“Where Racing Heritage Lives“

1979 Atlanta 500

The 1979 Atlanta 500, the fifth race of the NASCAR Winston Cup season, was held on March 18 at Atlanta International Raceway before a record crowd of 62,000. A 40-car field contested 328 laps on the 1.522-mile oval. Buddy Baker captured the pole in the No. 28 Harry Ranier Oldsmobile with a speed of 165.951 mph and went on to win by 18 seconds over Bobby Allison, who had led the most laps. Darrell Waltrip finished third, followed by Cale Yarborough and Benny Parsons. The race featured 29 lead changes and five cautions for 42 laps, producing an average speed of 135.136 mph. Baker’s victory, worth $35,975, ended a nearly three-year winless drought dating to May 2, 1976.

The event was marred by tragedy when rookie Dave Watson’s car spun out of control on pit road after running low on fuel; the spinning vehicle struck and fatally injured 18-year-old jackman Dennis Wade of Charlotte, North Carolina. Wade was thrown about 100 feet and later pronounced dead; the accident was the first racing-related fatality in the track’s nearly 20-year history. Watson i mediately withdrew from the race and never raced in NASCAR again.

1979 NASCAR Atlanta 500 Program Back Cover — **1979 NASCAR Atlanta 500 Program**
**Back Cover**

1979 NASCAR Atlanta 500 Program - Pearson and Bonnett — **1979 NASCAR Atlanta 500 Program –**
**Pearson and Bonnett**

1979 NASCAR Atlanta 500 Program - Pages 26-27 — **1979 NASCAR Atlanta 500 Program –**
**Pages 26-27**

1979 NASCAR Atlanta 500 Program - Pages 58-59 — 1979 NASCAR Atlanta 500 Program –
Pages 58-59

1979 NASCAR Atlanta 500 Program - Pages 68-69 — **1979 NASCAR Atlanta 500 Program –**
**Pages 68-69**

**1979 NASCAR Atlanta 500 Ticket Stub Front**

**1979 NASCAR Atlanta 500 Ticket Stub Back**

**1979 NASCAR Atlanta 500 Starting Lineup**

1979 NASCAR Atlanta 500 Ticketing Brochure Front — **1979 NASCAR Atlanta 500**
**Ticketing Brochure – Front**

1979 NASCAR Atlanta 500 Ticketing Brochure Back — **1979 NASCAR Atlanta 500**
**Ticketing Brochure – Back**

**1979 NASCAR Atlanta 500 Ticketing Brochure Exterior**

**1979 NASCAR Atlanta 500 Ticketing Brochure Interior**

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