Sunday 8th April 1979
In the Rebel 500 event at Darlington Raceway in South Carolina, drivers Darrell Waltrip and Richard Petty swapped the lead four times in a last-lap battle before Waltrip finally won the race. The race also featured a pit stop mishap in which driver David Pearson, following a miscommunication with his crew, drove away with only two of his four tires properly changed. Pearson’s car flipped over and retired from the race. The embarrassing incident led to Pearson, who was a top driver, being released from his team, the Wood Brothers.