On July 15, 1978, the Nashville 420 was held at Nashville Speedway as the 17th race of the 30-race 1978 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season, drawing an estimated attendance of 16,500 for a 30-car field contesting 420 laps on the 0.596-mile track.
Lennie Pond captured the pole with a qualifying speed of 104.257 mph in the #54 W.I.N. Chevrolet. Cale Yarborough, starting second in the #11 1st National City Travelers Checks Oldsmobile for Junior Johnson & Associates, scored the victory by two laps over Darrell Waltrip. Richard Childress finished third, followed by Dave Marcis and J.D. McDuffie. Yarborough collected $11,240 for the win and led 411 of 420 laps (all but nine). He averaged 88.924 mph in a race slowed by three cautions for 15 laps. Yarborough left Nashville with a 167-point lead over Benny Parsons in the championship standings.
