The 1978 Winston Western 500, the season-opening race of the NASCAR Winston Cup Grand National Series, was held on Sunday, January 22 at Riverside International Raceway in Riverside, California.
A record crowd of 70,000 watched the 35-car field tackle the challenging 2.62-mile road course for 119 laps. David Pearson, in the #21 Wood Brothers Mercury, captured the pole with a qualifying speed of 113.204 mph. However, it was Cale Yarborough who emerged victorious. Driving the #11 Junior Johnson & Associates Oldsmobile, Yarborough started fourth, led 58 laps, made the winning pass on lap 95, and held off Benny Parsons by just one second to take the checkered flag.
Yarborough’s triumph came at an average speed of 102.269 mph in a race lasting 3 hours, 2 minutes, and 55 seconds. He earned $20,850 for his 50th career Winston Cup victory. The event featured 12 lead changes among several drivers, with Pearson leading 41 laps and Parsons 18. David Pearson finished third, followed by Neil Bonnett in fourth and Dave Marcis in fifth.
Four cautions flew for 17 laps amid typical Riverside attrition, including mechanical failures that sidelined top contenders like Bobby Allison (engine) and Darrell Waltrip (transmission). Notably, this marked the final race for Richard Petty’s iconic 1974 Dodge Charger. NASCAR eligibility rules for the model had expired after this event; Petty finished 16th with rear-end issues in the STP Dodge, a car that had carried him to numerous wins in prior seasons.
