The 1979 NASCAR Winston Cup Series ran 31 races from January 14 to November 18. Richard Petty won his seventh and final championship in the No. 43 STP Chevrolet for Petty Enterprises, beating Darrell Waltrip by just 11 points (4,830 to 4,819) through sheer consistency: 5 wins, 23 top-5s, and 27 top-10s. Waltrip, in the No. 88 Chevrolet for DiGard Motorsports, led the series with 7 victories but couldn’t overcome Petty’s reliability in the tight points chase.
The season’s biggest highlight was the Daytona 500, the first NASCAR race aired live flag-to-flag on CBS. Petty won, but a last-lap crash between Donnie Allison and Cale Yarborough triggered a wild post-race fight involving Yarborough and the Allison brothers, boosting NASCAR’s national fame.
Dale Earnhardt took Rookie of the Year in his first full season with Rod Osterlund Racing. The title was decided in the finale at Ontario Motor Speedway, where Petty’s fifth-place finish sealed it after Waltrip hit late-race issues. 1979 combined close competition, rising stars, and a TV breakthrough that helped NASCAR explode in popularity.
April 1, 1979
