Auto race held at Dover International Speedway in 1978
1978 Delaware 500 Race details[1] [2]
Layout of Dover International Speedway
Date
September 17, 1978 (1978-September-17 ) Official name
Delaware 500 Location
Dover Downs International Speedway , Dover, Delaware Course
Permanent racing facility 1.000 mi (1.609 km) Distance
500 laps, 500.0 mi (804.6 km) Weather
Warm with temperatures of 79 °F (26 °C); wind speeds of 9.9 miles per hour (15.9 km/h) Average speed
119.323 miles per hour (192.032 km/h) Driver
McDuffie Racing Time
26.572 Driver
Bobby Allison
Bud Moore Engineering Laps
267 No. 15
Bobby Allison
Bud Moore Engineering Network
untelevised Announcers
none
Motor car race
The 1978 Delaware 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that took place on September 17, 1978, at Dover Downs International Speedway (now Dover International Speedway ) in Dover, Delaware .
Background
Dover Downs International Speedway , now called Dover International Speedway, is one of five short tracks to hold NASCAR races; the others are Bristol Motor Speedway , Richmond International Raceway , Martinsville Speedway , and Phoenix International Raceway .[3] The NASCAR race makes use of the track's standard configuration, a four-turn short track oval that is 1 mile (1.6 km) long.[4] The track's turns are banked at twenty-four degrees, and both the front stretch (the location of the finish line) and the backstretch are banked at nine degrees.[4]
Race report
Five hundred laps were completed on the paved oval track spanning 1.000 mile (1.609 km).[2] The race took four hours, eleven minutes, and twenty seconds to complete.[2] Three cautions slowed the race for eighteen laps.[2] Thirty thousand fans attended.[2] Notable speeds were: 119.323 miles per hour (192.032 km/h) for the average speed and 135.480 miles per hour (218.034 km/h) for the pole position speed (accomplished by J.D. McDuffie [5] ).[2]
Bobby Allison defeated Cale Yarborough by 111 ⁄2 seconds.[2] J.D. McDuffie won his only NASCAR Cup pole position [2] while using tires from the McCreary Tire Company . This pole position also secured a spot in the first running of the Busch Clash (now the Sprint Unlimited );[6] Buddy Baker would ultimately win that race in February 1979.
Jabe Thomas would retire from NASCAR after this race. Bobby Allison would gain his 50th career Winston Cup Series victory from this race. Although McDuffie would never win a Winston Cup Series race, his best overall finish would come at the 1979 Sun-Drop Music City USA 420 in Nashville , Tennessee .[7]
Notable crew chiefs who participated in the race included Darrell Bryant , Junie Donlavey , Buddy Parrott , Jake Elder , Joey Arrington , Herb Nab , Dale Inman , Walter Ballard , Kirk Shelmerdine , and Bud Moore .[8]
Qualifying
Grid
Driver
Manufacturer
[9]
[9]
Owner
1
70
J.D. McDuffie
Chevrolet
135.480
26.572
J.D. McDuffie
2
15
Bobby Allison
Ford
134.866
26.693
Bud Moore
3
3
Richard Childress
Oldsmobile
134.806
26.705
Richard Childress
4
5
Neil Bonnett
Oldsmobile
134.713
26.723
Rod Osterlund
5
21
David Pearson
Mercury
134.695
26.727
Wood Brothers
6
27
Buddy Baker
Chevrolet
134.468
26.772
M.C. Anderson
7
88
Darrell Waltrip
Chevrolet
134.393
26.787
DiGard
8
11
Cale Yarborough
Oldsmobile
134.353
26.795
Junior Johnson
9
72
Benny Parsons
Chevrolet
133.546
26.957
L.G. DeWitt
10
2
Dave Marcis
Chevrolet
133.298
27.007
Rod Osterlund
Finishing order
Section reference:[2]
* Driver failed to finish race
† signifies that the driver is known to be deceased
Timeline
Section reference:[2]
Start of race: J.D. McDuffie had the pole position to start the event.
Lap 3: Ferrel Thomas quit the race due to unknown reasons.
Lap 5: Louis Gatto was black flagged due to unsportsmanlike conduct.
Lap 10: James Hylton quit the race due to unknown reasons.
Lap 11: Bobby Allison took over the lead from J.D. McDuffie.
Lap 21: Cale Yarborough took over the lead from Bobby Allison.
Lap 80: J.D. McDuffie blew his engine while driving at high speeds.
Lap 98: Darrell Waltrip took over the lead from Cale Yarborough.
Lap 99: Cale Yarborough took over the lead from Darrell Waltrip.
Lap 110: Caution due to Nestor Peles spinning into turn two, ended on lap 112.
Lap 140: Jimmy Means blew his engine while driving at high speeds.
Lap 143: Joey Arrington managed to lose the rear end of his vehicle.
Lap 213: Caution due to Ralph Jones' problematic engine, ended on lap 220.
Lap 224: Caution due to an accident involving Neil Bonnett and four other drivers on turn three, ended on lap 230.
Lap 238: Dave Dion blew his engine while driving at high speeds.
Lap 243: Bobby Allison took over the lead from Cale Yarborough.
Lap 269: The ignition on Richard Petty's vehicle stopped working, ending his day on the track.
Lap 311: Benny Parsons blew his engine while driving at high speeds.
Lap 318: Buddy Baker took over the lead from Bobby Allison.
Lap 319: Bobby Allison took over the lead from Buddy Baker.
Lap 320: The oil pan on Tighe Scott's vehicle developed some major issues.
Lap 335: Nelson Oswald blew his engine while driving at high speeds.
Lap 438: Gary Myers blew his engine while driving at high speeds.
Finish: Bobby Allison was officially declared the winner of the event.
Standings after the race
References
Preceded by
NASCAR Winston Cup Series Season 1978
Succeeded by