1973 NASCAR Cup champion Benny Parsons finally notched a win on his hometown track, North Wilkesboro Speedway, in the Holly Farms 400. The victory was also the first Cup win for relatively new car owner, M.C. Anderson.
The race was originally scheduled for September 30, 1979.
Qualifying was held, and rookie Dale Earnhardt nabbed the pole.
Source: Spartanburg Herald Journal
Pic from archive of SaveTheSpeedway.net
But on race day, heavy rains moved in and the race was postponed 2 weeks to October 14. As noted on this archived page of SaveTheSpeedway.net :
On race day, even though the sun was starting to show, prolonged rains caused earthworms and night crawlers to come to the surface to seek relief from the soaked infield. According to reports, the slimy creatures came out by the millions and clogged drain pipes and covered the racing surface. There was no way to clean up the mess in time to get a race in.
Apparently the race couldn't be run on Monday, and the National 500 was already scheduled for the following Sunday, October 7.
Source: Spartanburg Herald
As recapped on SaveTheSpeedway.net:
Bobby Allison led most of the race. In the final 150 laps Darrell Waltrip caught Allison. The two hit together hard and Darrell nailed the front stretch wall. Waltrip began crowding off Allison under the caution and got black flagged for the crowding. Waltrip finished 24 laps down in 13th place. Benny Parsons was the race winner. It would be Parsons only win at the track. Bobby Allison led a race high 175 laps on his way to a 2nd place finish. He was bested by Parsons by less than a half a car length when the checkered flag waved.
Race report from Hendersonville NC's Times News .
Bobby Allison and Cale Yarborough doing battle early in the race. Cale crashed later and finished deep in the final results.
And David Allio captured a great shot of a seething DW hounding Bobby Allison as pole-winner Earnhardt watches from his traditional slouched position.
Source: RacingPhotoArchives.com
The King finished 3rd and picked up several valuable points on Waltrip. He narrowed the gap to 17 points as he stalked DW in search of his 7th championship.
Victory lane photo from SaveTheSpeedway.net.
| Fin | Driver | Car | Led |
| 1 | Benny Parsons | Chevrolet | 92 |
| 2 | Bobby Allison | Ford | 175 |
| 3 | Richard Petty | Chevrolet | 0 |
| 4 | Dale Earnhardt | Chevrolet | 12 |
| 5 | Ricky Rudd | Ford | 0 |
| 6 | Terry Labonte | Chevrolet | 0 |
| 7 | Ronnie Thomas | Chevrolet | 0 |
| 8 | D.K. Ulrich | Chevrolet | 0 |
| 9 | Buddy Arrington | Dodge | 0 |
| 10 | Richard Childress | Chevrolet | 0 |
| 11 | James Hylton | Chevrolet | 0 |
| 12 | Roger Hamby | Chevrolet | 0 |
| 13 | Darrell Waltrip | Chevrolet | 104 |
| 14 | Harry Gant | Chevrolet | 0 |
| 15 | Joe Millikan | Chevrolet | 0 |
| 16 | Ernie Shaw | Chevrolet | 0 |
| 17 | Baxter Price | Chevrolet | 0 |
| 18 | Cecil Gordon | Chevrolet | 0 |
| 19 | Bill Elswick | Oldsmobile | 0 |
| 20 | Cale Yarborough | Oldsmobile | 17 |
| 21 | Dave Marcis | Chevrolet | 0 |
| 22 | Larry Isley | Chevrolet | 0 |
| 23 | John Kennedy | Chevrolet | 0 |
| 24 | Jimmy Means | Chevrolet | 0 |
| 25 | Dick Brooks | Oldsmobile | 0 |
| 26 | Frank Warren | Dodge | 0 |
| 27 | Tommy Gale | Ford | 0 |
| 28 | J.D. McDuffie | Chevrolet | 0 |
| 29 | Henry Jones | Chevrolet | 0 |
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updated by @tmc-chase: 01/06/17 11:50:31AM
