Official name Talladega 500 | ||
Date August 6, 1978 (1978-August-06) Course Permanent racing facility2.660 mi (4.280 km) Distance 188 laps, 500.1 mi (804.8 km) Weather Hot with temperatures approaching 88.9 °F (31.6 °C); average wind speeds of 6.6 miles per hour (10.6 km/h) | ||
The 1978 Talladega 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that took place on August 6, 1978, at Alabama International Motor Speedway in Talladega, Alabama.
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By 1980, NASCAR had completely stopped tracking the year model of all the vehicles and most teams did not take stock cars to the track under their own power anymore.
Background
Talladega Superspeedway, originally known as Alabama International Motor Superspeedway (AIMS), is a motorsports complex located north of Talladega, Alabama. It is located on the former Anniston Air Force Base in the small city of Lincoln. The track is a Tri-oval and was constructed by International Speedway Corporation, a business controlled by the France Family, in the 1960s. Talladega is most known for its steep banking and the unique location of the start/finish line - located just past the exit to pit road. The track currently hosts the NASCAR series such as the Sprint Cup Series, Xfinity Series, and the Camping World Truck Series. Talladega Superspeedway is the longest NASCAR oval with a length of 2.66 miles (4.28 km), and the track at its peak had a seating capacity of 175,000 spectators.
Summary
Four cautions were waved for seventeen laps; making the race last almost three hours in length. There were 67 different changes in the first-place position of the race. James Hylton finished in last place due to a transmission issue on the first lap of this 188-lap race. This race would lead to Lennie Pond's only NASCAR Cup Series win; he would defeat Donnie Allison by two car lengths in front of 60,000 live spectators. Because he would get fired at the end of 1978, Waddell Wilson kept changing the setup on the car without telling Lennie. He would end up sleeping in his car so that Waddell wouldn't be able to change the setup on his vehicle without him knowing about it. Pond still got fired from Ranier's team in the end; making Ranier an owner/driver again because Darrell Waltrip's contract with DiGard Motorsports was too strong to be broken with negotiations.
There was only one foreigner in the 41-car lineup: Claude Ballot-Léna from Paris, France. Cale Yarborough would earn the pole position with a speed of 192.717 miles per hour (310.148 km/h) while the average speed of the race was 174.7 miles per hour (281.2 km/h). It was considered to be a world's record in 1978. However, Bill Elliott would break that record at the 1985 Winston 500 by driving an average of 186.288 miles per hour (299.801 km/h). Female driver Janet Guthrie was also a part of the grid; finishing in 29th place due to a crash on lap 129. Country music sensation and part-time NASCAR driver Marty Robbins would finish in 18th place in his 1978 Dodge Magnum vehicle.
Richard Petty would stop racing in Chrysler cars after this race. Only the 1984 Winston 500 would see more lead changes than this racing event.