1979 American 500 Results | NASCAR Winston Cup

Race: American 500
NASCAR Winston Cup Series: Race 29 of 31
Date: October 21, 1979
Track: North Carolina Motor Speedway

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American 500 Race Information

Winner	Richard Petty	Car	No. 43 Chevrolet
Team / Owner	Petty Enterprises	Sponsor	STP
Winner Start	7th	Winner Laps Led	139
Started First	Buddy Baker	Most Laps Led	Benny Parsons (168)
Race Distance	500.364 miles (492 laps)	Track Length	1.017 miles
Track Type	Paved oval	Starters	37
Total Purse	$138,750	Winner Earnings	$20,960
Different Leaders	8	Lead-Lap Finishers	3
Points Leader After Race	Richard Petty	Season Race	29 of 31

American 500 Race Results

Fin	Start	No.	Driver	Sponsor	Team / Owner	Make	Laps	Led	Status	Points	Earnings
1	7	43	Richard Petty	STP	Petty Enterprises	Chevrolet	492	139	running	180	$20,960
2	2	27	Benny Parsons	Griffin Marine	M.C. Anderson	Chevrolet	492	168	running	180	$15,950
3	9	11	Cale Yarborough	Busch	Junior Johnson	Chevrolet	492	50	running	170	$11,800
4	6	1	Donnie Allison	Hawaiian Tropic	Hoss Ellington	Chevrolet	490	6	running	165	$5,000
5	10	2	Dale Earnhardt	—	Rod Osterlund	Chevrolet	488	0	running	155	$8,300
6	3	88	Darrell Waltrip	Gatorade	DiGard Racing	Chevrolet	484	29	running	155	$7,100
7	15	3	Richard Childress	CRC Chemicals	Richard Childress	Chevrolet	476	0	running	146	$5,400
8	20	25	Ronnie Thomas	Stone's Cafeteria	Don Robertson	Chevrolet	476	0	running	142	$5,950
9	16	71	Dave Marcis	Shoney's	Dave Marcis	Chevrolet	475	0	running	138	$2,575
10	30	51	Slick Johnson	—	J.D. Johnson	Chevrolet	474	0	running	134	$2,300
11	22	48	James Hylton	Palatine Automotive Parts	James Hylton	Chevrolet	470	0	running	130	$4,080
12	32	64	Tommy Gale	Sunny King Ford & Honda	Elmo Langley	Ford	456	0	running	127	$3,670
13	29	24	Cecil Gordon	—	Cecil Gordon	Oldsmobile	456	0	running	124	$3,440
14	36	75	Bill Elswick	—	Rahmoc Enterprises	Oldsmobile	453	0	running	—	$2,100
15	11	5	Dick Brooks	Comp Con	Nelson Malloch	Chevrolet	452	0	engine	118	$1,750
16	34	0	Freddy Smith	Petty's of Spartanburg	Marvin Petty	Chevrolet	452	0	running	—	$1,400
17	25	67	Buddy Arrington	Reid Trailer Sales	Buddy Arrington	Dodge	434	0	running	112	$2,890
18	5	72	Joe Millikan	Appliance Wheels	L.G. DeWitt	Chevrolet	426	0	running	109	$4,900
19	8	15	Bobby Allison	Hodgdon / Moore	Bud Moore	Ford	422	0	crash	106	$4,800
20	13	90	Ricky Rudd	Truxmore	Junie Donlavey	Ford	420	0	crash	103	$2,480
21	12	47	Harry Gant	Race Hill Farm	Jack Beebe	Chevrolet	416	0	running	100	$825
22	28	45	Baxter Price	Iron Peddlers	Baxter Price	Oldsmobile	412	0	crash	97	$2,170
23	19	17	Bill Elliott	Kings Inn	Roger Hamby	Chevrolet	391	0	running	94	$2,035
24	33	79	Frank Warren	Native Tan	Frank Warren	Dodge	376	0	overheating	91	$1,850
25	37	70	J.D. McDuffie	Bailey Excavating	J.D. McDuffie	Chevrolet	354	0	rear end	88	$1,615
26	31	99	Dick May	—	Bill Hollar	Chevrolet	267	0	overheating	—	$700
27	14	44	Terry Labonte	Technicraft	Billy Hagan	Chevrolet	259	1	engine	87	$1,555
28	21	40	D.K. Ulrich	U.S. Army	D.K. Ulrich	Buick	253	0	running	79	$1,500
29	4	21	Neil Bonnett	Purolator	Wood Brothers	Mercury	233	95	crash	81	$1,120
30	27	18	Randy Ogden	—	Jack Ogden	Chevrolet	227	0	fatigue	—	$610
31	23	52	Jimmy Means	Mr. Transmission	Jimmy Means	Chevrolet	227	0	overheating	70	$1,450
32	18	19	Glenn Jarrett	Belden Asphalt	Henley Gray	Chevrolet	164	0	oil pressure	67	$1,115
33	1	28	Buddy Baker	W.I.N.	Harry Ranier	Chevrolet	141	4	rear end	69	$2,580
34	24	46	Travis Tiller	Ring Enterprises	Travis Tiller	Buick	76	0	rotor	61	$570
35	35	76	Mike Potter	—	Mike Potter	Chevrolet	73	0	engine	—	$560
36	26	61	Bub Strickler	Budweiser	Jim Norris	Oldsmobile	67	0	crash	55	$550
37	17	30	Tighe Scott	Russ Togs	Walter Ballard	Buick	17	0	oil cooler	52	$1,100

Season Navigation

1979 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Results

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