The 1979 Los Angeles Times 500, the final race of the NASCAR Winston Cup season, was held on November 18 at Ontario Motor Speedway before 56,153 fans. A 37-car field contested 200 laps on the 2.5-mile superspeedway. Cale Yarborough won the pole with a speed of 154.902 mph.
Benny Parsons started second in the M.C. Anderson Chevrolet, led 56 laps, and won by 0.42 seconds over Bobby Allison, with Yarborough third, Buddy Baker fourth, and Richard Petty fifth. Parsons averaged 132.822 mph through six cautions for 26 laps in a race that featured 35 lead changes.
Darrell Waltrip entered the race with a two-point lead over Petty but spun on lap 38 and never regained the lost lap, finishing eighth. This allowed Petty to clinch his seventh and final championship by eleven points. Dale Earnhardt secured Rookie of the Year honors by 17 points over Joe Millikan.








