The 1978 Delaware 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that took place on September 17, 1978, at Dover Downs International Speedway (now Dover International Speedway) in Dover, Delaware.

Background Dover Downs International Speedway, now called Dover International Speedway, is one of five short tracks to hold NASCAR races; the others are Bristol Motor Speedway, Richmond International Raceway, Martinsville Speedway, and Phoenix International Raceway. The NASCAR race makes use of the track's standard configuration, a four-turn short track oval that is long. The track's turns are banked at twenty-four degrees, and both the front stretch (the location of the finish line) and the backstretch are banked at nine degrees.

Race report Five hundred laps were completed on the paved oval track spanning . The race took four hours, eleven minutes, and twenty seconds to complete. Three cautions slowed the race for eighteen laps. Thirty thousand fans attended. Notable speeds were: for the average speed and for the pole position speed (accomplished by J.D. McDuffie).

Bobby Allison defeated Cale Yarborough by 11 seconds. J.D. McDuffie won his only NASCAR Cup pole position while using tires from the McCreary Tire Company. This pole position also secured a spot in the first running of the Busch Clash (now the Sprint Unlimited); Buddy Baker would ultimately win that race in February 1979.

Jabe Thomas would retire from NASCAR after this race. Bobby Allison would gain his 50th career Winston Cup Series victory from this race. Although McDuffie would never win a Winston Cup Series race, his best overall finish would come at the 1979 Sun-Drop Music City USA 420 in Nashville, Tennessee.

Notable crew chiefs who participated in the race included Darrell Bryant, Junie Donlavey, Buddy Parrott, Jake Elder, Joey Arrington, Herb Nab, Dale Inman, Walter Ballard, Kirk Shelmerdine, and Bud Moore.

Qualifying Grid Driver Manufacturer Owner 1 70 J.D. McDuffie Chevrolet 135.480 26.572 J.D. McDuffie 2 15 Bobby Allison Ford 134.866 26.693 Bud Moore 3 3 Richard Childress Oldsmobile 134.806 26.705 Richard Childress 4 5 Neil Bonnett Oldsmobile 134.713 26.723 Rod Osterlund 5 21 David Pearson Mercury 134.695 26.727 Wood Brothers 6 27 Buddy Baker Chevrolet 134.468 26.772 M.C. Anderson 7 88 Darrell Waltrip Chevrolet 134.393 26.787 DiGard 8 11 Cale Yarborough Oldsmobile 134.353 26.795 Junior Johnson 9 72 Benny Parsons Chevrolet 133.546 26.957 L.G. DeWitt 10 2 Dave Marcis Chevrolet 133.298 27.007 Rod Osterlund

Finishing order Section reference:

Bobby Allison† Cale Yarborough† Buddy Baker† David Pearson† Darrell Waltrip Dick Brooks† Lennie Pond† Dave Marcis Donnie Allison Dick May† Ronnie Thomas Richard Childress Al Holbert† Cecil Gordon† Ed Negre† Earle Canavan Tommy Gale† Roger Hamby Nestor Peles Gary Myers* Frank Warren Buddy Arrington Baxter Price Nelson Oswald* Tighe Scott* Benny Parsons*† Richard Petty* Dave Dion* Neil Bonnett*† Ralph Jones* Joey Arrington* Jimmy Means* J.D. McDuffie*† James Hylton*† Louis Gatto* Ferrel Harris*† Jabe Thomas*†

* Driver failed to finish race † signifies that the driver is known to be deceased

Timeline Section reference: Start of race: J.D. McDuffie had the pole position to start the event. Lap 3: Ferrel Thomas quit the race for unknown reasons. Lap 5: Louis Gatto was black flagged due to unsportsmanlike conduct. Lap 10: James Hylton quit the race for unknown reasons. Lap 11: Bobby Allison took over the lead from J.D. McDuffie. Lap 21: Cale Yarborough took over the lead from Bobby Allison. Lap 80: J.D. McDuffie blew his engine while driving at high speeds. Lap 98: Darrell Waltrip took over the lead from Cale Yarborough. Lap 99: Cale Yarborough took over the lead from Darrell Waltrip. Lap 110: Caution due to Nestor Peles spinning into turn two, ended on lap 112. Lap 140: Jimmy Means blew his engine while driving at high speeds. Lap 143: Joey Arrington managed to lose the rear end of his vehicle. Lap 213: Caution due to Ralph Jones' problematic engine, ended on lap 220. Lap 224: Caution due to an accident involving Neil Bonnett and four other drivers on turn three, ended on lap 230. Lap 238: Dave Dion blew his engine while driving at high speeds. Lap 243: Bobby Allison took over the lead from Cale Yarborough. Lap 269: The ignition on Richard Petty's vehicle stopped working, ending his day on the track. Lap 311: Benny Parsons blew his engine while driving at high speeds. Lap 318: Buddy Baker took over the lead from Bobby Allison. Lap 319: Bobby Allison took over the lead from Buddy Baker. Lap 320: The oil pan on Tighe Scott's vehicle developed some major issues. Lap 335: Nelson Oswald blew his engine while driving at high speeds. Lap 438: Gary Myers blew his engine while driving at high speeds. Finish: Bobby Allison was officially declared the winner of the event.

Standings after the race Pos Driver Points Differential 1 Cale Yarborough 3867 0 2 Dave Marcis 3482 -385 3 Benny Parsons 3479 -388 4 Darrell Waltrip 3423 -444 5 Bobby Allison 3361 -506 6 Richard Petty 3156 -711 7 Lennie Pond 2986 -881 8 Dick Brooks 2948 -919 9 Buddy Arrington 2936 -931 10 Richard Childress 2843 -1024

References