1979 World 600
Race details[1]
Race 13 of 31 in the 1979 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season
Layout of Charlotte Motor Speedway
Layout of Charlotte Motor Speedway
Date May 27, 1979 (1979-May-27)
Official name World 600
Location Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord, North Carolina
Course Permanent racing facility
1.500 mi (2.414 km)
Distance 400 laps, 600 mi (965 km)
Weather Mild with temperatures of 75.9 °F (24.4 °C); wind speeds of 18.1 miles per hour (29.1 km/h)
Average speed 136.674 miles per hour (219.955 km/h)
Attendance 135,000
Pole position
Driver
Wood Brothers Racing
Most laps led
Driver Darrell Waltrip DiGard Motorsports
Laps 175
Winner
No. 88 Darrell Waltrip DiGard Motorsports
Television in the United States
Network CBS
Announcers Ken Squier
David Hobbs

The 1979 World 600, the 20th running of the event, was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race that was held on May 27, 1979, at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina.

Before the performance, a skydiver was brought in to bring thrills to the audience; he would parachute into one of the turns. There was also an invocation service followed by the national anthem.

Race report

Darrell Waltrip and Dale Earnhardt would fight it out on the closing laps of this race; Richard Petty would make a comeback and lose to Darrell Waltrip by six seconds.[2]

Dick Brooks had terminal damage to his vehicle on lap 10. Blackie Wangerin would spin his vehicle out on lap 29 but would ultimately finish the race. Bill Elliott blew his engine on lap 36. Connie Saylor ended up crashing his vehicle on lap 114 while Bobby Fisher's race would end on lap 136. Glenn Jarrett spun his vehicle out on lap 167. Bobby Allison's had engine problems on lap 186 but he would finish the race.[2]

While Earnhardt led 122 laps, Waltrip would mount an incredible racing strategy; leading at the most opportune times in the race. While Bobby Allison had engine problems, Tighe Scott had a tie rod issue on lap 372. Ron Hutcherson and Chuck Bown would fail to start the race due to various issues with their vehicle. There were 41 drivers on the starting grid. The duration of this race was 263 minutes with an audience of 136,000 in attendance for what would become a race loaded with lead changes. Chevrolet vehicles dominated the starting grid.[2]

Winnings for this event ranged from the winner's portion of $55,400 ($223,378 when adjusted for inflation) to the last-place of $1,165 ($4,697 when adjusted for inflation). from a grand total of $321,780 ($1,297,448 when adjusted for inflation).[3]

On May 16, 18-year-old Kyle Petty crashed twice during private tests. Two Dodges were badly damaged and his father Richard withdrew him from the race because he was not ready.[4]

Qualifying

Grid[2] No. Driver Manufacturer
1 21 Neil Bonnett Mercury
2 43 Richard Petty Chevrolet
3 88 Darrell Waltrip Chevrolet
4 27 Benny Parsons Chevrolet
5 11 Cale Yarborough Oldsmobile
6 1 Donnie Allison Chevrolet
7 15 Bobby Allison Ford
8 28 Buddy Baker Chevrolet
9 9 Bill Elliott Mercury
10 90 Ricky Rudd Mercury
11 72 Joe Millikan Chevrolet
12 14 Coo Coo Marlin Chevrolet
13 71 Dave Marcis Chevrolet
14 44 Terry Labonte Chevrolet
15 2 Dale Earnhardt Chevrolet

Withdrew from race: Kyle Petty[4]

Finishing order

Section reference:[2]

  1. Darrell Waltrip
  2. Richard Petty
  3. Dale Earnhardt
  4. Cale Yarborough
  5. Benny Parsons
  6. Ricky Rudd
  7. Terry Labonte
  8. Al Holbert
  9. Lennie Pond
  10. Richard Childress
  11. Grant Adcox
  12. Buddy Arrington
  13. J.D. McDuffie
  14. Ronnie Thomas
  15. Blackie Wangerin
  16. Tighe Scott
  17. Cecil Gordon
  18. D.K. Ulrich
  19. Jim Vandiver
  20. Tommy Gale
  21. Frank Warren
  22. Bobby Allison
  23. Harry Gant
  24. Bruce Hill
  25. Neil Bonnett
  26. Dave Marcis
  27. Joe Millikan
  28. Bill Dennis
  29. Glenn Jarrett
  30. Coo Coo Marlin
  31. Bobby Fisher
  32. Skip Manning
  33. James Hylton
  34. Connie Saylor
  35. Travis Tiller
  36. Buddy Baker
  37. Donnie Allison
  38. Bill Elliott
  39. Dick Brooks
  40. Chuck Bown
  41. Ron Hutcherson

Standings after the race

Pos Driver Points[2] Differential
1 Increase Darrell Waltrip 2066 0
2 Decrease Bobby Allison 2013 -53
3 Cale Yarborough 1897 -169
4 Richard Petty 1887 -179
5 Increase Dale Earnhardt 1756 -310
6 Benny Parsons 1749 -317
7 Decrease Joe Millikan 1730 -336
8 Increase D.K. Ulrich 1582 -484
9 Increase Terry Labonte 1576 -490
10 Increase Richard Childress 1541 -525

References

  1. ^ Weather information for the 1979 World 600 at The Old Farmers' Almanac
  2. ^ a b c d e f 1979 World 600 at Racing Reference
  3. ^ 1979 World 600 at Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet
  4. ^ a b Qualifying information Archived 2017-08-21 at the Wayback Machine at Racing Reference
Preceded by1979 Mason-Dixon 500 NASCAR Winston Cup Season 1979 Succeeded by1979 Texas 400
Preceded by1978 World 600 races 1979 Succeeded by1980
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