The 1979 Texas 400 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race that took place on June 3, 1979, at Texas World Speedway in College Station, Texas.
Race report Two hundred laps took place on an oval track spanning . Darrell Waltrip won the race; beating Bobby Allison by 60 seconds. Eleven thousand and five hundred fans would attend this live race with lasted more than two hours and thirty-three minutes; making it the least attended race in NASCAR's modern era even when comparing races from after the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. Waltrip's overall speed for the race was while Buddy Baker achieved the pole position for the race with a speed of . Total winnings for this race were $161,250 ($ when considering inflation); Darrell would receive $21,750 of the total purse ($ when considering inflation).
Dale Earnhardt was Waltrip's top challenger before he crashed late in the race. Waltrip had a lap lead but Allison, Baker, and Yarborough had a one-lap dash for second. Allison got second by about two feet over Baker, who was about four feet back. Some of the more notable names to make an appearance here were: Dale Earnhardt, Richard Childress, Cale Yarborough, Terry Labonte, Richard Petty, and J. D. McDuffie.
Notable crew chiefs in attendance for this race were Buddy Parrott, Joey Arrington, Kirk Shelmerdine, Darrell Bryant, Dale Inman, Bud Moore, Tim Brewer, and Jake Elder.
While Jim Hurlbert and John Rezek would make their NASCAR Cup Series debut, Billy Hagan would make his grand exit after this race along with three other drivers. Bill Meazel would make his only NASCAR appearance during this event.
Qualifying Grid Driver Manufacturer 1 28 Buddy Baker Chevrolet 2 44 Terry Labonte Chevrolet 3 2 Dale Earnhardt Chevrolet 4 88 Darrell Waltrip Chevrolet 5 11 Cale Yarborough Chevrolet 6 15 Bobby Allison Ford 7 90 Ricky Rudd Mercury 8 27 Benny Parsons Chevrolet 9 43 Richard Petty Chevrolet 10 72 Joe Millikan Chevrolet 11 12 Lennie Pond Chevrolet 12 40 D.K. Ulrich Buick 13 50 Bruce Hill Buick 14 64 Tommy Gale Ford 15 25 Ronnie Thomas Chevrolet 16 48 James Hylton Chevrolet 17 67 Buddy Arrington Dodge 18 79 Frank Warren Dodge 19 3 Richard Childress Oldsmobile 20 45 Baxter Price Chevrolet 21 70 J.D. McDuffie Chevrolet 22 19 Billy Hagan Chevrolet 23 52 Jimmy Means Chevrolet 24 31 John Rezek Oldsmobile 25 36 H.B. Bailey Pontiac
Finishing order
Darrell Waltrip (No. 88) Bobby Allison (No. 15) Buddy Baker† (No. 28) Cale Yarborough†(No. 11) Terry Labonte (No. 44) Richard Petty (No. 43) Richard Childress (No. 3) Joe Millikan (No. 72) Buddy Arrington (No. 67) James Hylton† (No. 48) John Rezek (No. 31) Dale Earnhardt*† (No. 2) Bruce Hill (No. 50) J. D. McDuffie† (No. 70) D. K. Ulrich (No. 40) H. B. Bailey† (No. 36) Billy Hagan† (No. 19) Earle Canavan† (No. 01) Frank Warren (No. 79) Tommy Gale† (No. 64) Cecil Gordon† (No. 24) Mike Potter (No. 76) Jimmy Means (No. 52) Jim Hurlbert (No. 96) Benny Parsons*† (No. 27) Ronnie Thomas* (No. 25) Baxter Price* (No. 45) Ricky Rudd* (No. 90) Mike Kempton (No. 69) Dick May*† (No. 09) Lennie Pond*† (No. 12) Bill Meazell* (No. 55) John Haver* (No. 58) Jimmy Finger* (No. 32)
† signifies that the driver is known to be deceased * Driver failed to finish race
Timeline Section reference: Start: Terry Labonte was leading the other drivers as the green flag was waved in the air. Lap 5: Jimmy Finger fell out with engine failure. Lap 36: John Haver fell out with engine failure. Lap 46: Bill Meazel fell out with engine failure. Lap 70: Lennie Pond fell out with engine failure. Lap 113: Dick May fell out with engine failure. Lap 135: Ricky Rudd fell out with engine failure. Lap 139: Baxter Price's vehicle developed a problematic transmission. Lap 140: The wheel on Ronnie Thomas' vehicle became non-functional. Lap 143: The spindle on Benny Parsons' vehicle developed problems. Lap 194: Caution due to Dale Earnhardt's accident on turn three; caution ended on lap 198. Finish: Darrell Waltrip was officially declared the winner of the event.
Standings after the race Pos Driver Points Differential 1 Darrell Waltrip 2251 0 2 Bobby Allison 2183 -68 3 Cale Yarborough 2057 -194 4 Richard Petty 2037 -214 5 Dale Earnhardt 1888 -363 6 Joe Millikan 1872 -379 7 Benny Parsons 1837 -414 8 Terry Labonte 1736 -515 9 Buddy Baker 1704 -547 10 D.K. Ulrich 1700 -551
References