# 1978 Los Angeles Times 500

The 1978 Los Angeles Times 500, the 7th running of the event, was the thirtieth race of the 1978 NASCAR Winston Cup season. It was held on November 19 at Ontario Motor Speedway in Ontario, California. Cale Yarborough won the pole and Bobby Allison won the race.

## Starting Grid

| Row | Inside | Outside |
| 1 | 11-Cale Yarborough | 15-Bobby Allison W |
| 2 | 43-Richard Petty | 88-Darrell Waltrip |
| 3 | 1-Donnie Allison | 21-David Pearson W |
| 4 | 72-Benny Parsons | 27-Buddy Baker W |
| 5 | 54-Lennie Pond | 98-Jimmy Insolo |
| 6 | 90-Dick Brooks | |
| 7 | | |
| 8 | | 51-Jim Thirkettle |
| 9 | | |
| 10 | | |
| 11 | 5-Neil Bonnett W | |
| 12 | | |
| 13 | 17-Roger Hamby R | |
| 14 | | |
| 15 | | |
| 16 | | 25-Ronnie Thomas R |
| 17 | | |
| 18 | | |
| 19 | | |
| 20 | | |

## Race results

| Finish | Start | No | Name | Team | Manufacturer | Qual | Laps | Time/Status | Money ($) | Points |
| 1 | 2 | 15 | Bobby Allison W | Bud Moore Engineering | Ford | 155.574 | 200 | 3:37:44 | 24,025 | 185 |
| 2 | 1 | 11 | Cale Yarborough | Junior Johnson & Associates | Oldsmobile | 156.190 | 200 | +1.70 | 19,700 | 175 |
| 3 | 5 | 1 | Donnie Allison | Hoss Ellington | Chevrolet | 154.384 | 200 | +20.0 | 12,925 | 170 |
| 4 | 8 | 27 | Buddy Baker | M. C. Anderson | Chevrolet | 153.670 | 199 | Flagged (-1 lap) | 8,600 | 160 |
| 5 | 4 | 88 | Darrell Waltrip | DiGard Motorsports | Chevrolet | 154.440 | 199 | Crash | 9,200 | 160 |
| 6 | 9 | 54 | Lennie Pond | Ranier Racing | Chevrolet | 153.620 | 198 | Flagged (-2 laps) | 7,140 | 155 |
| 7 | 10 | 98 | Jimmy Insolo | Rod Osterlund | Chevrolet | 153.173 | 198 | Flagged (-2 laps) | 5,640 | 146 |
| 8 | 7 | 72 | Benny Parsons | DeWitt Racing | Chevrolet | 154.064 | 197 | Flagged (-3 laps) | 7,040 | 147 |
| 9 | 11 | 90 | Dick Brooks | Donlavey Racing | Mercury | 152.785 | 196 | Flagged (-4 laps) | 5,040 | 138 |
| 10 | 16 | 51 | Jim Thirkettle | Jim Thirkettle | Buick | 150.978 | 196 | Flagged (-4 laps) | 3,740 | 139 |
W Former Los Angeles Times 500 winner
R Rookie

### Race statistics

Lap Leaders :
| Laps | Leader |
| 1–2 | Bobby Allison |
| 6 | Lennie Pond |
| 14 | Bobby Allison |
| 16 | Jim Thirkettle |
| 19 | Benny Parsons |
| 20 | Donnie Allison |
| 21–42 | Bobby Allison |
| 48–49 | Bobby Allison |
| 53–56 | Darrell Waltrip |
| 57–69 | Bobby Allison |
| 78–80 | Bobby Allison |
| 84–88 | Cale Yarborough |
| 89–96 | Darrell Waltrip |
| 97–111 | Bobby Allison |
| 112 | Darrell Waltrip |
| 113–149 | Bobby Allison |
| 150–152 | Cale Yarborough |
| 153–172 | Bobby Allison |
| 173 | Donnie Allison |
| 174–178 | Bobby Allison |
| 179–186 | Cale Yarborough |
| 187–200 | Bobby Allison |
Total laps led :
| Driver | Laps |
| Bobby Allison | 134 |
| Cale Yarborough | 16 |
| Darrell Waltrip | 9 |
| Donnie Allison | 2 |
| Benny Parsons | 1 |
| Lennie Pond | 1 |
| Jim Thirkettle | 1 |
Caution Periods :
| 4 for 17 laps ||
| Laps | Reason |

## Standings after the race

| Pos | Driver | Points | Differential |
| 1 | Cale Yarborough | 4841 | 0 |
| 2 | Bobby Allison | 4367 | -474 |
| 3 | Darrell Waltrip | 4362 | -479 |
| 4 | Benny Parsons | 4350 | -491 |
| 7 | Lennie Pond | 3794 | -1047 |
| 8 | Dick Brooks | 3769 | -1072 |

## Broadcasting
### Television

CBS Sports :
| Booth Announcers | Pit/garage reporters |
| Announcer: Ken Squier Color: David Hobbs | Brock Yates |