1979 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway - 2-18-1979 - Daytona 500 [Kosjeyr]

NASCAR Winston Cup Series Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway


TRACK FACTS DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY

Track Length: 2.5 Miles
Track Shape: Tri-oval
Track Type: SS
First Race: Daytona 500 Qualifier on 02-20-1959
Last Race: Daytona 500 on 02-21-2016
# of NASCAR Cup Races: 138
Qualifying Record: Bill Elliott, 210.364 mph on 02-15-1987
Race Record: Cale Yarborough (1969 Mercury) 183.295 mph on 02-19-1970
Largest Purse: $19,809,272 for the Daytona 500 on 02-22-2015
Most Cautions: 16 at the Daytona 500 on 02-20-2011
Most Caution Laps: 60 at the Daytona 500 on 02-25-1968
Least Cautions: 1 at the Daytona 500 Qualifier #2 on 02-25-1966
Least Caution Laps: 0 at the Daytona 500 Qualifier #1 on 02-24-1967
Most Lead Changes: 74 at the Daytona 500 on 02-20-2011
Least Lead Changes: 0 at the Daytona 500 Qualifier #2 on 02-12-1960
Most Wins: 10 - Richard Petty
Most Poles: 13 - Cale Yarborough
Most Top Fives: 28 - Richard Petty
Most Top Tens: 37 - Richard Petty

TRACK

NAME: Daytona International Speedway
LOCATION: Daytona
LENGTH: 2.500 Miles
SURFACE: Pavement
PURSE: $538,330

RACE

NUMBER: 2
NAME: Daytona 500
DATE: 02-18-1979
LAPS / MILES: 200 / 500
CAUTIONS / LAPS: 7 / 57

WINNER

NAME: Richard Petty
CAR MAKE: Oldsmobile
AVG SPEED: 143.977
START POSITION: 13th
LEAD CHANGES: 36

The 1979 Daytona 500, the 21st annual event, was the second race of the 1979 NASCAR Winston Cup (now Sprint Cup) season. It was held on February 18, 1979. Sports pundits consider the 1979 Daytona 500 to be the most important race in stock car history.[2]

The race was televised live beginning to end, a rarity in that era, and the first for a 500-mile race in the United States. Camera angles such as the "in-car" view were introduced to United States racing viewers.

On the final lap of the 500, race leaders Cale Yarborough and Donnie Allison collided with each other on the Daytona International Speedway's back stretch. Both drivers' races ended in Daytona's grass infield. The wreck allowed Richard Petty, then over one-half lap behind both, to claim his sixth Daytona 500 win.

At the same time Petty made his way to Victory Lane to celebrate, a fight erupted between Yarborough, Donnie Allison, and his brother Bobby at the site of the back stretch wreck. Both events were caught by television cameras and broadcast live.

The 1979 Daytona 500 brought national publicity to NASCAR. Motorsports announcer and editor Dick Berggren said: "Nobody knew it then, but that was the race that got everything going. It was the first 'water cooler' race, the first time people had stood around water coolers on Monday and talked about seeing a race on TV the day before. It took a while – years, maybe – to realize how important it was."