Wikipedia

1979 Texas 400

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.

1979 Texas 400
Race details[1]
Race 14 of 31 in the 1979 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season
Layout of Texas World Speedway
Layout of Texas World Speedway
Date June 9, 1979 (1979-June-09)
Official name Texas 400
Location Texas World Speedway, College Station, Texas
Course Permanent racing facility
2.000 mi (3.218 km)
Distance 200 laps, 400 mi (643.738 km)
Weather Hot with temperatures of 90 °F (32 °C); wind speeds of 11.8 miles per hour (19.0 km/h)
Average speed 156.216 miles per hour (251.405 km/h)
Attendance 11,500[2]
Pole position
Driver
Ranier Racing
Most laps led
Driver Darrell Waltrip DiGard Motorsports
Laps 155
Winner
No. 88 Darrell Waltrip DiGard Motorsports
Television in the United States
Network untelevised
Announcers none

Race report

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Two hundred laps took place on an oval track spanning 2.0 miles (3.2 km).[2] Darrell Waltrip won the race; beating Bobby Allison by 60 seconds.[2] 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 season.[2] Waltrip's overall speed for the race was 156.216 miles per hour (251.405 km/h) while Buddy Baker achieved the pole position for the race with a speed of 167.903 miles per hour (270.214 km/h).[2] Total winnings for this race were $161,250 ($676,939.48 when considering inflation); Darrell would receive $21,750 of the total purse ($91,308.12 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.[2] Some of the more notable names to make an appearance here were: Dale Earnhardt, Richard Childress, Cale Yarborough, Terry Labonte, Richard Petty, and J. D. McDuffie.[2]

Notable crew chiefs in attendance for this race were Buddy Parrott, Joey Arrington, Kirk Shelmerdine, Darrell Bryant, Dale Inman, Bud Moore, Tim Brewer, and Jake Elder.[3]

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.[4]

Qualifying

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Grid No. Driver Manufacturer
1 28 Buddy Baker Chevrolet
2 44 Terry Labonte Chevrolet
3 2 Dale Earnhardt Chevrolet
4 88 Darrell Waltrip Chevrolet
5 11 Cale Yarborough Chevrolet
6 15 Bobby Allison Ford
7 90 Ricky Rudd Mercury
8 27 Benny Parsons Chevrolet
9 43 Richard Petty Chevrolet
10 72 Joe Millikan Chevrolet
11 12 Lennie Pond Chevrolet
12 40 D.K. Ulrich Buick
13 50 Bruce Hill Buick
14 64 Tommy Gale Ford
15 25 Ronnie Thomas Chevrolet
16 48 James Hylton Chevrolet
17 67 Buddy Arrington Dodge
18 79 Frank Warren Dodge
19 3 Richard Childress Oldsmobile
20 45 Baxter Price Chevrolet
21 70 J.D. McDuffie Chevrolet
22 19 Billy Hagan Chevrolet
23 52 Jimmy Means Chevrolet
24 31 John Rezek Oldsmobile
25 36 H.B. Bailey Pontiac

Finishing order

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  1. Darrell Waltrip (No. 88)
  2. Bobby Allison (No. 15)
  3. Buddy Baker† (No. 28)
  4. Cale Yarborough†(No. 11)
  5. Terry Labonte (No. 44)
  6. Richard Petty (No. 43)
  7. Richard Childress (No. 3)
  8. Joe Millikan (No. 72)
  9. Buddy Arrington (No. 67)
  10. James Hylton† (No. 48)
  11. John Rezek (No. 31)
  12. Dale Earnhardt*† (No. 2)
  13. Bruce Hill (No. 50)
  14. J. D. McDuffie† (No. 70)
  15. D. K. Ulrich (No. 40)
  16. H. B. Bailey† (No. 36)
  17. Billy Hagan† (No. 19)
  18. Earle Canavan† (No. 01)
  19. Frank Warren (No. 79)
  20. Tommy Gale† (No. 64)
  21. Cecil Gordon† (No. 24)
  22. Mike Potter (No. 76)
  23. Jimmy Means (No. 52)
  24. Jim Hurlbert (No. 96)
  25. Benny Parsons*† (No. 27)
  26. Ronnie Thomas* (No. 25)
  27. Baxter Price* (No. 45)
  28. Ricky Rudd* (No. 90)
  29. Mike Kempton (No. 69)
  30. Dick May*† (No. 09)
  31. Lennie Pond*† (No. 12)
  32. Bill Meazell* (No. 55)
  33. John Haver* (No. 58)
  34. Jimmy Finger* (No. 32)

† signifies that the driver is known to be deceased
* Driver failed to finish race

Timeline

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Section reference:[2]

  • 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

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Pos Driver Points[2] Differential
1   Darrell Waltrip 2251 0
2   Bobby Allison 2183 -68
3   Cale Yarborough 2057 -194
4   Richard Petty 2037 -214
5   Dale Earnhardt 1888 -363
6   Joe Millikan 1872 -379
7   Benny Parsons 1837 -414
8   Terry Labonte 1736 -515
9   Buddy Baker 1704 -547
10   D.K. Ulrich 1700 -551

References

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  1. ^ "1979 Texas 400 weather information". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved 2012-09-10.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i "1979 Texas 400 racing results". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2011-11-14.
  3. ^ "1979 Texas 400 crew chiefs information". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2018-08-23.
  4. ^ "Notable events at the 1979 Texas 400". Race Database. Retrieved 2014-05-08.
Preceded by NASCAR Winston Cup Series Season
1979 		Succeeded by
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