The 1979 Southeastern 500 was a NASCAR

NASCAR

The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...

 Winston Cup Series racing event that took place on April 1, 1979 at Bristol Motor Speedway

Bristol Motor Speedway

Bristol Motor Speedway, formerly known as Bristol International Raceway and Bristol Raceway is a NASCAR short track venue located in Bristol, Tennessee. Constructed in 1960, it held its first NASCAR race on July 30, 1961...

 in the American community of Bristol

Bristol, Tennessee

Bristol is a city in Sullivan County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 26,702 at the 2010 census. It is the twin city of Bristol, Virginia, which lies directly across the state line between Tennessee and Virginia. The boundaries of both cities run parallel to each other along State...

, Tennessee

Tennessee

Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...

.

Summary

Five hundred laps were completed on a paved oval track spanning 0.533 mile (0.85777822 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

Dale Earnhardt

Ralph Dale Earnhardt, Sr. was an American race car driver, best known for his involvement in stock car racing for NASCAR...

 defeat Bobby Allison

Bobby Allison

Robert Arthur Allison is a former NASCAR Winston Cup driver and was named one of NASCAR's 50 greatest drivers. His two sons, Clifford Allison and Davey Allison followed him into racing, and both died within a year of each other....

 by a time of three seconds.

The notable speeds were: 91.033 miles per hour (146.5 km/h) for the average speed and 111.668 miles per hour (179.7 km/h) for the pole position speed achieved by Buddy Baker

Buddy Baker

Elzie Wylie Baker, Jr. , nicknamed "Leadfoot" or more famously Buddy, is a former American NASCAR racecar driver.-Early life:...

. The other top ten finishers were: Darrell Waltrip

Darrell Waltrip

Darrell Lee Waltrip is a 3-time NASCAR Cup Series champion , 3-time runner-up , winner of the 1989 Daytona 500 and 5-time winner of the prestigeous Coca-Cola 600 ,...

 (who would lose the race lead to Earnhardt with only 27 laps to go), Richard Petty

Richard Petty

Richard Lee Petty is a former NASCAR driver who raced in the Strictly Stock/Grand National Era and the NASCAR Winston Cup Series...

, Benny Parsons

Benny Parsons

Benjamin Stewart Parsons was an American NASCAR driver, and later an announcer/analyst on TBS, ESPN, NBC and TNT...

, Donnie Allison

Donnie Allison

Dunkiny "Donnie" Allison is a former driver on the NASCAR Grand National/Winston Cup circuit, who won ten times during his racing career, which spanned the 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s. He was part of the "Alabama Gang," and is the brother of 1983 champion Bobby Allison and uncle of Davey Allison...

, Terry Labonte

Terry Labonte

Terrance Lee Labonte is a semi-retired NASCAR driver who occasionally drives in the Sprint Cup Series when called upon and is a two-time Winston Cup and IROC champion. He currently drives the #32 U.S. Chrome Ford for FAS Lane Racing. Labonte was introduced to the sport through his father, who had...

, Joe Millikan

Joe Millikan

Joseph "Joe" Milikan was a NASCAR Winston Cup race car driver who competed from the 1979 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season to the 1986 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season along with Terry Labonte, Dale Earnhardt, and Darrell Waltrip.He retired prior to 1993 and has never raced during the NEXTEL Cup or...

, James Hylton

James Hylton

James Harvey Hylton is a part-time race car driver. He is a two-time winner in NASCAR and competes in the ARCA RE/MAX Series,finishing 16th in points in 2006. He made headlines while attempting to qualify for the 2007 Daytona 500 at age 72...

, and Ricky Rudd

Ricky Rudd

Ricky Rudd is a former American NASCAR driver. He is the uncle of actor Skeet Ulrich and Nationwide Series driver Jason Rudd. Rudd is known as the "Iron Man" of NASCAR; holding the record for most consecutive starts in NASCAR racing. At the conclusion of the 2005 season, Rudd had made 788...

. Chevrolet

Chevrolet

Chevrolet , also known as Chevy , is a brand of vehicle produced by General Motors Company . Founded by Louis Chevrolet and ousted GM founder William C. Durant on November 3, 1911, General Motors acquired Chevrolet in 1918...

 vehicles made up the majority of the 30-car racing grid. Corporate sponsors for the drivers included: Gatorade

Gatorade

Gatorade is a brand of sports-themed food and beverage products, built around its signature product: a line of sports drinks. Gatorade is currently manufactured by PepsiCo, distributed in over 80 countries...

, STP

STP (motor oil company)

STP is an American brand and trade name for the automotive additives, lubricants and performance division of Armored AutoGroup.Founded in 1953 in Saint Joseph, Missouri, the company’s name, STP, was derived from “Scientifically Treated Petroleum”...

, Hawaiian Tropic

Hawaiian Tropic

Hawaiian Tropic is a brand of suntan lotion sold around the world, but more widely available in the United States.The Company was founded by Ron Rice in 1969. It was the largest private manufacturer of sun care products in the United States until being acquired in May 2007 by Playtex Products, Inc...

, and Shoney's

Shoney's

Shoney’s is a privately held restaurant chain that operates primarily in the Southeast, Midwest and Mid-Atlantic states and is headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. It is named after Alex Schoenbaum, who was the owner of the original chain of Big Boy restaurants in the southeastern United States...

. This race would be notable for starting the Earnhardt family's legacy of winning.

Many souvenirs were cheap back then with a Richard Petty hat costing $5 USD

United States dollar

The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....

 ($ in today's money) and a ticket to the race costing $16 USD ($ in today's money). The winner of the race would receive a purse of $19,800 ($ in today's money). Ralph Jones

Ralph Jones

Ralph Robert Jones was an American football and basketball coach in the United States. He served as the head coach for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League from 1930 to 1932.-Indiana:...

 (a driver-owner) was the last-place finisher of this race; he was forced to end his participation in the race due to brake

Brake

A brake is a mechanical device which inhibits motion. Its opposite component is a clutch. The rest of this article is dedicated to various types of vehicular brakes....

issues on lap 31.