The 1979 Daytona 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup (now NASCAR Cup) race held on February 18, 1979, at Daytona International Speedway. Richard Petty took home the checkered flag, but the race would be most famous for the last lap of the race. Leaders Donnie Allison and Cale Yarborough wrecked each other on the last lap battling for the win, allowing Petty to win the race. During the cool-down lap, Allison and Yarborough climbed from their cars and engaged in a fistfight televised nationally across the United States, with Allison's brother Bobby joining in on the fracas eventually. Many credit this event to NASCAR's soaring in popularity over the following decades.
Qualifying notes[]
Buddy Baker was the pole winner at a speed of 196 mph, with Donnie Allison joining him on the front row. Baker and Darrell Waltrip were the winners of their respective Twin 125 qualifying races.
The following drivers failed to qualify: Claude Ballot-Lena (#6), James Hylton (#48), Bill Elliott (#9), Jim Hurtubise (#04), Woody Fisher (#75), Nestor Peles (#34), Connie Saylor (#49), Roger Hamby (#0), John Rezek (#31), Bobby Fisher (#40), Tommy Gale (#64), Dick May (#57), Cecil Gordon (#24), Jerry Jolly (#96), Ferrel Harris (#45), Bill Green (#49), Morgan Shepherd (#84), and Jimmy Means (#52)
Additional race data[]
- Leaders: 13
- Time of race: 3:28:22
- Cautions: 7 for 57 laps
- Margin of Victory: 1 cl
- Most spots improved: Coo Coo Marlin (+28)
- This was the first Daytona 500 to be televised live flag-to-flag, airing on CBS. Ken Squier and David Hobbs called the race from the booth, with reports on pit road by Brock Yates and Glenn Jarrett.
- Geoff Bodine made his NASCAR debut in this race.
Caution summary[]
Caution 1: (Laps 1 - 15) The first Daytona 500 covered live on television flag-to-flag started under a green/yellow condition to dry the track due to rain that had fallen during the last 24 hours.
Caution 2: (Laps 31 - 41) Donnie Allison driving the #1 Oldsmobile is spun by his brother Bobby Allison driving the #15 Ford coming off of turn 2. Bobby backed off to avoid Donnie's car which had become airborne and was spun by Cale Yarborough sending both the Allisons and Yarborough sliding through the soaked backstretch grass. Bobby's car backed into the dirt bank surrounding Lake Lloyd. All three cars were able to continue. Most of the damage suffered came from the water the cars picked up from the slide through the grass which played havoc on the electrical systems of the three cars.
Caution 3: (Laps 55 - 64) The big one strikes on lap 55 when the #87 of Gary Balough spins off turn 2. The #50 Oldsmobile driven by the 1975 Winston Cup Rookie of the Year Bruce Hill is unable to avoid Balough and plows into him. The #72 Oldsmobile of rookie Joe Millikan, the #17 Oldsmobile of Roger Hamby, the #75 Buick driven by Butch Mock and the #21 Mercury driven by David Pearson pile into the wreck. No drivers are injured, but all are unable to continue except for Hill.
Caution 4: (Laps 74 - 81) Neil Bonnett driving the #5 Oldsmobile is spun by rookie Terry Labonte off of turn 4. Harry Gant also in his first Daytona 500 is spun trying to avoid Bonnett slides through the grass before his #12 Oldsmobile slammed into the wall angling away from the entrance of pit road and slid back up the track in front of the field and is very lucky to not be hit. Gant is done for the day, Bonnett would retire due to suspension damage suffered in the crash a few laps later.
Caution 5: (Laps 103 - 110) The engine under the hood of the #00 Chevrolet driven by Johnny Utsman blows up just past the start/finish line oiling down the track.
Caution 6: (Laps 120 - 125) The #39 Mercury driven by Blackie Wangerin has a severe oil leak, at the same time the engine in the #02 Chevrolet driven by Dave Marcis gives way.
Caution 7: (Laps 138 - 142) Paul Fess who was driving in his first Daytona 500 suffers an engine failure in the #82 Oldsmobile.
The fight[]
While racing for the lead on the last lap, Donnie Allison and Cale Yarborough crashed on the backstretch. As Richard Petty cruised onto a surprising victory, both drivers climbed out of their cars. With their chances of winning the biggest event in the sport, their tempers boiled over. Within moments, Yarborough and Allison were in a fist-and-helmet fight. To makes matters worse Bobby Allison arrived on scene to help brother Donnie. By the time the fight was broken up, all three drivers were a mess and NASCAR was the talk of the nation. The image of "brawling rednecks" oddly worked to bring more fans into the sport. NASCAR, realizing the boom in popularity due to the incident, lightly punished the drivers.
"And there's a fight, between Cale Yarborough and Donnie Allison! The tempers overflowing, they're angry, they know they have lost. And what a bitter defeat!" - Ken Squier, as he called the brawl live on CBS
"For some reason, Cale repeatedly hit his nose on my fist" - Bobby Allison
Results[]
Pos. | Start | No. | Driver | Sponsor | Manufacturer | Laps | Laps led | Status |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 13 | 43 | Richard Petty | STP | Oldsmobile | 200 | 12 | Running |
2 | 4 | 88 | Darrell Waltrip | Gatorade | Oldsmobile | 200 | 4 | Running |
3 | 6 | 51 | A.J. Foyt | Copenhagen | Oldsmobile | 200 | 4 | Running |
4 | 2 | 1 | Donnie Allison | Hawaiian Topic | Oldsmobile | 199 | 93 | Crash |
5 | 3 | 11 | Cale Yarborough | Busch | Oldsmobile | 199 | 3 | Crash |
6 | 33 | 30 | Tighe Scott | Russ Togs | Buick | 199 | 0 | Running |
7 | 28 | 68 | Chuck Bown | Kings Inn | Buick | 199 | 0 | Running |
8 | 10 | 2 | Dale Earnhardt | Rod Osterlund | Buick | 199 | 10 | Running |
9 | 37 | 14 | Coo Coo Marlin | Cunningham-Kelley | Buick | 198 | 0 | Running |
10 | 24 | 79 | Frank Warren | Native Tan | Dodge | 197 | 0 | Running |
11 | 7 | 15 | Bobby Allison | Hodgdon/Moore | Ford | 197 | 1 | Running |
12 | 15 | 67 | Buddy Arrington | Reid Trailer Sales | Dodge | 197 | 0 | Running |
13 | 35 | 40 | D.K. Ulrich | Midwestern Farm Lines | Buick | 197 | 0 | Running |
14 | 38 | 19 | Bill Dennis | Belden Jennite | Chevrolet | 196 | 0 | Running |
15 | 26 | 98 | Ralph Jones | Jones Racing | Ford | 195 | 0 | Running |
16 | 19 | 44 | Terry Labonte | Stratagraph | Buick | 189 | 0 | Running |
17 | 31 | 3 | Richard Childress | CRC Chemical | Oldsmobile | 188 | 0 | Running |
18 | 5 | 27 | Benny Parsons | Griffin Marine | Oldsmobile | 183 | 37 | Running |
19 | 17 | 50 | Bruce Hill | Newport & Associates | Oldsmobile | 168 | 0 | Running |
20 | 36 | 39 | Blackie Wangerin | Wangerin Motorsports | Mercury | 160 | 0 | Running |
21 | 30 | 74 | Bobby Wawak | Bobby Wawak Motorsports | Oldsmobile | 152 | 0 | Overheating |
22 | 23 | 82 | Paul Fess | Lasky Construction | Oldsmobile | 135 | 0 | Engine |
23 | 21 | 41 | Grant Adcox | Adcox-Kirby | Chevrolet | 129 | 0 | Wheel |
24 | 12 | 01 | Dave Marcis | Shoney's | Chevrolet | 119 | 0 | Engine |
25 | 29 | 70 | J.D. McDuffie | Bailey's Excavating | Oldsmobile | 116 | 0 | Engine |
26 | 25 | 37 | Dave Watson | Ams Oil | Chevrolet | 115 | 1 | Clutch |
27 | 8 | 05 | Dick Brooks | Bearfinder | Oldsmobile | 105 | 0 | Transmission |
28 | 22 | 00 | John Utsman | Ed Whitaker | Chevrolet | 101 | 0 | Engine |
29 | 16 | 47 | Geoff Bodine | Race Hill Farm | Oldsmobile | 99 | 6 | Engine |
30 | 40 | 54 | Lennie Pond | Burger King | Oldsmobile | 83 | 2 | Brakes |
31 | 11 | 90 | Ricky Rudd | Truxmore | Mercury | 79 | 0 | Engine |
32 | 20 | 5 | Neil Bonnett | Jim Stacy | Oldsmobile | 76 | 12 | Suspension |
33 | 14 | 12 | Harry Gant | J.W. Hunt Produce | Oldsmobile | 72 | 0 | Crash |
34 | 41 | 25 | Ronnie Thomas | Sub-Tropic | Chevrolet | 64 | 0 | Engine |
35 | 27 | 87 | Gary Balough | Fast Lane Ltd. | Oldsmobile | 53 | 0 | Crash |
36 | 32 | 72 | Joe Millikan | L.G. DeWitt | Oldsmobile | 53 | 0 | Crash |
37 | 9 | 21 | David Pearson | Purolator | Mercury | 53 | 0 | Crash |
38 | 18 | 17 | Skip Manning | Valvoline | Oldsmobile | 53 | 0 | Crash |
39 | 34 | 75 | Butch Mock | RahMoc Enterprises | Buick | 38 | 0 | Crash |
40 | 1 | 28 | Buddy Baker | Spectra Metals | Oldsmobile | 38 | 15 | Engine |
41 | 39 | 89 | Jim Vandiver | O.L. Nixon | Oldsmobile | 27 | 0 | Engine |
Points[]
Pos. | Driver | Points |
---|---|---|
1 | Darrell Waltrip | 360 |
2 | Cale Yarborough | 330 (-30) |
3 | Donnie Allison | 325 (-35) |
4 | Richard Petty | 247 (-113) |
4 | Dale Earnhardt | 247 (-113) |
6 | Bobby Allison | 246 (-114) |
7 | D.K. Ulrich | 245 (-115) |
8 | Buddy Arrington | 236 (-124) |
9 | Richard Childress | 230 (-130) |
10 | David Pearson | 227 (-133) |