigrated to the United States from Northern Ireland in 1951. Always interested in racing and speed, he admired Mal ...

† (No. 01) # Frank Warren (No. 79) # Tommy Gale† (No. 64) #

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

† (No. 24) # Mike Potter (No. 76) # Jimmy Means (No. 52) # Jim Hurlbert (No. 96) # Benny Parsons*† (No. 27) # Ronnie Thomas* (No. 25) #

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 ne ...

* (No. 45) # Ricky Rudd* (No. 90) #

Mike Kempton Mike may refer to: Animals * Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum * Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off * Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and documenta ...

(No. 69) #

Dick May Richard May (November 7, 1930June 9, 2009) was a NASCAR driver who competed in 185 races in the NASCAR Grand National/Winston Cup Series between 1967 and 1985. In the 1975 running of the Mason-Dixon 500, May drove five different cars but did ...

*† (No. 09) # Lennie Pond*† (No. 12) #

Bill Meazell Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Plac ...

* (No. 55) # John Haver* (No. 58) #

Jimmy Finger Jimmy may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Jimmy'' (2008 film), a 2008 Hindi thriller directed by Raj N. Sippy * ''Jimmy'' (1979 film), a 1979 Indian Malayalam film directed by Melattoor Ravi Varma * ''Jimmy'' (2013 f ...

* (No. 32) ''† signifies that the driver is known to be deceased''
''* Driver failed to finish race''

Timeline

Section reference: * Start: Terry Labonte was leading the other drivers as the green flag was waved in the air. * Lap 5: Jimmy Finger fell out with engine failure. * Lap 36: John Haver fell out with engine failure. * Lap 46: Bill Meazel fell out with engine failure. * Lap 70: Lennie Pond fell out with engine failure. * Lap 113: Dick May fell out with engine failure. * Lap 135: Ricky Rudd fell out with engine failure. * Lap 139: Baxter Price's vehicle developed a problematic transmission. * Lap 140: The wheel on Ronnie Thomas' vehicle became non-functional. * Lap 143: The spindle on Benny Parsons' vehicle developed problems. * Lap 194: Caution due to Dale Earnhardt's accident on turn three; caution ended on lap 198. * Finish: Darrell Waltrip was officially declared the winner of the event.

Standings after the race

References

{{authority control Texas 400 Texas 400 NASCAR races at Texas World Speedway