Cale Yarborough won his third consecutive championship in a year of unstable new cars, a Talladega upset and a scoring error at the Dixie 500.
Cale Yarborough won the 1978 NASCAR Grand National Winston Cup title, his third in a row and a record at the time. The season ran from 22 January to 19 November, and the new 1977-78 cars caused stability problems from the start.
Cale Yarborough won his third straight NASCAR title in 1978, a record at the time, and his Junior Johnson team dominated much of the season. The year also brought the first major racecars of the 1977-78 model era, whose stability problems showed up early.
The 1978 campaign was the 30th year of pro stock car racing in the United States, and it was the seventh of NASCAR's modern era. The Oldsmobile brand was back in the winner's circle, its first win since 1959 coming at the season's opening race.
When did the 1978 season run?
The 1978 season began on 22 January and ended on 19 November. Ronnie Thomas was crowned Rookie of the Year in a tight battle with Roger Hamby, and the title went to the Grand National Winston Cup Series.
Yarborough's season included lopsided runs, such as the Music City 420, which he led from start to finish, and the Nashville 420, where he led 411 laps.
Three straight titles for Yarborough, unstable new cars and a scoring error that decided a race.
Who won the 1978 championship?
Cale Yarborough of Junior Johnson's team won his third consecutive title, driving the No. 11 First National City Travelers Checks Oldsmobile. The streak was a record at the time, and it came after a season in which he won several races, including the Gabriel 400 and the Music City 420.
Yarborough clinched the championship at the American 500 with two races still to run, and he finished the year with a ninth win at the Wilkes 400. He led the final 19 laps there after his car had erased a two-lap deficit with no help from the yellow flags.
Yarborough also took the point lead from Benny Parsons after the Music City 420, and he kept it through to the end of the year.
Why were the new 1977-78 cars so controversial?
The new cars made their superspeedway debut in the Daytona 125s, the qualifying races for the Daytona 500. Preseason testing had exposed serious stability issues, particularly with the Olds Cutlass, which had a shorter rear deck and open rear side windows.
Donnie Allison said the Olds moved around too much to drive well, while Richard Petty was critical of the Dodge Magnum he was fielding, calling it undriveable at 190 mph. Yarborough was also concerned about the Olds' instability.
The 125s were a preview of the trouble to come. Bobby Allison and Buddy Baker crashed out of the first race, A.J. Foyt won it in a superspeedway Buick, and Darrell Waltrip's Monte Carlo edged Petty's Magnum in the second, and Waltrip said afterwards that Petty had the fastest car there. The lead changed a combined 25 times across the two races. Yarborough won the pole for the 500, with Ron Hutcherson second on the grid.
Who won the Daytona 500 in 1978?
Bobby Allison won the Daytona 500 after Buddy Baker blew his engine and Allison took the lead with ten laps to go. It was Allison's first Cup win since 1975.
Richard Petty had led 26 laps in his 125 and was in front in the 500 with Waltrip and David Pearson drafting him. By lap 61 they had put all but Allison and Baker a lap down, but in turn four Petty blew a tyre and all three hit the wall.
A.J. Foyt was also hurt in the race after a violent crash with Lennie Pond. He tumbled through the infield grass, was cut from his car and was taken to hospital.
How did the spring and early summer races go?
Pearson and Allison were among the winners during the spring months of the 1978 season. Pearson reached his 100th Grand National victory at the Carolina 500, and Bobby Allison led 261 laps to win at Atlanta, after which NASCAR mandated larger spoilers.
At Carolina, Pearson ran down Benny Parsons on a frigid raceday to take his 100th Grand National win, a milestone for the veteran driver.
At Atlanta, Allison led 261 laps and put the entire field a lap down. Darrell Waltrip's engine failed after 146 laps, and he then publicly criticised his pit crew, saying that every pit stop left him further behind.
Pearson and Yarborough also fought for the win at the Firecracker 400. Yarborough spun while drafting Pearson, who had lost a lap to a flat tyre earlier. Pearson then boxed Yarborough behind Baxter Price and won by three lengths, his record fifth win in the race.
The Southeastern 500 at Bristol was won by Waltrip after his crew repaired damage from an early crash, and he later credited the crew for their work. It was the first of his record 12 Cup wins at that circuit.
What was the off-track story at the World 600?
The World 600 at Charlotte featured an unusual story away from the track. Willy T. Ribbs, a road racer, was slated to drive a former Bud Moore Torino but missed two test sessions and was arrested for driving the wrong way up a one-way street, so car owner Will Cronkite hired local racer Dale Earnhardt instead.
Richard Petty's day at the 600 was frustrating too. He finished eighth, and the Dodge Magnum took several trips through the inspection line before it was cleared to race.
Which races defined the 1978 season?
Several races stood out, from Yarborough's Winston 500 win at Talladega to Lennie Pond's upset in the Talladega 500 and Darrell Waltrip's first World 600 victory. The table lists nine key winners across the calendar.
| Race | Winner | Why it mattered |
|---|---|---|
| Winston Western 500 | Cale Yarborough | Oldsmobile's first win since 1959 |
| Daytona 500 | Bobby Allison | His first Cup win since 1975 |
| Atlanta 500 | Bobby Allison | Led 261 laps; NASCAR mandated larger spoilers |
| World 600 | Darrell Waltrip | First of his five 600 wins |
| Music City 420 | Cale Yarborough | Led all 420 laps |
| Talladega 500 | Lennie Pond | His only career Winston Cup win |
| Southern 500 | Cale Yarborough | His fourth Southern 500 win |
| American 500 | Cale Yarborough | Clinched his third straight title |
| Dixie 500 | Donnie Allison | Decided after a scoring review |
Yarborough's Winston 500 win at Talladega came after rain pushed the race from 7 May to Mother's Day, 14 May. The race featured 44 official lead changes, and Yarborough drafted past Buddy Baker on the final lap for his second win of the year.
The World 600 at Charlotte was the most competitive race at the track to that point, with the lead changing 43 times among six leading drivers. Waltrip took the first of his five 600 wins after a last-lap crash knocked out Pearson and Parsons.
Benny Parsons won the Richmond 400 by nearly three seconds over Lennie Pond, and later took the Rebel 500 at Darlington, his second win of the season, after his team had changed engines before the race.
How did Richard Petty's season go?
Petty had a difficult year. He struggled with the Dodge Magnum, and after the Talladega 500 he parked it in favour of a Chevrolet he bought from Cecil Gordon. Petty's last race in a Dodge came at Talladega, where he ran out of fuel and finished seventh, two laps down.
His season opened with a 16th place at Riverside, where a rear-end failure ended his day. That was the last race in which he drove the 1974 Dodge Charger, whose Winston Cup Grand National eligibility ended after the race.
Petty's Chevrolet ran strong in the Champion Spark Plug 400 until a blown tyre sent him hard into the guardrail with ten laps to go. His engine had also failed at the Coca-Cola 500, where Waltrip took the win.
What happened in the Talladega 500?
Lennie Pond won the Talladega 500 for his only career Winston Cup victory. Cale Yarborough and Buddy Baker had fought for the lead until Baker's engine failed, and the final eleven laps came down to a showdown between Pond and Donnie Allison.
On the final lap, Bill Elliott's blown tyre slowed Donnie Allison enough for Pond to storm through to the win. The race had 67 lead changes, a motorsports record that stood until 1984.
How did the Volunteer 500 end in controversy?
Cale Yarborough led 327 laps to win the Volunteer 500. The race had been moved to Saturday night by the new track promoter, Gary Baker, but it was overshadowed by a clash between Darrell Waltrip and pole-sitter Lennie Pond. Waltrip sideswiped Pond's Chevrolet on lap 104, and three laps later a tyre blew and sent Pond hard into Waltrip.
Pond was later eliminated after a collision with Cecil Gordon, and he climbed the frontstretch wall. Pond said afterwards that the crash with Gordon was just an accident, and that Gordon had not seen him.
What was the Dixie 500 scoring error?
Donnie Allison made up a lap and charged past Richard Petty and Dave Marcis with three laps to go. He was flagged the winner, but NASCAR's first scoring showed Petty beating Marcis by a wheel. Scorer Earl Sappenfield thought something was still wrong.
Chief scorer Morris Metcalfe learned from a junior member of his team, 16-year-old Brian France, that Allison had in fact completed a lap the scoring had missed. When the revised result was announced, Allison was the winner, and Bill France Jr. made a light-hearted remark about the mistake.
Dale Earnhardt finished fourth in the Dixie 500 in a second Rod Osterlund car. The previous month he had finished a strong second to Bobby Allison in a Late Model Sportsman race at Charlotte.
What did the 1978 season leave behind?
Yarborough's third straight title, the controversy over the new cars and the arrival of Dale Earnhardt as a full-time driver defined the season's legacy. Earnhardt's role grew with a relief drive in the Los Angeles Times 500, where he finished seventh in the second Osterlund car.
Osterlund then named Earnhardt the full-time driver after Dave Marcis left the team. Bobby Allison led 134 laps to win the Los Angeles Times 500, with Yarborough second. Petty had led 30 laps before his engine failed.
