1978 American 500
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 28 of 30 in the 1978 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season | |||
This is a program from the 1978 running of the American 500.
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| Date | October 22, 1978 | ||
| Official name | American 500 | ||
| Location | North Carolina Motor Speedway, Rockingham, North Carolina | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility 1.017 mi (1.636 km) |
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| Distance | 492 laps, 500.4 mi (804.2 km) | ||
| Weather | Warm with temperatures approaching 80.1 °F (26.7 °C) with wind speeds reaching up to 8 miles per hour (13 km/h) | ||
| Average speed | 117.288 miles per hour (188.757 km/h) | ||
| Attendance | 46,000 | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Junior Johnson & Associates | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Cale Yarborough | Junior Johnson & Associates | |
| Laps | 376 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 11 | Cale Yarborough | Junior Johnson & Associates | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | untelevised | ||
| Announcers | none | ||
The 1978 American 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series (now Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series) race that took place on October 22, 1978, at North Carolina Motor Speedway in Rockingham, North Carolina, USA. Four hundred and ninety-two laps were done on a paved oval track spanning 1.017 miles (1.637 km). Forty-six thousand people would attend the race live to see 36 cars (and only 19 of them finish the race). Other notable drivers included: Darrell Waltrip (who went on to be a NASCAR announcer for FOX), Benny Parsons, Richard Petty, Richard Childress and J.D. McDuffie (who would die at Watkins Glen during a racing event in the 1991 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season).
North Carolina Motor Speedway was affectionally referred to at the time as The Action Track; delivering lots of action from motorcycle racing to stock car events. The Baby Grand 125 was an ARCA (Automobile Racing Club of America) companion race that took place the previous day. People could buy the official program during both races at a relatively low price of $3 USD ($11.02 when adjusted for inflation).
Cale Yarborough won the race's pole position and would eventually go onto leading 376 laps of the 492 that were actually done.Bobby Allison lost to Yarborough by more than two laps.Cale Yarborough automatically clinched his third straight NASCAR Winston Cup championship as a result of winning this race. As a result of recent rule changes brought about by the NASCAR Chase for the Championship; this situation is no longer possible in today's NASCAR.
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