1978 Los Angeles Times 500

1978 Los Angeles Times 500

Race details [1]
Race 30 of 30 in the 1978 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season
Date	November 19, 1978 (1978-11-19)
Official name	Los Angeles Times 500
Location	Ontario Motor Speedway, Ontario, California
Course	Permanent racing facility
Course length	4.023 km (2.500 miles)
Distance	200 laps, 500 mi (804 km)
Average speed	137.783 miles per hour (221.740 km/h)
Attendance	50,905 [2]
Pole position
Driver	Cale Yarborough	Junior Johnson & Associates
Most laps led
Driver	Bobby Allison	Bud Moore Engineering
Laps	134
Winner
No. 15	Bobby Allison	Bud Moore Engineering
Television in the United States
Network	CBS
Announcers	Ken Squier and David Hobbs

The 1978 Los Angeles Times 500, the 7th running of the event, was the thirtieth race of the 1978 NASCAR Winston Cup season. It was held on November 19 at Ontario Motor Speedway in Ontario, California. Cale Yarborough won the pole and Bobby Allison won the race.

Starting Grid

Row	Inside	Outside
1	11-Cale Yarborough	15-Bobby Allison  W
2	43-Richard Petty	88-Darrell Waltrip
3	1-Donnie Allison	21-David Pearson  W
4	72-Benny Parsons	27-Buddy Baker  W
5	54-Lennie Pond	98-Jimmy Insolo
6	90-Dick Brooks
7
8		51-Jim Thirkettle
9
10
11	5-Neil Bonnett  W
12
13	17-Roger Hamby  R
14
15
16		25-Ronnie Thomas  R
17
18
19
20

Race results

Finish	Start	No	Name	Team	Manufacturer	Qual	Laps	Time/Status	Money ($)	Points
1	2	15	Bobby Allison  W	Bud Moore Engineering	Ford	155.574	200	3:37:44	24,025	185
2	1	11	Cale Yarborough	Junior Johnson & Associates	Oldsmobile	156.190	200	+1.70	19,700	175
3	5	1	Donnie Allison	Hoss Ellington	Chevrolet	154.384	200	+20.0	12,925	170
4	8	27	Buddy Baker	M. C. Anderson	Chevrolet	153.670	199	Flagged (-1 lap)	8,600	160
5	4	88	Darrell Waltrip	DiGard Motorsports	Chevrolet	154.440	199	Crash	9,200	160
6	9	54	Lennie Pond	Ranier Racing	Chevrolet	153.620	198	Flagged (-2 laps)	7,140	155
7	10	98	Jimmy Insolo	Rod Osterlund	Chevrolet	153.173	198	Flagged (-2 laps)	5,640	146
8	7	72	Benny Parsons	DeWitt Racing	Chevrolet	154.064	197	Flagged (-3 laps)	7,040	147
9	11	90	Dick Brooks	Donlavey Racing	Mercury	152.785	196	Flagged (-4 laps)	5,040	138
10	16	51	Jim Thirkettle	Jim Thirkettle	Buick	150.978	196	Flagged (-4 laps)	3,740	139

 W  Former Los Angeles Times 500 winner

 R  Rookie

Race statistics

Lap Leaders Laps Leader 1–2 Bobby Allison 6 Lennie Pond 14 Bobby Allison 16 Jim Thirkettle 19 Benny Parsons 20 Donnie Allison 21–42 Bobby Allison 48–49 Bobby Allison 53–56 Darrell Waltrip 57–69 Bobby Allison 78–80 Bobby Allison 84–88 Cale Yarborough 89–96 Darrell Waltrip 97–111 Bobby Allison 112 Darrell Waltrip 113–149 Bobby Allison 150–152 Cale Yarborough 153–172 Bobby Allison 173 Donnie Allison 174–178 Bobby Allison 179–186 Cale Yarborough 187–200 Bobby Allison

Total laps led Driver Laps Bobby Allison 134 Cale Yarborough 16 Darrell Waltrip 9 Donnie Allison 2 Benny Parsons 1 Lennie Pond 1 Jim Thirkettle 1

Caution Periods 4 for 17 laps Laps Reason

Standings after the race

Pos	Driver	Points [2]	Differential
1	Cale Yarborough	4841	0
2	Bobby Allison	4367	-474
3	Darrell Waltrip	4362	-479
4	Benny Parsons	4350	-491
7	Lennie Pond	3794	-1047
8	Dick Brooks	3769	-1072

Broadcasting

Television

CBS Sports
Booth Announcers	Pit/garage reporters
Announcer: Ken Squier Color: David Hobbs	Brock Yates

References

1. Weather information for the 1978 Los Angeles Times 500 at The Old Farmers' Almanac
2. 1978 Los Angeles Times 500 information at Racing Reference

Preceded by 1978 Dixie 500	NASCAR Winston Cup Series Season 1978-79	Succeeded by 1979 Winston Western 500

Preceded by 1977	Los Angeles Times 500 races 1978	Succeeded by 1979