P. Shew

GOODYEAR: Qualifying times ranged from a low of 2:47 by the Harris Family Team to a 2:59.9 cut-off time. That's much better than many experts were predicting and represents close to a 15-second improvement over last year. Banning megaphones for 1978 did nothing to slow things down. Speeds were every bit as good as last year. The most noticeable difference was a dramatic improvement in reliability. John Ballard won it all in one of the best finals I've ever seen. The heat matched the eventual first and second place teams. Gary Fentress pitted for Ballard, while Bud pitted and Doug flew for the Harris family. In the final analysis, heads-up piloting won out over flat-out speed. The Harris' had slightly better top end speed and were able to pass once during each tank. Ballard used his superior acceleration and a half-lap kill to gain ground at the start and on each pit. In the end he was less than a full lap ahead.