1979 NASCAR Cup Series Season

The 1979 NASCAR Cup Series season featured 31 races across 17 tracks, with 9 different drivers reaching victory lane. Richard Petty captured the championship driving a Chevrolet.

Total Races

Different Winners

Richard Petty

Champion

Tracks Visited

Manufacturer wins: Chevrolet: 18, Oldsmobile: 5, Ford: 5, Mercury: 3

Race-by-Race Results

#	Race	Track	Winner	Mfr	Entries
1	Winston Western 500	Riverside International Raceway	Darrell Waltrip	Chevrolet	35
2	Daytona 500	Daytona International Speedway	Richard Petty	Oldsmobile	41
3	Carolina 500	Rockingham Speedway	Bobby Allison	Ford	35
4	Richmond 400	Richmond Raceway	Cale Yarborough	Oldsmobile	30
5	Atlanta 500	Atlanta Motor Speedway	Buddy Baker	Oldsmobile	40
6	Northwestern Bank 400	North Wilkesboro Speedway	Bobby Allison	Ford	30
7	Southeastern 500	Bristol Motor Speedway	Dale Earnhardt	Chevrolet	30
8	CRC Chemicals Rebel 500	Darlington Raceway	Darrell Waltrip	Chevrolet	36
9	Virginia 500	Martinsville Speedway	Richard Petty	Chevrolet	30
10	Winston 500	Talladega Superspeedway	Bobby Allison	Ford	40
11	Sun-Drop Music City USA 420	Nashville Speedway	Cale Yarborough	Oldsmobile	28
12	Mason-Dixon 500	Dover International Speedway	Neil Bonnett	Mercury	31
13	World 600	Charlotte Motor Speedway	Darrell Waltrip	Chevrolet	41
14	Texas 400	Texas World Speedway	Darrell Waltrip	Chevrolet	34
15	NAPA Riverside 400	Riverside International Raceway	Bobby Allison	Ford	35
16	Gabriel 400	Michigan International Speedway	Buddy Baker	Chevrolet	36
17	Firecracker 400	Daytona International Speedway	Neil Bonnett	Mercury	41
18	Busch Nashville 420	Nashville Speedway	Darrell Waltrip	Chevrolet	30
19	Coca-Cola 500	Pocono Raceway	Cale Yarborough	Chevrolet	39
20	Talladega 500	Talladega Superspeedway	Darrell Waltrip	Oldsmobile	41
21	Champion Spark Plug 400	Michigan International Speedway	Richard Petty	Chevrolet	36
22	Volunteer 500	Bristol Motor Speedway	Darrell Waltrip	Chevrolet	30
23	Southern 500	Darlington Raceway	David Pearson	Chevrolet	40
24	Capital City 400	Richmond Raceway	Bobby Allison	Ford	26
25	CRC Chemicals 500	Dover International Speedway	Richard Petty	Chevrolet	36
26	Old Dominion 500	Martinsville Speedway	Buddy Baker	Chevrolet	30
27	NAPA National 500	Charlotte Motor Speedway	Cale Yarborough	Chevrolet	40
28	Holly Farms 400	North Wilkesboro Speedway	Benny Parsons	Chevrolet	29
29	American 500	Rockingham Speedway	Richard Petty	Chevrolet	37
30	Dixie 500	Atlanta Motor Speedway	Neil Bonnett	Mercury	41
31	Los Angeles Times 500	Ontario Motor Speedway	Benny Parsons	Chevrolet	37

Season Standings (Top 30)

Rank	Driver	Wins	Top 5	Top 10	Races	Avg Finish
1	Darrell Waltrip	7	19	22	31	7.0
2	Richard Petty ★	5	23	27	31	6.4
3	Bobby Allison	5	18	22	31	8.6
4	Cale Yarborough	4	19	22	31	8.6
5	Buddy Baker	3	12	15	26	16.1
6	Neil Bonnett	3	4	6	21	20.3
7	Benny Parsons	2	16	21	31	11.3
8	Dale Earnhardt	1	11	17	27	10.7
9	David Pearson	1	4	5	9	12.9
10	Donnie Allison	0	7	10	20	14.7
11	Joe Millikan	0	5	20	31	12.6
12	Ricky Rudd	0	4	17	28	12.1
13	Terry Labonte	0	2	13	31	16.3
14	A.J. Foyt	0	1	2	2	6.5
15	Jody Ridley	0	1	2	3	13.7
16	John Anderson	0	1	1	4	14.0
17	Bill Elliott	0	1	5	13	14.3
18	Richard Childress	0	1	11	31	14.7
19	Buddy Arrington	0	1	7	31	16.1
20	Bill Schmitt	0	1	1	3	17.3
21	J.D. McDuffie	0	1	7	31	17.5
22	Tighe Scott	0	1	7	17	18.0
23	Dave Marcis	0	1	6	25	18.5
24	Dick Brooks	0	1	8	26	19.4
25	Jim Thirkettle	0	0	1	1	8.0
26	Norm Palmer	0	0	1	1	8.0
27	Butch Hartman	0	0	0	1	14.0
28	Al Elmore	0	0	0	1	15.0
29	Ed Hale	0	0	0	1	15.0
30	Sterling Marlin	0	0	0	1	15.0