1979 American 500

Race 29 of 31

Rockingham
492 laps
Time of race: 4:37:04
Average speed of winner: 108.356 mph
Margin of victory: 0.17 sec.
Lead changes: 23 among 9 drivers
Cautions: 12 for 82 laps
Lap leaders: Baker 1-4, Parsons 5, Bonnett 6-71, Petty 72, Labonte 73, Bonnett 74-102, Petty 103-158, Waltrip 159-160, Parsons 161-163, D. Allison 164-169, Yarborough 170-219, Petty 220-229, Waltrip 230, Petty 231-240, Waltrip 241-266, Petty 267-300, Parsons 301-338, Petty 339-345, Parsons 346-444, Petty 445, Parsons 446-464, Petty 465-475, Parsons 476-483, Petty 484-492

Race notes: Debut for Randy Ogden and Freddy Smith. Richard Petty took the points lead from Darrell Waltrip.

Finish	Start	Driver	Car #	Sponsor	Car	Owner	Crew Chief	Qualifying Speed	Laps	X Led	Laps Led	Status	Money	Points
1	7	Richard Petty	43	STP	Chevrolet	Petty	Inman		492	9	139	running	20960	180
2	2	Benny Parsons	27	Griffin's Marine	Chevrolet	M.C. Anderson	Ifft		492	6	168	running	15950	180
3	9	Cale Yarborough	11	Busch	Chevrolet	Johnson	Carter		492	1	50	running	11800	170
4	6	Donnie Allison	1	Hawaiian Tropic	Chevrolet	Ellington	Pittman		490	1	6	running	5000	165
5	10	Dale Earnhardt	2	Osterlund	Chevrolet	Osterlund	Elder		488	0	0	running	8300	155
6	3	Darrell Waltrip	88	Gatorade	Chevrolet	DiGard	Buddy Parrott		484	3	29	running	7100	155
7	15	Richard Childress	3	CRC Chemicals	Chevrolet	Childress			476	0	0	running	5400	146
8	20	Ronnie Thomas	25	Stone's Cafeteria	Chevrolet	Don Robertson			476	0	0	running	5950	142
9	16	Dave Marcis	71	Shoney's	Chevrolet	Marcis			475	0	0	running	2575	138
10	30	Slick Johnson	51	Johnson	Chevrolet	J.D. Johnson			474	0	0	running	2300	134
11	22	James Hylton	48	Palatine Automotive	Chevrolet	Hylton			470	0	0	running	4080	130
12	32	Tommy Gale	64	Sunny King Ford & Honda	Ford	Langley			456	0	0	running	3670	127
13	29	Cecil Gordon	24	Gordon	Oldsmobile	Cecil Gordon			456	0	0	running	3440	124
14	36	Bill Elswick	75	RahMoc Racing	Oldsmobile	RahMoc	Rahilly		453	0	0	running	2100	0
15	11	Dick Brooks	05	Compcon, Inc.	Chevrolet	Malloch			452	0	0	engine	1750	118
16	34	Freddy Smith	00	Pettys of Spartanburg	Chevrolet				452	0	0	running	1400	0
17	25	Buddy Arrington	67	Reid Trailer Sales	Dodge	Arrington			434	0	0	running	2890	112
18	5	Joe Millikan	72	Appliance Wheels	Chevrolet	L.G. DeWitt			426	0	0	running	4900	109
19	8	Bobby Allison	15	Hodgdon/Moore	Ford	Moore	Moore		422	0	0	accident	4800	106
20	13	Ricky Rudd	90	Truxmore	Ford	Donlavey			420	0	0	accident	2480	103
21	12	Harry Gant	47	Race Hill Farm	Chevrolet	Jack Beebe			416	0	0	running	825	100
22	28	Baxter Price	45	Iron Peddlers	Oldsmobile	Baxter Price			412	0	0	accident	2170	97
23	19	Bill Elliott	17	Kings Inn	Chevrolet	Hamby			391	0	0	running	2035	94
24	33	Frank Warren	79	Native Tan	Dodge	Frank Warren			376	0	0	overheating	1850	91
25	37	J.D. McDuffie	70	Bailey Excavating	Chevrolet	McDuffie			354	0	0	rear end	1615	88
26	31	Dick May	99	Hollar	Chevrolet	Hollar			267	0	0	overheating	700	0
27	14	Terry Labonte	44	Technicraft	Chevrolet	Hagan			259	1	1	engine	1555	87
28	21	D.K. Ulrich	40	U.S. Army	Buick	Ulrich			253	0	0	running	1500	79
29	4	Neil Bonnett	21	Purolator	Mercury	Wood Brothers	Leonard Wood		233	2	95	accident	1120	81
30	27	Randy Ogden	18	Ogden Racing	Chevrolet	Randy Ogden			227	0	0	fatigue	610	0
31	23	Jimmy Means	52	Mr. Transmission	Chevrolet	Means			227	0	0	overheating	1450	70
32	18	Glenn Jarrett	19	Belden Asphalt	Chevrolet	Henley Gray			164	0	0	oil pressure	1115	67
33	1	Buddy Baker	28	W.I.N., Inc.	Chevrolet	Ranier	Wilson	141.315	141	1	4	rear end	2580	69
34	24	Travis Tiller	46	Ring Enterprises	Buick	Tiller			76	0	0	rotor	570	61
35	35	Mike Potter	76	Potter Racing	Chevrolet	Potter			73	0	0	engine	560	0
36	26	Bub Strickler	61	Budweiser	Oldsmobile				67	0	0	accident	550	55
37	17	Tighe Scott	30	Russ Togs	Buick	Ballard	Hyde		17	0	0	oil cooler	1100	52

Points standings

Rank	Driver	Points	Starts	Poles	Wins	Top 5s	Top 10s
1	Richard Petty	4520	29	1	5	22	25
2	Darrell Waltrip	4512	29	5	7	18	20
3	Bobby Allison	4293	29	3	5	16	20
4	Cale Yarborough	4259	29	0	4	17	20
5	Benny Parsons	3996	29	1	1	15	20
6	Joe Millikan	3749	29	1	0	5	19
7	Richard Childress	3502	29	0	0	1	11
8	Dale Earnhardt	3431	25	4	1	10	15
9	Buddy Arrington	3371	29	0	0	1	7
10	Ricky Rudd	3361	26	0	0	4	15
11	D.K. Ulrich	3356	29	0	0	0	5
12	Terry Labonte	3345	29	0	0	2	12
13	J.D. McDuffie	3276	29	0	0	1	7
14	James Hylton	3205	28	0	0	0	5
15	Buddy Baker	3033	24	6	3	11	14
16	Frank Warren	3011	29	0	0	0	3
17	Ronnie Thomas	2751	28	0	0	0	3
18	Tommy Gale	2637	26	0	0	0	1
19	Cecil Gordon	2597	26	0	0	0	0
20	Dave Marcis	2530	23	0	0	1	6
21	Jimmy Means	2469	26	0	0	0	1
22	Harry Gant	2431	23	1	0	0	5
23	Dick Brooks	2428	24	0	0	1	7
24	Baxter Price	2364	24	0	0	0	0
25	Donnie Allison	2320	18	1	0	7	10