|| *Comments on the 1978 Los Angeles Times 500:* View the most recent comment <#26> | Post a comment <#post> Tweet 1. Jeff posted: 10.01.2004 - 9:46 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Thanks for the recap of this race. This was the very 1st Cup race I attended as a 10 year old. I had long thought my memory was of Richard Petty(my fav driver along w/ AJ then) coming in 3rd place in the race, but the 3rd I remember was that he started the race in the 3rd spot. I knew I remembered something as 3rd w/ Richard Petty. Haha---old age will kill off some long ago memories for sure. Thanks again---Jeff 2. myself posted: 02.14.2007 - 4:21 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) ALL HAIL CALE!!!!!!! 3 championships in a row!!!!! This feat will NEVER be equalled nor beaten! It very nearly happened in the mid to late 90s. If not for Terry Labonte in 96', Jeff Gordon would've won 4 in a row! Cale's late 70s run & Gordon's run in the 90s are the 2 most dominant runs in the history of Nascar! Take that Petty & Earnhardt fans!!!!!!!!!! 3. RaceFanX posted: 02.20.2008 - 5:13 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) 2-time race winner Ray Elder's last start 4. JohnsonFan posted: 11.25.2008 - 9:52 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Sorry myself. Looks like you are wrong. 5. myself posted: 08.20.2009 - 2:03 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) I'm wrong for those who view Brian France's Chase as legitimate means to a championship. 6. Paul5 posted: 11.24.2009 - 8:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Just noticed that the CBS Sports Spectacular highlights of this race listed Dale Earnhardt and not Jimmy Insolo in the #98 for some reason. 7. Matthew Sullivan posted: 12.27.2009 - 6:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Cale Yarborough did not start on the pole at the green flag. Just prior to the start of the race, the distributor failed on his car forcing him to make a premature pit stop. Fortunately, the crew was able to fix the problem without losing a lap. 8. myself posted: 02.16.2010 - 10:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Some pretty good youtube footage of this race exists 9. Karn Evil 9 posted: 04.18.2011 - 6:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Last race for Benny Parsons in L.G. Dewitt's car 10. Jim posted: 06.11.2012 - 10:58 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Last start for Mel Larson 11. David posted: 06.25.2013 - 4:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Unless things change, this is the last race without a Labonte in the field until the 2013 Quaker State 400. That's a streak of 1118 races. 12. Terry Maynard posted: 12.29.2014 - 10:59 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) In response to comment # 6, Dale Earnhardt did not start the race because it would have made his 6th start of the season and would have made him ineligible to run for Rookie of the Year in 1979. Insolo started the race and Earnhardt took over as a relief driver so he would not be credited with the start. 13. Paul posted: 03.20.2015 - 7:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) DNQ or WD: #01 Earle Canavan Sponsor: N/A / Owner: Earle Canavan / Make: Dodge #01 Jimmy Insolo Sponsor: Lakes Drywall / Owner: Gerald Cracker / Make: Oldsmobile #03 Ron McGee Sponsor: M.C. Productions / Owner: Larry M. Getz / Make: Chevrolet #04 Mike Roche Sponsor: N/A / Owner: Jim Miller / Make: Chevrolet #05 Bruce Hill Sponsor: Bearfinder / Owner: Harry Clary / Make: Oldsmobile #13 Don Puskarich Sponsor: Oil Field Construction / Owner: Matt Puskarich / Make: Chevrolet #14 Dick Kranzler Sponsor: Parnelli Jones Firestone / Owner: Dick Kranzler / Make: Chevrolet #20 Ed Hale Sponsor: Peralta Chevy / Owner: Richard Peralta / Make: Chevrolet #22 Ricky Rudd Sponsor: 1st National City Travelers Checks / Owner: Al Rudd / Make: Chevrolet #29 Roy Smith Sponsor: Tropical Rent-A-Car / Owner: Dick Midgley / Make: Chevrolet #30 Tighe Scott Sponsor: Russ Togs / Owner: Walter Ballard / Make: Chevrolet #37 Dave Watson Sponsor: Amsoil / Owner: Phil Howard / Make: Chevrolet #40 D.K Ulrich Sponsor: Midwestern Farm Lines / Owner: D.K Ulrich / Make: Buick #41 Ernie Stierly Sponsor: Allied Plating / Owner: Ernie Stierly / Make: Chevrolet #45 Baxter Price Sponsor: N/A / Owner: Baxter Price / Make: Chevrolet #52 Don Graham Sponsor: City Tow / Owner: Rodney Friesen / Make: Chevrolet #53 Jack Simpson Sponsor: Don's Automotive / Owner: Robert Campanella / Make: Chevrolet #74 Bobby Wawak Sponsor: Louise Smith / Owner: Bobby Wawak / Make: Chevrolet #74 Hal Callentine Sponsor: Cal-Four / Owner: Hal Callentine / Make: Chevrolet #82 Ross Kusah Sponsor: Allied Plating / Owner: Charles Elkins / Make: Chevrolet #86 Dick Whalen Sponsor: N/A / Owner: Glenna Dean / Make: Chevrolet #91 John Krebs Sponsor: Getty's Automotive / Owner: John Krebs / Make: Chevrolet #92 Billy Hagan Sponsor: Duck Industries / Owner: Billy Hagan / Make: Chevrolet #92 Chris Monoleos Sponsor: N/A / Owner: Kendall Buckstaff / Make: Chevrolet #93 Norm Palmer Sponsor: N/A / Owner: Norm Palmer / Make: Dodge #94 Bennie Vaught Sponsor: N/A / Owner: Gil Brusuelas / Make: Chevrolet #98 John Kieper Sponsor: Wholesale Truck Parts / Owner: John Kieper / Make: Chevrolet Source - Entry List: http://hostingbytes.us/images/3/7272661.jpg http://hostingbytes.us/images/3/5493388.jpg 14. RaceFanX posted: 09.29.2015 - 10:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Rocky Moran's third and final Cup start nets him his best career finish, 20th. 15. nascarman posted: 12.18.2016 - 1:57 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Rough day for Dave Marcis, falling from 2nd to 5th in points in the season finale. 16. paulie posted: 10.11.2017 - 5:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tI_chYVUKQ Just was uploaded today. Was this on tape delay? 17. nascarman posted: 10.11.2017 - 6:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The race was tape delay, shown at 4:30PM the following Saturday. It was part of CBS's Sports Spectacular which, along with the race, aired a world's strongest man competition in the same program. 18. kup posted: 11.14.2017 - 1:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) UPS: universal points system. Driver's UPoints = Miles / Aver.Finish 1978 UPS _ Driver = Miles / AF 1894 _ Cale Yarborough 11366 / 6.0 1263 _ Dave Marcis 10992 / 8.7 1152 _ Benny Parsons 10832 / 9.4 1121 _ Bobby Allison 10539 / 9.4 1014 _ Darrell Waltrip 10541 / 10.4 811 _ Lennie Pond 9412 / 11.6 794 _ Richard Petty 10162 / 12.8 751 _ Buddy Arrington 10739 / 14.3 748 _ Dick Brooks 10023 / 13.4 653 _ Richard Childress 10059 / 15.4 487 _ David Pearson 7602 / 15.6 & TOTAL: UPS! 30 years 1949-1978: Richard Petty 6 in: '63, '64, '67, '71, '72, '75. Lee Petty 5 in: '50, '52, '54, '58, '59. David Pearson 4 in: '66, '68, '69, '76. Cale Yarborough 3 in: '74, '77, '78. Buck Baker 2 in: '56, '57. Rex White 2 in: '60, '61. Bill Blair 1 in: '49. Fonty Flock 1 in: '51. Herb Thomas 1 in: '53. Tim Flock 1 in: '55. Joe Weatherly 1 in: '62. Ned Jarrett 1 in: '65. Bobby Isaac 1 in: '70. Benny Parsons 1 in: '73. 19. Brandon posted: 03.31.2018 - 1:36 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) A total of 8 manufacturers raced in the 30 races in 1978, here is how many races each showed up to. AMC: 1 Buick: 15 Chevrolet: 30 Chrysler: 6 Dodge: 30 Ford: 30 Mercury: 22 Oldsmobile: 30 20. Anonymous posted: 04.02.2020 - 8:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Tighe Scott was running 12th in points heading into this event yet DNQed. What were the rules for points and qualifying back then? 21. Mile501 posted: 04.02.2020 - 9:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @20 - Hopefully someone who knows for sure can respond, but I think NASCAR did not have a provisional system that far back. It may have just been the fastest 40 cars that made the race (though probably with 2 or 3 qualifying sessions which gave drivers multiple opportunities to qualify). 22. Canadianfan posted: 04.02.2020 - 9:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @20 To my understanding back then you had two rounds of qualifying one round on Friday one round on Saturday. The drivers who couldn't lock themselves on speed on Friday had to run again on Saturday. Back then it was all about speed. The only provisional you might see back then was the race promoters option. NASCAR eliminated second round qualifying after 2000. 23. Corey posted: 04.02.2020 - 10:18 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) NASCAR didn't start the provisional system til about the late 80's. This only came after Richard Petty DNQ'd for a few races. 24. Canadianfan posted: 04.02.2020 - 10:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @23 1991 to be precise with the past champions provisional (Petty Rule). 25. Matthew posted: 05.26.2020 - 2:19 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) This race officially capped off Richard Petty's first winless season since 1959; back then, he was only 21 and ran only half the schedule in a series still called the Grand National series! But none be worried, for King Richard would find Victory Lane again, and his record 7th Winston Cup, in 1979. 26. rateus posted: 02.13.2021 - 9:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) In addition to Dale Earnhardt qualifying for Jimmy Insolo, Raymond Williams qualified for Mel Larson. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *Post a comment:* Your comment may not appear immediately - all comments must be approved by the moderator. Name: Comment: