The 1980 Mason-Dixon 500 was a Winston Cup (now Nextel Cup) event held at Dover International Speedway on May 18, 1980. Bobby Allison dominated the event, leading 126 laps and pulling away to a 26-second victory on Richard Petty. Points leader Dale Earnhardt finished 10th to maintain a 102-point edge on Petty. [1]
Qualifying[]
Qualifying results
| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 | Cale Yarborough | Junior Johnson & Associates | Chevrolet | 138.814 | |
| 2 | 88 | Darrell Waltrip | DiGard Motorsports | Chevrolet | 138.669 | |
| 3 | 27 | Benny Parsons | M. C. Anderson Racing | Chevrolet | 138.402 | |
| 4 | 28 | Buddy Baker | Ranier-Lundy Racing | Chevrolet | 137.978 | |
| 5 | 21 | Neil Bonnett | Wood Brothers Racing | Mercury | 137.341 | |
| 6 | 47 | Harry Gant | Race Hill Farm Team | Chevrolet | 137.210 | |
| 7 | 7 | Dick Brooks | Nelson Malloch Racing | Chevrolet | 137.163 | |
| 8 | 15 | Bobby Allison | Bud Moore Engineering | Ford | 137.158 | |
| 9 | 43 | Richard Petty | Petty Enterprises | Chevrolet | 136.157 | |
| 10 | 75 | Bill Elswick | RahMoc Enterpises | Chevrolet | 135.598 | |
| 11 | 30 | |||||
| 12 | 25 | |||||
| 13 | 42 | Kyle Petty | Petty Enterprises | Chevrolet | 135.256 | |
| 14 | 71 | Dave Marcis | Marcis Auto Group | Chevrolet | 135.241 | |
| 15 | 40 | Dick May | Ulrich Racing | Chevrolet | 134.967 | |
| 16 | 2 | Dale Earnhardt | Osterlund Racing | Chevrolet | 134.887 | |
| 17 | 64 | Tommy Gale | Langley Racing | Ford | 134.856 | |
| 18 | 90 | Jody Ridley | Donlavey Racing | Ford | 134.846 | |
| 19 | 44 | Terry Labonte | Hagan Racing | Chevrolet | 134.730 | |
| 20 | 3 | |||||
| 21 | 70 | |||||
| 22 | 48 | |||||
| 23 | 17 | |||||
| 24 | 79 | |||||
| 25 | 24 | |||||
| 26 | 67 | Buddy Arrington | Arrington Racing | Dodge | 129.589 | |
| 27 | 20 | |||||
| 28 | 45 | |||||
| 29 | 99 | |||||
| 30 | 74 | |||||
| 31 | 52 | |||||
| 32 | 63 | |||||
| 33 | 32 | |||||
| 34 | 34 |
Starting grid[]
| Row | Inside | Outside |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cale Yarborough | Darrell Waltrip |
| 2 | Benny Parsons | Buddy Baker |
| 3 | Neil Bonnett | Harry Gant |
| 4 | Dick Brooks | Bobby Allison |
| 5 | Richard Petty | Bill Elswick |
| 6 | ||
| 7 | Kyle Petty | Dave Marcis |
| 8 | Dick May | Dale Earnhardt |
| 9 | Tommy Gale | Jody Ridley |
| 10 | Terry Labonte | |
| 11 | ||
| 12 | ||
| 13 | Buddy Arrington | |
| 14 | ||
| 15 | ||
| 16 | ||
| 17 |
Race[]
Race results
| Pos | Grid | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Laps | Money | Status | Led | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 | 15 | Bobby Allison | Bud Moore Engineering | Ford | 500 | 21,900 | running | 126 | 180 |
| 2 | 9 | 43 | Richard Petty | Petty Enterprises | Chevrolet | 500 | 16,775 | running | 11 | 175 |
| 3 | 4 | 28 | Buddy Baker | Ranier-Lundy Racing | Chevrolet | 497 | 7,800 | running | 0 | 165 |
| 4 | 6 | 47 | Harry Gant | Race Hill Farm Team | Chevrolet | 495 | 7,530 | running | 0 | 160 |
| 5 | 19 | 44 | Terry Labonte | Hagan Racing | Chevrolet | 494 | 6,255 | running | 0 | 155 |
| 6 | 18 | 90 | Jody Ridley | Donlavey Racing | Ford | 492 | 5,335 | running | 0 | 150 |
| 7 | 15 | 40 | Dick May | Ulrich Racing | Chevrolet | 488 | 4,275 | running | 0 | 146 |
| 8 | ||||||||||
| 9 | ||||||||||
| 10 | 16 | 2 | Dale Earnhardt | Osterlund Racing | Chevrolet | 475 | 7,675 | engine | 0 | 134 |
| 11 | ||||||||||
| 12 | 17 | 64 | Tommy Gale | Langley Racing | Ford | 468 | 3,240 | running | 0 | 127 |
| 13 | ||||||||||
| 14 | ||||||||||
| 15 | ||||||||||
| 16 | 1 | 11 | Cale Yarborough | Junior Johnson & Associates | Chevrolet | 411 | 7,800 | running | 137 | 125 |
| 17 | 7 | 7 | Dick Brooks | Nelson Malloch Racing | Chevrolet | 390 | 2,705 | crash | 0 | 112 |
| 18 | 5 | 21 | Neil Bonnett | Wood Brothers Racing | Mercury | 376 | 1,680 | engine | 95 | 114 |
| 19 | ||||||||||
| 20 | 2 | 88 | Darrell Waltrip | DiGard Motorsports | Chevrolet | 339 | 5,960 | valve | 98 | 108 |
| 21 | 13 | 42 | Kyle Petty | Petty Enterprises | Chevrolet | 290 | 900 | crash | 0 | 100 |
| 22 | 3 | 27 | Benny Parsons | M. C. Anderson Racing | Chevrolet | 283 | 5,650 | crash | 33 | 102 |
| 23 | ||||||||||
| 24 | ||||||||||
| 25 | 14 | 71 | Dave Marcis | Marcis Auto Racing | Chevrolet | 264 | 1,740 | engine | 0 | 88 |
| 26 | 26 | 67 | Buddy Arrington | Arrington Racing | Dodge | 264 | 1,705 | engine | 0 | 85 |
| 27 | ||||||||||
| 28 | ||||||||||
| 29 | ||||||||||
| 30 | 10 | 75 | Bill Elswick | RahMoc Enterprises | Chevrolet | 109 | 1,075 | crash | 0 | 73 |
| 31 | ||||||||||
| 32 | ||||||||||
| 33 | ||||||||||
| 34 |
Race statistics[]
Template:Col-break| Lap Leaders | |
|---|---|
| Laps | Leader |
| 1-86 | Cale Yarborough |
| 87 | Bobby Allison |
| 88-107 | Cale Yarborough |
| 108 | Richard Petty |
| 109-139 | Cale Yarborough |
| 140 | Richard Petty |
| 141-198 | Darrell Waltrip |
| 199 | Bobby Allison |
| 200-224 | Benny Parsons |
| 225 | Richard Petty |
| 226-229 | Darrell Waltrip |
| 230-237 | Benny Parsons |
| 238-245 | Neil Bonnett |
| 246-281 | Darrell Waltrip |
| 282-285 | Richard Petty |
| 286-372 | Neil Bonnett |
| 373-375 | Bobby Allison |
| 376-379 | Richard Petty |
| 380-500 | Bobby Allison |
Template:Col-break
| Caution Periods | |
|---|---|
| 9 for 67 laps | |
| Laps* | Reason |
| 1-25 | wet conditions |
| 29-33 | McDuffie oil in turn 3 |
| 86-90 | Peles spin in turn 3 |
| 107-110 | Elswick crash in turns 1/2 |
| 138-142 | ambulance crossing track |
| 198-201 | Gordon spin in turns 3/4 |
| 224-228 | Wawak spin in turn 3 |
| 282-292 | Kyle Petty/Waltrip/Parsons/Brooks/Scott crash in frontstrectch |
| 465-467 | Gant spin in backstretch |
Template:Col-break
| Points Standings | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Driver | Points | Diff |
| 1 | Dale Earnhardt | 1844 | |
| 2 | Richard Petty | 1742 | -102 |
| 3 | Cale Yarborough | 1707 | -137 |
| 4 | Bobby Allison | 1649 | -195 |
| 5 | Darrell Waltrip | 1629 | -215 |
| 6 | Jody Ridley | 1566 | -278 |
| 7 | Benny Parsons | 1565 | -279 |
| 8 | Harry Gant | 1489 | -355 |
| 9 | Dave Marcis | 1460 | -384 |
| 10 | Terry Labonte | 1404 | -440 |
| 13 | Buddy Arrington | 1260 | -584 |
| 15 | Dick Brooks | 1225 | -619 |
| Time of race: 4:23:28
Average speed: 113.866 mph Pole speed: 138.814 mph |
Cautions: 9 for 67 laps
Margin of victory: 26 sec Attendance: 31,000 Lead changes: 18 |