1979 Southeastern 500
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 7 of 31 in the 1979 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season | |||
Map of the Bristol Motor Speedway
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| Date | April 1, 1979 | ||
| Official name | Southeastern 500 | ||
| Location | Bristol International Raceway, Bristol, Tennessee | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility 0.533 mi (0.857 km) |
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| Distance | 500 laps, 266.5 mi (428.8 km) | ||
| Weather | Mild with temperatures reaching a maximum of 71.1 °F (21.7 °C); wind speeds approaching 7 miles per hour (11 km/h) | ||
| Average speed | 91.033 miles per hour (146.503 km/h) | ||
| Attendance | 26,000 | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Ranier Racing | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Dale Earnhardt | Osterlund Motorsports | |
| Laps | 163 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 2 | Dale Earnhardt | Osterlund Motorsports | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | untelevised | ||
| Announcers | none | ||
The 1979 Southeastern 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that took place on April 1, 1979, at Bristol Motor Speedway in the American community of Bristol, Tennessee. Rookie Dale Earnhardt got his first win of his very successful career in this race.
By the following season, 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.
Five hundred laps were completed on a paved oval track spanning 0.533 miles (0.858 km) in only two hours and fifty-five minutes. Six cautions were given out by NASCAR for 44 laps. Twenty-six thousand people attended this live event to see Dale Earnhardt defeat Bobby Allison by a time of three seconds.Jake Elder was Earnhardt's crew chief at that time; his nickname was "Suitcase" because he would help a NASCAR driver achieve glory and then leave him for another driver the following season. The notable speeds were: 91.033 miles per hour (146.503 km/h) for the average speed and 111.668 miles per hour (179.712 km/h) for the pole position speed achieved by Buddy Baker.
Chevrolet vehicles made up the majority of the 30-car racing grid. This race would be notable for starting the Earnhardt family's legacy of winning. Millikan would catch something in his eye and would have to report to hospital; J.D. McDuffie ended up being the substitute driver for him.
Many souvenirs were cheap back then with a Richard Petty hat costing $5 USD ($16.50 when adjusted for inflation) and a ticket to the race costing $16 USD ($52.80 when adjusted for inflation). The winner of the race would receive a purse of $19,800 ($65,337.28 when adjusted for inflation). One of the most notable moments of the race was when Darrell Waltrip lost the race lead to Earnhardt with only 27 laps to go.
Ralph Jones (a driver-owner) was the last-place finisher of this race; he was forced to end his participation in the race due to brake issues on lap 31. There were three terminal crashes in the race along with three engine failures, one quitter along with a driver with a water pump issues in his vehicle and a driver with a defective rear end on his vehicle.
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