The 1978 Daytona 500, the 20th running of the event, was the second race of the 1978 NASCAR Winston Cup season. It was held on February 19 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. Defending winner Cale Yarborough won the pole and Bobby Allison won the race.
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 2 of 30 in the 1978 NASCAR Winston Cup Series | |||
 1978 Daytona 500 program cover | |||
| Date | February 19, 1978 | ||
| Location |
Daytona International Speedway Daytona Beach, Florida, U.S. | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 2.5 mi (4.023 km) | ||
| Distance | 200 laps, 500 mi (804.672 km) | ||
| Weather | Temperatures of 73.9 °F (23.3 °C); wind speeds of 9.9 miles per hour (15.9 km/h)[1] | ||
| Average speed | 159.73 miles per hour (257.06 km/h) | ||
| Attendance | 140,000[2] | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Junior Johnson & Associates | ||
| Qualifying race winners | |||
| Duel 1 Winner | A. J. Foyt | A. J. Foyt Enterprises | |
| Duel 2 Winner | Darrell Waltrip | DiGard Motorsports | |
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Buddy Baker | M.C. Anderson Racing | |
| Laps | 76 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 15 | Bobby Allison | Bud Moore Engineering | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | ABC's WWOS | ||
| Announcers | Jim McKay and Jackie Stewart | ||
| Nielsen Ratings |
11.8/33 (20.9.1 million viewers) | ||
Race report
editThe race began with Richard Petty, who brought a brand new Dodge Magnum to the race, leading early.[2] Starting in sixth place, Petty quickly went out in front and led 32 out of the first 60 laps, all under green. The first 60 laps were run at an average speed of nearly 180 mph.[2] But on the lap 61, Petty cut a left rear tire and spun out, collecting long-time rival David Pearson and Darrell Waltrip.[2]
Track conditions were very "green" that day, due to heavy rains during the week, meaning there was little rubber on the track. Just after the restart on lap 70, Parsons blew a left rear tire and spun out. Behind him, 1972 race winner A. J. Foyt was caught up and flipped several times in the turn 1 infield. That left the race to three drivers, 1977 race winner and polesitter Cale Yarborough, Buddy Baker and Bobby Allison, who entered the race with a 67-race winless streak. Yarborough dropped out with engine problems. With 11 laps remaining, Baker, dueling with Allison, suffered an engine failure. Allison drove his Bud Moore Ford Thunderbird around Baker to take the lead and capture his first Daytona 500 win.[2]
It was the lowest starting position (33rd) that a driver had won the event, until 2007 when Kevin Harvick started one spot further back than Allison.[2] 1978 would be final year for the AMC Matador with Jocko Maggiacomo's entry.[3] First Daytona 500 starts for Bill Elliott, Blackie Wangerin, Morgan Shepherd, and Harry Gant.[3] Only Daytona 500 starts for Roger Hamby, Roland Wlodyka, Jerry Jolly, Claude Ballot-Léna, and Al Holbert.[3] Last Daytona 500 starts for Ron Hutcherson, Ferrel Harris, Skip Manning, Dick May, Jimmy Lee Capps, and Joe Mihalic.[3]
Denver racer Jerry Jolly made his NASCAR Winston Cup debut and finished 20th, his best in the series. This would be the only one of his five Winston Cup starts where he was running at the finish.[3] This was done in spite of a cut tire on the 92nd lap that started a four-car incident that also involved the cars of Cecil Gordon, Jimmy Lee Capps, and Tighe Scott.[3] All four were running at the finish of a race that had a remarkably low amount of attrition for a race of that era.[3] Only 14 of the 41 cars that started failed to make it to the finish, with a high percentage of those who failed to make it to the finish being some of the sport's top drivers.[3]
This was the last Daytona 500 until the 2019 Daytona 500 without an Earnhardt in the field.[3]
Notable crew chiefs who participated in this race included Darrell Bryant, Junie Donlavey, Jake Elder, Joey Arrington, Herb Nab, Dale Inman, Bud Moore and Harry Hyde.[4]
Top 10 finishers
edit| Pos[3] | Grid | No. | Driver | Manufacturer | Laps | Laps led | Points | Time/Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 33 | 15 | Bobby Allison | Ford | 200 | 28 | 180 | 3:07:49 |
| 2 | 1 | 11 | Cale Yarborough | Oldsmobile | 200 | 43 | 175 | +33.2 seconds |
| 3 | 8 | 72 | Benny Parsons | Oldsmobile | 199 | 2 | 170 | +1 lap |
| 4 | 2 | 53 | Ron Hutcherson | Buick | 199 | 0 | 160 | +1 lap |
| 5 | 32 | 90 | Dick Brooks | Mercury | 198 | 0 | 155 | +2 laps |
| 6 | 10 | 2 | Dave Marcis | Chevrolet | 198 | 0 | 150 | +2 laps |
| 7 | 31 | 27 | Buddy Baker | Oldsmobile | 196 | 76 | 156 | Engine failure |
| 8 | 9 | 9 | Bill Elliott | Mercury | 195 | 0 | 142 | +5 laps |
| 9 | 23 | 6 | Ferrell Harris | Dodge | 195 | 0 | 138 | +5 laps |
| 10 | 28 | 54 | Lennie Pond | Oldsmobile | 195 | 0 | 134 | +5 laps |
Media
editTelevision
editThe Daytona 500 was covered by ABC for the seventeenth and final time. ABC aired reports during the early stages of the race and then live coverage started at 3:00pm and was two thirds into the race and continued into the end of the race. Jim McKay and three time Formula One World Champion Jackie Stewart called the race from the broadcast booth. Chris Economaki handled pit road for the television side.
| ABC | ||
|---|---|---|
| Booth announcers | Pit reporters | |
| Lap-by-lap | Color-commentators | |
| Jim McKay | Jackie Stewart | Chris Economaki |