On the way back from Ontario, Richard Petty and a few other Cup regulars elected to participate in the Arizona NAPA 250 Winston West event at Phoenix International Raceway as some had done the year before.
In his first time on the track, Petty won the pole. Fellow Cup ringers Neil Bonnett and Bobby Allison started second and third. Winston West regular Bill Schmitt timed 4th in his Old Milwaukee Oldsmobile.
When the green flag flew, Petty began his domination of the race. He led the first 36 laps, the final 25 circuits, and 48 others in the middle for a total of 109 of the race's 156-laps, 250 kilometers distance.
Though the victory was scored as a Winston West (now K&N Pro Series West) series race and not included as part of Petty's record 200 Cup / GN wins, at least the King's year-and-a-half long losing streak was over. A win - any win - helps raise the spirits and morale of a team.
Read on for more:
http://bench-racing.blogspot.com/2013/11/november-26-1978-desert-ends-drought.html
| Fin | Driver | Sponsor / Owner | Car |
| 1 | Richard Petty | STP | Chevrolet |
| 2 | Jimmy Insolo | Lake's Drywall (Gerald Craker) | Pontiac |
| 3 | Bobby Allison | Summit Transport | Matador |
| 4 | Neil Bonnett | Armor All | Chevrolet |
| 5 | Bill Schmitt | Old Milwaukee (Bill Schmitt) | Oldsmobile |
| 6 | Harry Goularte | Summit (Harry Goularte) | Pontiac |
| 7 | Ray Elder | Midland Motor Homes (Dave Hill) | Dodge |
| 8 | Gary Johnson | Armstrong Electric | Pontiac |
| 9 | Roy Smith | Tropical Rent-a-Car (Dick Midgley) | Chevrolet |
| 10 | Tim Williamson | Plamer Glass (Tim Williamson) | Chevrolet |
| 11 | Ernie Stierly | Allied Plating (Ernie Stierly) | Chevrolet |
| 12 | Richard White | Boulevard Automotive | Oldsmobile |
| 13 | Hal Callentine | Cal-Four | Chevrolet |
| 14 | Dick Whalen | Dean Enterprises | Chevrolet |
| 15 | Pat Mintey | Stick Only (Pat Mintey) | Chevrolet |
| 16 | Earle Canavan | Pepsi-Cola | Dodge |
| 17 | Rusty Sanders | Puskarich Racing | Chevrolet |
| 18 | Don Graham | City Tow | Buick |
| 19 | Jim Bown | Rose Auto Wrecking | Plymouth |
| 20 | John Krebs | Tom's Union 76 (John Krebs) | Chevrolet |
| 21 | Duke Hoenshell | Wertz Furniture | Pontiac |
| 22 | David Pearson | G&W | Ford |
| 23 | Ronnie Thomas | Louise Smith | Chevrolet |
| 24 | John Borneman | Borneman Plastering (Arthur Godfrey) | Pontiac |
| 25 | Jim Robinson | Hammer Security (Jim Robinson) | Chevrolet |
| 26 | Mel Larson | Riviera Whirlpool | Oldsmobile |
| 27 | Rick McCray | Action Engineering (Rick McCray) | Pontiac |
| 28 | Wally Lambert | Old Milwaukee | Pontiac |
| 29 | Marc Vogel | V&W | Dodge |
| 30 | Billy Clarkson | City Tow | Chevrolet |
--
Schaefer: It's not just for racing anymore.
updated by @tmc-chase: 11/26/17 10:41:19AM