| Race details[1][2][3] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 1 of 31 in the1979 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season | |||
 Souvenir magazine cover of the 1979 Winston Western 500 | |||
| Date | January 14, 1979 (1979-01-14) | ||
| Official name | Winston Western 500 | ||
| Location | Riverside International Raceway,Riverside, California | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 2.62 miles (4.216 km) | ||
| Distance | 119 laps, 311.8 mi (501.7 km) | ||
| Weather | Cold with temperatures of 60.1 °F (15.6 °C); wind speeds of 9.9 miles per hour (15.9 km/h) | ||
| Average speed | 107.820 miles per hour (173.519 km/h) | ||
| Attendance | 68,000[4] | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Wood Brothers | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Darrell Waltrip | DiGard | |
| Laps | 87 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 88 | Darrell Waltrip | DiGard | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | Untelevised | ||
| Announcers | None | ||
The1979 Winston Western 500 was aNASCARWinston Cup Series racing event that took place on January 14, 1979, atRiverside International Raceway inRiverside, California. Buying a souvenir program at this race was relatively inexpensive for the era at $2 USD per copy ($8.66 when adjusted for inflation).
Bythe 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. Only manual transmission vehicles were allowed to participate in this race; a policy that NASCAR has retained to the present day.
This race was Williamson's Cup Series debut. He died in a racing accident the following year during the running of a Grand American series race. This race was the final caution-free race in NASCAR road course history; bringing the idea of a "perfect game" to an end. The final oval course race that went the entire distance without a single caution flag would be the2002 EA Sports 500;[5] which was won byDale Earnhardt Jr. ofDale Earnhardt, Inc.
During the 1970s, Riverside International Raceway had its configurations modernized in order to create the fast-paced racing that the public started to demand for after engine technology picked up during the 1960s.[6] NASCAR would develop a liking for mile and a half tracks by the2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season; with Sonoma and Watkins Glen serving as the sole road course tracks.
There were 35American-born male drivers on the grid;Terry Labonte received the last-place finish due to anengine issue on lap 7 out of 119.[4][2][3]Darrell Waltrip defeatedDavid Pearson by 3.27 seconds in front of 68,000 live audience members.[4] Waltrip would get his first-ever Cup road course victory; going on to win five times in total at Riverside.
Drivers who failed to qualify were Gary Matthews (#51), Ed Hale (#20), Steve Pfeifer (#0), John Krebs (#91) and Rick McCray (#08).[7]
Although there were no cautions in this "perfect game," there were still 13 lead changes and the race lasted two hours and fifty-three minutes.[4][3] While Pearson would clinch thepole position with an average speed of 113.659 miles per hour (182.916 km/h), the average speed of the race was 107.820 miles per hour (173.519 km/h).[4][3] The other drivers in the top ten were:Cale Yarborough,Bill Schmitt,Donnie Allison,Joe Millikan,Buddy Baker,Jim Thirkettle,Tim Williamson, andHarry Gant.[4][2][3]
This was Richard Petty's first race after he had some serious stomach surgery during the offseason. There was concern he might not be able to go the distance this soon after that treatment and his former teammate Hershel McGriff was lined up as the possible relief driver. McGriff was supposed to run this race in James Hylton's #48 Chevrolet but he moved over to standby duty with Hylton racing his car himself. Petty expected to go the distance in the cool Southern California winter weather, but the #43 blew a motor and put him on the sidelines on lap 14.[4][2][3]
Section reference:[4]
| Pos | Driver | Points[4] | Differential |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Darrell Waltrip | 185 | 0 |
| 2 | David Pearson | 175 | -10 |
| 3 | Cale Yarborough | 170 | -15 |
| 4 | Bill Schmitt | 160 | -25 |
| 5 | Donnie Allison | 155 | -30 |
| 6 | Joe Millikan | 150 | -35 |
| 7 | Buddy Baker | 146 | -39 |
| 8 | Jim Thirkettle | 142 | -43 |
| 9 | Tim Williamson | 138 | -47 |
| 10 | Harry Gant | 134 | -51 |
| Preceded by | NASCAR Winston Cup Series Season 1978-9 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Winston Western 500 races 1979 | Succeeded by |