On July 4, 1978, the Firecracker 400 was held at Daytona International Speedway as the 16th race of the 30-race NASCAR Winston Cup Series season, with a 40-car field contesting 160 laps on the 2.5-mile superspeedway. Attendance for the race was estimated at 65,000.
Cale Yarborough captured the pole with a qualifying speed of 186.803 mph in the #11 1st National City Travelers Checks Oldsmobile for Junior Johnson & Associates. David Pearson, starting third in the #21 Purolator Mercury for the Wood Brothers, scored the victory by three car lengths over Yarborough. Darrell Waltrip finished third, followed by Richard Petty and Lennie Pond. Pearson collected $18,450 for the win—his fourth of the season and record fifth Firecracker 400 victory—and led 57 laps. He averaged 154.340 mph in a race slowed by four cautions for 21 laps.
