1979 Virginia 500

Last updated
1979 Virginia 500
Race details
Race 9 of 31 in the 1979 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
1979 Virginia 500 program cover.png
The 1979 Virginia 500 program cover, parodying the Star Wars film.
DateApril 22, 1979
Location Martinsville Speedway, Martinsville, Virginia
Course Permanent racing facility
0.525 mi (0.847 km)
Distance 500 laps, 262.5 mi (423.5 km)
Scheduled Distance 500 laps, 262.5 mi (423.5 km)
Attendance 35,500
Pole position
Driver DiGard Motorsports
Most laps led
Driver Richard Petty Petty Enterprises
Laps 247
Winner
No. 43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises

The 1979 Virginia 500 was the 9th stock car race of the 1979 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season. The race took place at Martinsville Speedway in Martinsville, Virginia on April 22, 1979 before a crowd of 35,500. Richard Petty, driving for his team Petty Enterprises would win the race by 4 seconds, leading 247 laps. Buddy Baker of Ranier-Lundy Racing and Darrell Waltrip of DiGard Motorsports would finish 2nd and 3rd, respectively.

Contents

The layout of Martinsville Speedway, the venue where the race was held. Martinsville Speedway track map.png
The layout of Martinsville Speedway, the venue where the race was held.

Background

Entry list
# [1] DriverTeamMakeSponsor
1 Donnie Allison Ellington Racing Chevrolet Hawaiian Tropic
2 Dale Earnhardt Rod Osterlund Racing Chevrolet Rod Osterlund Racing
02 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet Shoney's
3 Richard Childress Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet CRC Chemicals
05 Dick Brooks Nelson Malloch Racing Oldsmobile Bearfinder
11 Cale Yarborough Junior Johnson & Associates Oldsmobile Busch
12 Lennie Pond Kennie Childers Racing Chevrolet Kencoal Mining
15 Bobby Allison Bud Moore Engineering Ford Hodgdon, Moore
19 Dick May Gray Racing Chevrolet Belden Asphalt
21 Neil Bonnett Wood Brothers Racing Mercury Purolator
24 Cecil Gordon Gordon Racing Oldsmobile Gordon-Barnicle
25 Ronnie Thomas Robertson Racing Chevrolet 1st National City Travelers Checks
27 Benny Parsons M. C. Anderson Racing Chevrolet Power Tool Service
28 Buddy Baker Ranier-Lundy Racing Chevrolet Spectra
30 Tighe Scott Ballard Racing Buick Russ Togs
40 D.K. Ulrich Ulrich Racing Chevrolet Midwestern Farm Lines
43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Chevrolet STP
44 Terry Labonte Hagan Racing Chevrolet Stratagraph
45 Baxter Price Price Racing Chevrolet Price Racing
47 Harry Gant Race Hill Farm Team Chevrolet Race Hill Farm
48 James Hylton Hylton Racing Chevrolet Palatine Automotive Parts
52 Jimmy Means Means Racing Chevrolet Mr. Transmission
64 Tommy Gale Langley Racing Ford Sunny King Ford & Honda
67 Buddy Arrington Arrington Racing Dodge Reid Trailer Sales
68 Chuck Bown Testa Racing Buick Kings Mountain Truck Plaza
70 J.D. McDuffie McDuffie Racing Chevrolet Bailey Excavating
72 Joe Millikan DeWitt Racing Chevrolet Appliance Wheels
79 Frank Warren Warren Racing Dodge Native Tan
88 Darrell Waltrip DiGard Motorsports Chevrolet Gatorade
90 Ricky Rudd Donlavey Racing Ford Truxmore

Qualifying

Pos.#DriverTeamMakeTimeSpeed
188 Darrell Waltrip DiGard Motorsports Chevrolet
243 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Chevrolet
315 Bobby Allison Bud Moore Engineering Ford
428 Buddy Baker Ranier-Lundy Racing Chevrolet
511 Cale Yarborough Junior Johnson & Associates Oldsmobile
612 Lennie Pond Kennie Childers Racing Chevrolet
768 Chuck Bown Testa Racing Buick
872 Joe Millikan DeWitt Racing Chevrolet
921 Neil Bonnett Wood Brothers Racing Mercury
1070 J.D. McDuffie McDuffie Racing Chevrolet
112 Dale Earnhardt Rod Osterlund Racing Chevrolet
121 Donnie Allison Ellington Racing Chevrolet
1327 Benny Parsons M. C. Anderson Racing Chevrolet
1448 James Hylton Hylton Racing Chevrolet
1540 D.K. Ulrich Ulrich Racing Chevrolet
163 Richard Childress Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
1790 Ricky Rudd Donlavey Racing Ford
1867 Buddy Arrington Arrington Racing Dodge
1944 Terry Labonte Hagan Racing Chevrolet
2079 Frank Warren Warren Racing Dodge
2147 Harry Gant Race Hill Farm Team Chevrolet
2230 Tighe Scott Ballard Racing Buick
2319 Dick May Gray Racing Chevrolet
2402 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet
2564 Tommy Gale Langley Racing Ford
2625 Ronnie Thomas Robertson Racing Chevrolet
2705 Dick Brooks Nelson Malloch Racing Oldsmobile
2852 Jimmy Means Means Racing Chevrolet
2945 Baxter Price Price Racing Chevrolet
3024 Cecil Gordon Gordon Racing Oldsmobile

Race results

Fin [2] [1] [3] St#DriverTeamMakeLapsLedStatusPtsWinnings
1243 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Chevrolet 500247running185$23,400
2428 Buddy Baker Ranier-Lundy Racing Chevrolet 500196running175$14,700
3188 Darrell Waltrip DiGard Motorsports Chevrolet 49949running170$10,200
4315 Bobby Allison Bud Moore Engineering Ford 4981running165$7,100
5872 Joe Millikan DeWitt Racing Chevrolet 4970running155$6,550
62147 Harry Gant Race Hill Farm Team Chevrolet 4970running150$2,500
71448 James Hylton Hylton Racing Chevrolet 4957engine151$4,200
8112 Dale Earnhardt Rod Osterlund Racing Chevrolet 4950running142$4,200
91944 Terry Labonte Hagan Racing Chevrolet 4940running138$3,350
101070 J.D. McDuffie McDuffie Racing Chevrolet 4930running134$3,080
11511 Cale Yarborough Junior Johnson & Associates Oldsmobile 4920running130$5,050
121790 Ricky Rudd Donlavey Racing Ford 4890running127$2,470
132230 Tighe Scott Ballard Racing Buick 4880running124$2,300
14163 Richard Childress Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 4850running121$2,140
151540 D.K. Ulrich Ulrich Racing Chevrolet 4760running118$1,980
162564 Tommy Gale Langley Racing Ford 4760running115$1,820
173024 Cecil Gordon Gordon Racing Oldsmobile 4740running112$1,685
182079 Frank Warren Warren Racing Dodge 4720running109$1,500
191327 Benny Parsons M. C. Anderson Racing Chevrolet 4580running106$675
202625 Ronnie Thomas Robertson Racing Chevrolet 4540running103$2,150
212705 Dick Brooks Nelson Malloch Racing Oldsmobile 4370running100$640
221867 Buddy Arrington Arrington Racing Dodge 3120engine97$1,130
23768 Chuck Bown Testa Racing Buick 2630engine$620
242945 Baxter Price Price Racing Chevrolet 2470engine91$860
25921 Neil Bonnett Wood Brothers Racing Mercury 2070engine88$850
262402 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet 1670engine85$590
27121 Donnie Allison Ellington Racing Chevrolet 1370engine82$3,030
282852 Jimmy Means Means Racing Chevrolet 1320overheating79$820
29612 Lennie Pond Kennie Childers Racing Chevrolet 100engine76$810
302319 Dick May Gray Racing Chevrolet 00engine$800

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References

  1. 1 2 "1979 Virginia 500 race results". Racing-Reference. Archived from the original on 2021-04-28.
  2. "1979 Virginia 500 - The Third Turn". www.thethirdturn.com. Retrieved 2021-09-06.
  3. "Virginia 500". www.ultimateracinghistory.com. Retrieved 2021-09-06.
Preceded by NASCAR Winston Cup Series Season
1979
Succeeded by