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Auto race held at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 1978 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 1978 World 600, the 19th running of the event, was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that was held on May 28, 1978, at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina.
Race details[1] | |||
---|---|---|---|
Race 12 of 30 in the 1978 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season | |||
![]() Layout of Charlotte Motor Speedway | |||
Date | May 28, 1978 | ||
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 | Temperatures of 84.9 °F (29.4 °C); wind speeds of 8 miles per hour (13 km/h) | ||
Average speed | 138.355 miles per hour (222.661 km/h) | ||
Attendance | 125,000[2] | ||
Pole position | |||
Driver | Wood Brothers Racing | ||
Most laps led | |||
Driver | Darrell Waltrip | DiGard Motorsports | |
Laps | 144 | ||
Winner | |||
No. 88 | Darrell Waltrip | DiGard Motorsports | |
Television in the United States | |||
Network | CBS | ||
Announcers | Ken Squier |
Zsa Zsa Gabor served as the celebrity grand marshall. There were 40 drivers on the starting grid. An audience of 125,000 fans would see 43 lead changes along with 32 laps under a caution flag. The entire race from green flag to checkered flag lasted for four hours and twenty minutes.
During the first 100 laps, David Pearson, Darrell Waltrip, and Donnie Allison were fighting for the lead. The final laps would become a battle between Donnie Allison, Darrell Waltrip, and Benny Parsons. Waltrip would eventually defeat Donnie Allison by two seconds in his 1978 Chevrolet Monte Carlo. Joining him on victory lane would be his wife Stevie. Jerry Jolly would be the last-place finisher due to problems with his suspension on lap 20. The lowest driver to actually finish the race was D.K. Ulrich.[2]
After the race, Cale Yarborough would only be 30 points behind Benny Parsons in the overall championship standings. The number of points for Dale Earnhardt and Ron Hutcherson were never recorded. Earnhardt got the #98 car ride when Willy T. Ribbs got arrested for reckless driving and was fired. Ribbs had qualified the vehicle in 28th place but Earnhardt would finish the race in 17th place.[2]
The entire prize purse for this race was $310,491 ($1,450,437 when adjusted for inflation); Waltrip received $48,608 ($227,069 when adjusted for inflation) while Jerry Jolly took home $1,090 ($5,092 when adjusted for inflation).[3]
Roland Wlodyka would end his professional driving career with the NASCAR Cup Series after the end of this racing event.[4]
Willy T. Ribbs was expected to be at this NASCAR Cup Series event, being a popular African-American race car driver of the time. After failing to appear at two special practice sessions, he was sacked and replaced with then-obscure driver Dale Earnhardt; who back then specialized in short track racing and was not yet a serious championship contender.[5] A lot of traditionalists chided the opportunities that Ribbs received; getting into the higher levels of NASCAR simply because he was black.[6]
Grid | No. | Driver | Manufacturer | Speed[7] | Owner |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 21 | David Pearson | Mercury | 160.551 | Wood Brothers |
2 | 11 | Cale Yarborough | Oldsmobile | 159.736 | Junior Johnson |
3 | 2 | Dave Marcis | Chevrolet | 159.432 | Rod Osterlund |
4 | 12 | Harry Gant | Chevrolet | 159.040 | Kennie Childers |
5 | 90 | Dick Brooks | Ford | 158.936 | Junie Donlavey |
6 | 15 | Bobby Allison | Ford | 158.801 | Bud Moore |
7 | 14 | Sterling Marlin | Chevrolet | 158.548 | H.B. Cunningham |
8 | 48 | Al Holbert | Oldsmobile | 158.431 | James Hylton |
9 | 54 | Lennie Pond | Oldsmobile | 158.306 | Harry Ranier |
10 | 27 | Buddy Baker | Chevrolet | 158.058 | M.C. Anderson |
Section reference:[2]
* Driver failed to finish race
Section reference:[2]
Pos | Driver | Points[2] | Differential |
---|---|---|---|
1 ![]() |
Benny Parsons | 1862 | 0 |
2 ![]() |
Cale Yarborough | 1832 | -30 |
3 ![]() |
Dave Marcis | 1738 | -124 |
4 ![]() |
Darrell Waltrip | 1683 | -179 |
5 ![]() |
Bobby Allison | 1665 | -197 |
6 ![]() |
Lennie Pond | 1562 | -300 |
7 ![]() |
Richard Petty | 1537 | -325 |
8 ![]() |
Buddy Arrington | 1527 | -335 |
9 ![]() |
Skip Manning | 1455 | -407 |
10 ![]() |
Richard Childress | 1444 | -418 |
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