The 1979 Dixie 500 was held on November 4 at Atlanta International Raceway before approximately 47,000 fans as the 30th race of the NASCAR Winston Cup season. A 41-car field contested 328 laps on the 1.522-mile track. Buddy Baker won the pole with a speed of 164.813 mph.
Neil Bonnett, driving the #21 Wood Brothers Mercury, started fourth, led 54 laps, and made the winning pass with four laps remaining to edge Dale Earnhardt by about half a car length for his third victory of the year. Cale Yarborough (who led a race-high 136 laps) finished third, followed by Bobby Allison and Darrell Waltrip, with Richard Petty sixth. Bonnett averaged 140.120 mph through five cautions for 29 laps in a race featuring 25 lead changes. The result gave Waltrip a two-point lead over Petty heading into the season finale at Ontario.
