On August 6, 1978, the Talladega 500 was held at Alabama International Motor Speedway as the 19th race of the 30-race 1978 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season, drawing an estimated attendance of 60,000 for a 41-car field contesting 188 laps on the 2.66-mile superspeedway.
Cale Yarborough captured the pole with a qualifying speed of 192.917 mph in the #11 1st National City Travelers Checks Oldsmobile for Junior Johnson & Associates. Lennie Pond, starting fifth in the #54 W.I.N. Oldsmobile for Ranier Racing, scored the victory by two car lengths over Donnie Allison. Benny Parsons finished third, followed by Yarborough and David Pearson. Pond collected $26,025 for the win—his only career Grand National/Winston Cup victory—and led 22 laps. He averaged a then-record 174.700 mph in a race that featured 67 lead changes and was slowed by four cautions for 17 laps.
