On November 5, 1978, the Dixie 500 was held at Atlanta International Raceway as the 29th race of the 30-race 1978 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season, drawing an estimated attendance of 40,000 for a 40-car field contesting 328 laps on the 1.522-mile track.
Cale Yarborough captured the pole in the #11 1st National City Travelers Checks Oldsmobile for Junior Johnson & Associates. Donnie Allison, starting 13th in the #1 Hawaiian Tropic Chevrolet for Ellington Racing, scored the victory by five car lengths over Richard Petty. Dave Marcis finished third, followed by Dale Earnhardt (in his first start in a Rod Osterlund car, the #98) and Benny Parsons. Allison collected $19,850 for the win and led only the last 3 laps. He averaged 124.312 mph in a race that featured 25 lead changes and was slowed by seven cautions for 63 laps.
