The 1979 Busch Nashville 420, the 18th race of the NASCAR Winston Cup season, was held on July 14 at Nashville Speedway before about 17,000 fans. A 30-car field contested 420 laps on the 0.596-mile short track. Darrell Waltrip claimed the pole in the DiGard Gatorade Chevrolet with a speed of 105.430 mph and dominated the race, leading 409 of the 420 laps. He won by a full lap over Cale Yarborough, with Dale Earnhardt third, Benny Parsons fourth, and Richard Petty fifth.
Waltrip averaged 92.227 mph through three cautions for 19 laps and earned $14,000 for his fifth victory of the season. Sterling Marlin briefly interrupted the dominance by leading 11 laps. The win expanded Waltrip’s championship lead over Bobby Allison to 203 points.
