Cale Yarborough took his fourth and final win of the 1979 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the NAPA National 500. Yarborough led 58 laps in the event, including the final 56, and lapped the entire field in the process. While battling for the lead with Yarborough, Buddy Baker spun into the inside wall in Turn 4 after the leaders came upon the lapped car of Jody Ridley and tried to split it.
Neil Bonnett, driving for the Wood Brothers, posted the fastest qualifying time, giving them their 13th straight pole position at the track, but only led nine laps and retired after 184 laps with an engine failure. The race was shown on NBC, and was the network’s only NASCAR broadcast in 1979.
METAL FUEL + RUBBER 