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1979 Daytona 500 Results

Fin. Pos. Str. Car Pos. Car No. Driver Laps Money Car
1 13 43 Richard Petty 200 $73,900 Oldsmobile
2 4 88 Darrell Waltrip 200 $59,350 Oldsmobile
3 6 51 A.J. Foyt 200 $38,550 Oldsmobile
4 2 1 Donnie Allison 199 $39,600 Oldsmobile
5 3 11 Cale Yarborough 199 $34,525 Oldsmobile
6 13 30 Tighe Scott 199 $24,540 Buick
7 28 68 Chuck Bown 199 $18,895 Buick
8 10 2 Dale Earnhardt 199 $22,845 Buick
9 37 14 Coo Coo Marlin 198 $15,885 Chevrolet
10 24 79 Frank Warren 197 $17,475 Dodge
11 7 15 Bobby Allison 197 $17,725 Ford
12 15 67 Buddy Arrington 197 $13,795 Dodge
13 35 40 D.K. Ulrich 197 $11,355 Buick
14 38 19 Bill Dennis 196 $10,115 Chevrolet
15 26 98 Ralph Jones 195 $8,110 Ford
16 19 44 Terry Labonte 189 $8,820 Buick
17 31 3 Richard Childress 188 $6,865 Oldsmobile
18 5 27 Benny Parsons 183 $10,435 Oldsmobile
19 17 50 Bruce Hill 168 $5,375 Oldsmobile
20 36 39 Blackie Wangerin 160 $4,005 Mercury
21 30 74 Bobby Wawak 152 $4,840 Oldsmobile
22 23 82 Paul Fess 135 $3,860 Oldsmobile
23 21 41 Grant Adcox 129 $3,730 Chevrolet
24 12 2 Dave Marcis 119 $3,950 Chevrolet
25 29 70 J.D. McDuffie 116 $4,470 Oldsmobile
26 25 37 Dave Watson 115 $2,850 Chevrolet
27 8 5 Dick Brooks 105 $5,275 Oldsmobile
28 22 0 John Utsman 101 $2,850 Chevrolet
29 16 47 Geoff Bodine 99 $3,275 Oldsmobile
30 40 54 Lennie Pond 83 $2,085 Oldsmobile
31 11 90 Ricky Rudd 79 $4,110 Mercury
32 20 5 Neil Bonnett 76 $4,475 Oldsmobile
33 14 12 Harry Gant 72 $2,875 Oldsmobile
34 41 25 Ronnie Thomas 64 $4,045 Chevrolet
35 27 87 Gary Balough 53 $3,425 Oldsmobile
36 32 72 Joe Millikan 53 $5,340 Oldsmobile
37 9 21 David Pearson 53 $3,275 Mercury
38 18 17 Skip Manning 53 $3,555 Oldsmobile
39 34 75 Butch Mock 38 $2,165 Buick
40 1 28 Buddy Baker 38 $23,775 Oldsmobile
41 39 89 Jim Vandiver 27 $1,930 Oldsmobile
Time of Race: 3 hours, 28 minutes, 22 seconds
Average Speed: 143.977 mph
Fastest Qualifier: Buddy Baker, 196.049 mph
Pole: Buddy Baker
Margin of Victory: 1 car length
Caution Flags: 7 for 57 laps
Lead Changes: 37 lead changes among 13 drivers. Lap Leaders: Buddy Baker 1-15, Donnie Allison 16-20, Cale Yarborough 21-22, Benny Parsons 23, Bobby Allison 24, D. Allison 25-30, Darrell Waltrip 31-32, Lennie Pond 33, Neil Bonnett 34-41, A.J. Foyt 42, Bonnett 43, Dale Earnhardt 44, Bonnett 45, Earnhardt 46-49, Parsons 50-59, Richard Petty 60-69, Earnhardt 70, Petty 71, Bonnett 72-73, Parsons 74-75, Pond 76, Geoff Bodine 77-81, Parsons 82-84, Bodine 85, Parsons 86-106, Dave Watson 107, D. Allison 108-114, Earnhardt 115, D. Allison 116-139, Earnhardt 140-142, D. Allison 143-171, Foyt 172-173, Yarborough 174, Foyt 175, Waltrip 176-177, D. Allison 178-199, Petty 200.
Total Laps Led: Donnie Allison 93, Benny Parsons 37, Buddy Baker 15, Neil Bonnett 12, Richard Petty 12, Dale Earnhardt 10, Geoff Bodine 6, A.J. Foyt 4, Darrell Waltrip 4, Cale Yarborough 3, Lennie Pond 2, Bobby Allison 1, Dave Watson 1.
Note: First 16 Laps run under yellow due to rain.

Daytona 500 photography © Motorsports Images and Archives, unless otherwise stated.