I always wondered why Petty didn't have a big STP decal on the hood. I found out that STP was nickel and diming the team, so Richard's response was to start taking decals off 'they hadn't paid for.' A week after this race, the decal was back. Point made!
After Petty's winless '78 season, STP began hemming and hawing about not wanting to pay Petty as much anymore, so Petty had the decals removed if they weren't going to pay what they had originally negotiated for. Of course winning the biggest race of the season has a way of making your sponsors commit.
No stages, no restrictor plates, no downforce, grass made the track look beautiful, no phantom debris, and a naturally exciting finish without overtime.
I can see how this was exciting to anyone growing up, ahem watching in 1979...it's exciting now as a 32 year old. Listen to those announcers, at times they're describing near crashes and near death for mins on end. Imagine following the most winningest racer from the beginning. It's too bad all that lead in the gas caused so much crime, and who knows what else.
This is by far the most important race in NASCAR history, representing the end of the "golden age" of NASCAR. And it did not disappoint. Sadly, NASCAR cannot and will not ever be this good again. Not even close.
@@shilpi326 Yes you're correct, Winston bowed out of it 3 years (Conclusion of 2002 season)earlier because they knew Nascar was heading to what they have now.
Earnhardt the rookie leading the Daytona 500! They knew he was good, I don't know if they thought he'd match Petty in championships! What an exhilarating race!
This was the single most important moment in Nascar history, with over 15 million people watching from their homes, this one race would make Nascar a household name!
Junior said in an interview, “This is like watching my favorite movie” and I’d have to agree. I know who wins, I know the finish. It’s just so cool, the cars, the fans, the announcers, the weather, the drivers, the minuscule pit wall and the folks who look like they have no idea what they’re doing, the Benny Parsons camera car, the pit interview with DW where “Too Many cautions! The cautions have fouled up the plugs!”...and he finishes 2nd! The 3 laps Cale made up. This race has everything! I’ve watched it thrice since you posted it, thank you so much
I get the same amount of enjoyment watching this gem of a race as I do when I watch ‘Pulp Fiction’.. It doesn’t matter how many times you watch it. It just never gets old
That was 40 years ago and Richard Petty is still with us. I saw it live on TV and I recall the fight started just after the cars stopped in the infield.
Maybe you can bring ABC Sports' coverage of the 1965 Southern 500 where Yarborough "flipped his hood" the first time--meaning he flipped over the railing during the race. ;)
This was an amazing time for Nascar. I was age 12 with my late father watching this exciting race from the infield. Please upload more classic races because these were the best times of my life.
They had televised other races before they would do the start an the finish sometimes or they would just record it an show it later this was the first live flag to flag coverage
yarburough and his team had a hell of a race, from 3 laps down to leading again at points. NASCAR, i hope you're noticing that we prefer this type of commentary which is lacking constant sponsorship callouts and has more witty back-and-forth. also we prefer to watch cars that look like the real deal. i dont even watch modern oval races, this is so much better!
Dalton Bedore and you knew what the make of the car was with just a glance. These days all the cars look identical. Chevy, Toyota, Ford, they're all the same.
The other announcer is David Hobbs I think. He HAS called just about everything. F1, IMSA, Daytona 24, Indy, Le mans. He is also an accomplished F1 driver, Le mans, and Can Am GT driver.
I like how when they were interviewing drivers and crew chiefs and everyone else, they were talking like HUMAN BEINGS! I can understand how the accents could be hard to understand for anyone who isn't used to being around people with southern accents, but they just said everything how it was!
My family was among the 30 million or so who were stuck in our houses in Michigan watching this race on TV. The snow had drifted over our house in Michigan, and it was late Monday before we even got our car dug out. As a 9th grader, it was a fun Sunday afternoon with popcorn and hot dogs and NASCAR. For a Formula One & IndyCar family like ours, it was a revelation to see this awesome race.
Note: Benny Parsons...with an on-board camera. The start of something incredible...which is now commonplace for any NASCAR viewer. According to the book 'Ultimate NASCAR 100', it was written that the concept of the on-board camera in stock cars was discovered by Ken Squier while he was in Australia. After broadcasting the Mr. Olympia bodybuilding contest, in which some dude named Arnold Schwarzenegger took part in after leaving the commentator desk, Squier took a drive west to Bathurst, a hotbed for racing. While taking a look around the cars on pit road, something caught Squier's eye: A TV camera, usually for racing yachts...now in a race car? Squier called to CBS...& said: "We have to have this!" According to the book further, the in-car camera was mounted inside Cale Yarborough's Pontiac LeMans...for the 1983 Daytona 500, in which Yarborough won. "Thank You, CBS!" was Cale's response as he waved to the camera. Ken Squier's thought was different: "Thank You, Mr. Schwarzenegger!" Now, I'm watching the footage of the 1979 Daytona 500...seeing Benny Parsons's car with an in-car camera at the start of the race, & I'm thinking to myself: "ESPN Books got the in-car camera idea wrong...by FOUR YEARS!!!" By the way, "ESPN Ultimate NASCAR 100" was written in 2007...& I sure hope it got updated. Why? Because a lot's happened since then...as we all know.
There's some debate on this. The story goes that Seven Network in invented it, but it seems CBS were first. But the Seven system was technically better and worked over a wider area. Daytona just needed a couple of fixed receive points at each end of the oval.
Me, initially: "Wow, these NASCAR drivers are super calm and collected! When things go wrong they just calmly accept it and deal with it. Good for them!" Me, at 2:56:40: "...Oh."
I was born in 88, so I can totally relate. I remember my dad getting me a vhs tape of clips of every 500 from 1979-1992. This race is what got me heavy into racing as a kid.
First race I ever watched.....I was 7 years old. Dale Earnhardt became my favorite driver. I liked the blue and yellow car. I miss Dale and the old NASCAR. Real cars, real men and real racing.
I was a big Richard Petty fan, in large part because my name was also Richard. I was driving from Germany to Italy during this race and because it was at night in Europe, I was able to hear the AFN broadcast on the radio, though reception was in and out. I did manage to hear the last few laps while driving thru Austria and couldn't believe it. Great racing, real racing.
As a 15 year old doing a daily paper round (route) In the UK In 1963 I spent money earned on HOT ROD magazine and so began to learn about NASCAR and so followed It for many years.... The early years were just as exiting as this historic race and the years that followed, but, I can see problems ahead for the sport sadly..To be brutally honest, the best years of NASCAR have now gone sadly, but we still follow it, hoping for changes that dont seem to come.
I agree; the earlier days of NASCAR were the best. It was a different culture back then, when it was a 'stock car race' rather than a 'show' as noted by Richard Petty. I can just barely remember the mid-late 60s just before the aero wars - when the wings appeared in late 69, it looked more like NASA rather than NASCAR, being around the time of the moon landings! Then suddenly they were gone, and everything changed. There have been problems with NASCAR for a few decades now as far as I'm concerned. Signs of the times and society, I'm afraid.
Dang hood pin. Seemed like Dale was on a good strat. Crazy how much of a gap Donnie and Cale put on the field in the last 20 laps. I've seen the last lap more times than I can count, but really enjoyed watching the whole race for the first time.
We have to know where we came from to appreciate where we are today. I would love to see more NASCAR Classic races uploaded by NASCAR, placed in a Classic playlist. Thanks NASCAR.
Well it was good for Nascar that last lap...but it would've never come down to that had the ignition not fouled in Baker's car. That car was fast and they would've seen the rear deck of that thing for 500 miles.
....O.M.G. ...I'm soo frickin old...year after High School...I was eighteen years old when this race was run...Father time says "come along with me the best is yet to be"....Thank you for posting...A.C.Feuerhelm
This was just so much more real than modern Nascar is. A garden hose to fill the radiator for God Sake! Talk about REAL! No stages, no pit speed penalties, just good ol' boy get r done racing! Much less commercial breaks too!
Racing as it should be! I was at this race in the infield. Didn't see the fight scene until we got to the hotel on the drive home to PA. We passed Richard and his family on the drive home on interstate 95. Richard was driving a station wagon and Kyle was driving an STP van. What a race.
If you guys like this race and the story and significance behind it, I recommend reading "He crashed me so I crashed him back". It was a pretty good book on that era of nascar
Big ups to Ellington Racing for making Donnie’s ride. That car was built in Hampstead, NC in a huge metal barn that is now called the Skate Barn and is still in the Ellington family. RIP Hoss!
Thank you NASCAR for uploading old races to youtube, I love going back in time and watching all the races I never got to see, seeing my fav drivers who were old and close to retirement either in their prime or rookie years, just amazing. And all hail King Petty Long may he reign!
Badass beautiful race cars, no restrictor plates, no trash stages, no trash playoffs, no splitters, just racing and also great commentary, the way it should be. And it was exciting.
I was reading on all the new rules and was quite dumbfounded! Playoffs this isnt football! I rember being a kid watching nascar it is so sad to see how sissified nascar has become!
NASCAR seriously needs to do something about the cars they are using today. I just can't take them seriously they look so goofy. The COT and the follow-up Gen 6 were a solution for a problem that didn't exist. Basal skull fractures as a result of frontal impacts was the mechanism that killed so many drivers in the 1990s and early 2000s. Once the HANS became mandatory in late 2001, there hasn't been another fatality in any of NASCAR's major series. That device has done more than anything else in preventing the type of injuries that were killing drivers. The addition of the HANS, safer barriers and the development of wrap around carbon fiber seats (often overlooked but another major safety improvement) made the Gen 4 cars used up through 2007 in Cup (and for much longer in ARCA) plenty safe enough. It wasn't necessary to raise the roof height by 4 inches which has completely ruined the looks of the cars by turning sleek race machines into out of proportion ugly ducklings. Flips and fires weren't killing drivers! Head on impacts into the wall and side impacts where the driver's head slapped the wall were killing drivers. The HANS and the new seats prevented that. And the safer barriers gave them an even greater safety margin. COT and Gen 6 were terrible knee jerk reactions to Dale's death and are largely responsible for the lack of interest in today's NASCAR.
It feels like going back in time going out cycling in overcast weather, then putting this on the speaker and listening to the broadcast like on the radio. Only then it made me realize how good the coverage was.
no, no v-6s. what you're hearing are some of the cars with 180 degree cranks (what we today call flat plane crankshafts) at slower speeds. it took me a while to figure out that nascar teams did run 180. it faded away after a few years, but great sound.
@@SwineBrothers also tri-Y headers which make the engine sound something like a V6 which, if I’m not mistaken, was used in the late 80’s to mid 80’s by Junior Johnson
I watch these old races with my kid's so they can see the real NASCAR! It's like seeing a old friend NASCAR isn't NASCAR anymore and hasn't been for at least 20 yrs. It's funny back in the 50s thru early 00s most your driver's came from NC and other Southern States . Now in 2019 California has the most NASCAR driver's .
This is awesome! reminds me of watching these races when i was a kid (around the time of this race) I had no clue that AJ Foyt ran NASCAR, I knew of his Indycar prowess as I watched him race the Indy 500 for a lot of years, but didn't know he did NASCAR too....that's pretty cool! Always cool to see Richard Petty in his prime, he's one of my favorites and a great look at Dale Earnhardt as a young rookie upstart, he had the skills to drive even back then
I was not even alive when this race was run since I was born in 1984. Thank you for allowing me to experience it. When was the last time Buick, Mercury, and Oldsmobile were even used in NASCAR?
@@Power5 For one thing, Dodge was pretty competitive when they returned to the Cup Series in the 90's with the Intrepid, Avenger, and Gen 1 Charger bodies
Growing up in the 1970’s my father, an Indiana native. Would take me to a local theater to watch the Indianapolis 500 live. My father never talked about NASCAR so I had never seen a race. This was the first race NASCAR race or race of any kind. I had seen at home. I WAS HOOkED!
Thank you for the trip back in time :) guess I could talk of advancements in all things technological but we already know about that, some of us have accepted it and others have tried to fight it "tooth and nail" but as they say "that's racin", thanks again.
I've been putting together an olschool NASCAR / Kenny Rogers personalized track for my Mp3 player for work- Maybe 'Six Pack' doesn't hold up as well as it did in '82 when it came out- but Rogers's Brewster Baker character redeems himself as he realizes he can be a great driver, stepfather and cuts out drinking. He was great as an actor and singer for decades!
It's a sad commentary on modern NASCAR that I prefer to watch old races to the stuff that masquerades as racing today. I already know the outcome, but I'd rather watch this than the overly commercialized races of today, where each car is the same and the rules won't allow drivers to race like this. Too many rules now.
@@TheJingles007 the problem is the money......when a team becomes a 50 million dollar industry..with sponsors....the driver becomes a plastic corporate spokesman....so much so....the few outspoken don't care drivers who do and say what they feel,,, get bad press....stewart...2 busches...keslowski...and any time any (good guys ) get mad....they get negative press.....money destroyed nascar
The #41 driver is Grant Adcox, from Chattanooga. He was killed in a racecar. My dad worked for HIS Dad, Herb Adcox, at a huge dealership in Chattanooga, Tennessee when he was in his early 20's. My dad said Herb had grants crumpled racecar that he was killed in brought back to the dealership and stored in one of the back rooms and would occasionally just go look at it and reflect for a minute. That's extremely depressing lol
Just watched this entire race, and I must say, it is maybe more exciting today than it was then! I watched it live back in the day, and obviously it was great, but seeing it again reminded me of how great the cars were. Nice to see some of the classic paint schemes that I hadn't thought of in years. The drivers were hard ass characters as well. I haven't really watched NASCAR in years now, since they came out with the chase format, but I appreciate them posting up this video. It reminds me of why I used to love this sport. I still love racing, but I just can't be a NASCAR fan any more. Whenever I do catch a bit of a race, it's pretty easy to see that there are lots of other people that feel the same. Maybe NASCAR will figure that out one day.
Ken Squire and his iconic voice announcing an iconic event, you can't plan this type of thing, nothing like witnessing a historic event LIVE, I watched this as did millions of others snowed in from a massive blizzard..
this is so cool. todays fans NEED to watch this. i can almost smell the burnt race fuel. for me, everything about this era/race is just *more*. its louder, more mechanical, failures were more prominent, levelling the herd. pit road mph?.. never heard of it. the stops?.. when was the last time you saw a hood go up?. even the announcers were more exciting because they were more excited. you could see it on their faces. & if it needs to be mentioned, the end. i know its cliche' to say vintage is better but in this case?. see for yourself.
"And there's a fight!" One of the most iconic calls in NASCAR history. RIP Ken Squier
I always wondered why Petty didn't have a big STP decal on the hood. I found out that STP was nickel and diming the team, so Richard's response was to start taking decals off 'they hadn't paid for.' A week after this race, the decal was back. Point made!
James Scully wow diden t no that
James Scully Richard Petty a no nonsense man
Midnight Owl And always will be
After Petty's winless '78 season, STP began hemming and hawing about not wanting to pay Petty as much anymore, so Petty had the decals removed if they weren't going to pay what they had originally negotiated for. Of course winning the biggest race of the season has a way of making your sponsors commit.
@@611_hornet5 And going on to win the championship 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆
One of the greatest rookie classes ever, Dale Earnhardt, Terry Labonte, and Harry Gant would all go on to have a lot of success.
And Bodine
@@JackCallSports Bodine’s rookie season ended up being in 1982.
All of them were beasts.
@@sludge8506 yeah, but this was his single race debut
@@Vettel2011 Absolutely true!! 👍👍👍👍
Ken Squire could call my morning routine and somehow make it sound exciting. What a legend.
No stages, no restrictor plates, no downforce, grass made the track look beautiful, no phantom debris, and a naturally exciting finish without overtime.
Unfortunately the drivers must be safe, so they had to have more advanced technology. Eventually.
@@M1lesJames I never said it was unfortunate for drivers to be safe...
@Texan 214 they are? that will be interesting.
@Texan 214 sounds like NASCAR is listening to the fans... hopefully they'll fix the lifting problem before the plates get removed
I can see how this was exciting to anyone growing up, ahem watching in 1979...it's exciting now as a 32 year old. Listen to those announcers, at times they're describing near crashes and near death for mins on end.
Imagine following the most winningest racer from the beginning.
It's too bad all that lead in the gas caused so much crime, and who knows what else.
EmperorLemon's documentary on Dale Earnhardt made me want to watch this, as a Brit I never thought I'd ever have an interest in NASCAR
Welcome to American Stockcar racing,It may be a laughing stock to many but to others it's an intense experience
I’m from that video too
Same
Same
I'm here from S1apsh0es' video on this race.
Richard Childress driving the 3, Dale, Sr. driving the 2. What great memories. So many rookies in this race who became famous later.
R.I.P Cale Yarborough, that man was a legend 🫡
46:41 "Dale Earnhardt: the rookie"
47:42 "Earnhardt, there is a kid to watch"
He was right!
48:18 Were checking to see if Earnhardt is a lap down.
David Hobbs was a racer himself, they've got a knack for knowing talent when they see it
Guys got a future in this sport i think
50:45 "Earnhardt not intimidated" Why would he be? He's The Intimidator.😁
Really something seeing him at age 28 and with more hair on his head, lol.
"There's no need to cry about it." A lot of today's drivers can learn a thing or two from David Pearson.
THANKS, the best ever David Pearson, in my opinion.
Nostalgia is one of the greatest enemies of the truth.
This is by far the most important race in NASCAR history, representing the end of the "golden age" of NASCAR. And it did not disappoint. Sadly, NASCAR cannot and will not ever be this good again. Not even close.
Yep too much of it for show now. That's how the biggest car wrecker (Danica Patrick) got into it.
zep head The end of the golden age of NASCAR was 2008. NASCAR’s prime was 2005.
This was like the silver or Bronze Age, great but the trajectory of nascar had a lot more climbing to do.
Nah, the 1992 hooters 500 at Atlanta motor speedway was the true peak. A generational crossover talent
@@shilpi326 Yes you're correct, Winston bowed out of it 3 years (Conclusion of 2002 season)earlier because they knew Nascar was heading to what they have now.
34:26
Ned and Baker called almost every race during my childhood. It's so cool to see one running the race and the other interviewing him.
Earnhardt the rookie leading the Daytona 500! They knew he was good, I don't know if they thought he'd match Petty in championships! What an exhilarating race!
Yeah, but Petty did it without driving dirty.
@@WebcastGuy rubbing is racing
@@WebcastGuy Putty also had a million more races
This was the single most important moment in Nascar history, with over 15 million people watching from their homes, this one race would make Nascar a household name!
Here from S1apsh0es, I see... man of culture.
Junior said in an interview, “This is like watching my favorite movie” and I’d have to agree. I know who wins, I know the finish. It’s just so cool, the cars, the fans, the announcers, the weather, the drivers, the minuscule pit wall and the folks who look like they have no idea what they’re doing, the Benny Parsons camera car, the pit interview with DW where “Too Many cautions! The cautions have fouled up the plugs!”...and he finishes 2nd! The 3 laps Cale made up. This race has everything! I’ve watched it thrice since you posted it, thank you so much
There's something about the long range telephoto shots that are timeless. Those views convey the speed and distance so much better.
1:46:45 AJ Foyt such a great driver that he was running in both 3rd and 5th at the same time
I guess Indycar AJ Foyt in 5th, NASCAR AJ Foyt in 3rd 😂😂😂
I get the same amount of enjoyment watching this gem of a race as I do when I watch ‘Pulp Fiction’.. It doesn’t matter how many times you watch it. It just never gets old
This is the fourth time I've watched this race. Can't get enough of it.
ManuelGearbox same I love this race I watch it several times a year as a 19 year old I wish I could have seen this back in the day
I try to watch it every February. It was just so exciting back then. NASCAR today is too safe for its own good. Which is why it's dying.
@@zephead843 NASCAR almost died with Earnhardt. Times have changed, and people want more safety
The first fully televised NASCAR race...Thanks for uploading!
actually, no it wasn't. the first race broadcast live with flag to flag coverage was the 1971 greenville 200, on abc's wide world of sports.
you can find it on youtube
First live flag to flag 500 mile race.
You mean no adverts every 5mins.?
"Let's go for a break."
First was a abc presentation of the Greenville 200 from 71
That was 40 years ago and Richard Petty is still with us. I saw it live on TV and I recall the fight started just after the cars stopped in the infield.
its actually amazing how many are still with us Cale. Bobby, Donnie, Petty, Foyt almost 2/3 of the field are still telling stories of this race.
Cale passed away last year @@LB1973
@@LB1973Cale is now sadly no longer with us...
Thanks for this race NASCAR. Please post more old races.
Absolutely I agree
Maybe you can bring ABC Sports' coverage of the 1965 Southern 500 where Yarborough "flipped his hood" the first time--meaning he flipped over the railing during the race. ;)
How about the full 85 winston 500 Nascar has it I saw it on satellite when it was run they had Paul page of indy car broadcast the race.
Ken Squier is such a legend in the mic. Never be one like him ever again.
It’s so cool watching this race and my favorite driver Dale Earnhardt. I missed this race back in 79 due to U.S Army Training. God Bless Dale.
This was an amazing time for Nascar. I was age 12 with my late father watching this exciting race from the infield. Please upload more classic races because these were the best times of my life.
CBS' crew is essentially learning on the fly how to televise a 500 mile race
Learning how to televise a live 500-mile race.
Facts dude, this was the first time, and I think it was a last minute decision
@@hayden7525 no they told on the last race of 78 at onterio motorspeedway about the 500 being live next February
They had televised other races before they would do the start an the finish sometimes or they would just record it an show it later this was the first live flag to flag coverage
yarburough and his team had a hell of a race, from 3 laps down to leading again at points. NASCAR, i hope you're noticing that we prefer this type of commentary which is lacking constant sponsorship callouts and has more witty back-and-forth. also we prefer to watch cars that look like the real deal. i dont even watch modern oval races, this is so much better!
Dalton Bedore and you knew what the make of the car was with just a glance. These days all the cars look identical. Chevy, Toyota, Ford, they're all the same.
Unless we get NASCAR back on CBS, not happening.
Ken squier is a great commentator
Dalton Bedore just like Pro Wrastlin
The other announcer is David Hobbs I think. He HAS called just about everything. F1, IMSA, Daytona 24, Indy, Le mans. He is also an accomplished F1 driver, Le mans, and Can Am GT driver.
The interviews with the drivers and crew chiefs is so raw, its perfect, just "matter of fact" answers none of the PC word salad nonsense.
I like how when they were interviewing drivers and crew chiefs and everyone else, they were talking like HUMAN BEINGS! I can understand how the accents could be hard to understand for anyone who isn't used to being around people with southern accents, but they just said everything how it was!
50:44 - "Earnhardt not *intimidated*." Hmmmm. 🤔
I caught that too. Lol they had no idea what hed become
I thought that was great I laughed! Im 41 they definately didnt know the legend would become!
The stars just seemed to perfectly align on that day.
Is that how Earnhardt's nickname of the Intimidator came to be?
It’s been said and I believe it there was two people Dale Earnhardt never messed with was Bobby Allison and Cale Yarborough.
How much of a badass was Cale?
It took TWO Allison brothers to put him on the ground.
Well considering he started it by bringing Bobby into it for no reason 😂
My family was among the 30 million or so who were stuck in our houses in Michigan watching this race on TV. The snow had drifted over our house in Michigan, and it was late Monday before we even got our car dug out. As a 9th grader, it was a fun Sunday afternoon with popcorn and hot dogs and NASCAR. For a Formula One & IndyCar family like ours, it was a revelation to see this awesome race.
24:24 "Boy this is gonna be a controversial one!" You ain't lying Jack.
That starting lineup is just a who's who of racing legends.
well, the first part is. and a lot of who the hell? skip manning anyone?
A lot of fat old men as well.
First 10 rows I absolutely agree!
Yarborough was amazing coming back from 3 laps down.
Thanks for this historic race.
From Italy
ken block your welcome, from the U S A !!!!
cheers from torino, italy,,!
saw this on tv live in norristown,PA.,,
UEEEE FRATELLOOO
from Brazil ✓
Note: Benny Parsons...with an on-board camera.
The start of something incredible...which is now commonplace for any NASCAR viewer.
According to the book 'Ultimate NASCAR 100', it was written that the concept of the on-board camera in stock cars was discovered by Ken Squier while he was in Australia. After broadcasting the Mr. Olympia bodybuilding contest, in which some dude named Arnold Schwarzenegger took part in after leaving the commentator desk, Squier took a drive west to Bathurst, a hotbed for racing.
While taking a look around the cars on pit road, something caught Squier's eye:
A TV camera, usually for racing yachts...now in a race car?
Squier called to CBS...& said: "We have to have this!"
According to the book further, the in-car camera was mounted inside Cale Yarborough's Pontiac LeMans...for the 1983 Daytona 500, in which Yarborough won.
"Thank You, CBS!" was Cale's response as he waved to the camera. Ken Squier's thought was different: "Thank You, Mr. Schwarzenegger!"
Now, I'm watching the footage of the 1979 Daytona 500...seeing Benny Parsons's car with an in-car camera at the start of the race, & I'm thinking to myself:
"ESPN Books got the in-car camera idea wrong...by FOUR YEARS!!!"
By the way, "ESPN Ultimate NASCAR 100" was written in 2007...& I sure hope it got updated. Why? Because a lot's happened since then...as we all know.
There's some debate on this. The story goes that Seven Network in invented it, but it seems CBS were first. But the Seven system was technically better and worked over a wider area. Daytona just needed a couple of fixed receive points at each end of the oval.
I've said it before and I'll say it again: MORE, MORE, MORE!!!
Thank you, Billy Idol!!!
Me, initially: "Wow, these NASCAR drivers are super calm and collected! When things go wrong they just calmly accept it and deal with it. Good for them!"
Me, at 2:56:40: "...Oh."
Thank you! This is so awesome. I was born in 1993 and have never seen these historic races. I'm so glad I finally get to see them!
of all of these races you seen on YT this is the Sistine chapel of NASCAR Races on YT
I was born in 88, so I can totally relate. I remember my dad getting me a vhs tape of clips of every 500 from 1979-1992. This race is what got me heavy into racing as a kid.
@@dirtybirdsrise what was the name of the tape? I collect and watch old VHS tapes.
@@PaperBanjo64 I think it's called Daytona 500: Drama danger. I just saw it on sale for $5 on eBay.
@@dirtybirdsrise thank you...I'll pick up one if I ever see one at the flea market
First race I ever watched.....I was 7 years old. Dale Earnhardt became my favorite driver. I liked the blue and yellow car. I miss Dale and the old NASCAR. Real cars, real men and real racing.
Notice that who he would later run for, Richard Childress, was racing too. He was the first #3!
NASCAR was amazing in the ‘70s and ‘80s!
Absolutely love it. Way better then the stuff on tv now in 2019
I was a big Richard Petty fan, in large part because my name was also Richard.
I was driving from Germany to Italy during this race and because it was at night in Europe, I was able to hear the AFN broadcast on the radio, though reception was in and out.
I did manage to hear the last few laps while driving thru Austria and couldn't believe it.
Great racing, real racing.
A hell of a race I was 19 almost 20 blizzard on the ground in tn The king made my day when he won
That was awesome. What a finish. What I love about the 500 is it ain't over till it's over.
As a 15 year old doing a daily paper round (route) In the UK In 1963 I spent money earned on HOT ROD magazine and so began to learn about NASCAR and so followed It for many years.... The early years were just as exiting as this historic race and the years that followed, but, I can see problems ahead for the sport sadly..To be brutally honest, the best years of NASCAR have now gone sadly, but we still follow it, hoping for changes that dont seem to come.
I agree; the earlier days of NASCAR were the best. It was a different culture back then, when it was a 'stock car race' rather than a 'show' as noted by Richard Petty. I can just barely remember the mid-late 60s just before the aero wars - when the wings appeared in late 69, it looked more like NASA rather than NASCAR, being around the time of the moon landings! Then suddenly they were gone, and everything changed. There have been problems with NASCAR for a few decades now as far as I'm concerned. Signs of the times and society, I'm afraid.
Dang hood pin. Seemed like Dale was on a good strat.
Crazy how much of a gap Donnie and Cale put on the field in the last 20 laps.
I've seen the last lap more times than I can count, but really enjoyed watching the whole race for the first time.
We have to know where we came from to appreciate where we are today. I would love to see more NASCAR Classic races uploaded by NASCAR, placed in a Classic playlist. Thanks NASCAR.
Man, what a lineup, so many legends.
And that last lap was fantastic.
Watching this 40 years to the day. Can't beat an ending like this.
Well it was good for Nascar that last lap...but it would've never come down to that had the ignition not fouled in Baker's car. That car was fast and they would've seen the rear deck of that thing for 500 miles.
....O.M.G. ...I'm soo frickin old...year after High School...I was eighteen years old when this race was run...Father time says "come along with me the best is yet to be"....Thank you for posting...A.C.Feuerhelm
RIP to THE voice of Nascar for many years and races, Ken Squire
The most iconic race ever in daytona 500 history. I'd say the 1998 daytona 500 is closer to this unforgettable race.
This was just so much more real than modern Nascar is. A garden hose to fill the radiator for God Sake! Talk about REAL! No stages, no pit speed penalties, just good ol' boy get r done racing! Much less commercial breaks too!
Racing as it should be! I was at this race in the infield. Didn't see the fight scene until we got to the hotel on the drive home to PA. We passed Richard and his family on the drive home on interstate 95. Richard was driving a station wagon and Kyle was driving an STP van. What a race.
If you guys like this race and the story and significance behind it, I recommend reading "He crashed me so I crashed him back". It was a pretty good book on that era of nascar
Such a great race. Love the older cars
Big ups to Ellington Racing for making Donnie’s ride. That car was built in Hampstead, NC in a huge metal barn that is now called the Skate Barn and is still in the Ellington family. RIP Hoss!
@NASCAR
That pit segment with Brock Yates and Darrell Waltrip had me in tears 😂😂
I just love watching these vintage stock cars, CBS nailed this broadcast.
I love watching these old races. I love watching modern races. Win win!
This was the first race in motorsports history to use a live onboard view of the race too, crazy
Thank you NASCAR for uploading old races to youtube, I love going back in time and watching all the races I never got to see, seeing my fav drivers who were old and close to retirement either in their prime or rookie years, just amazing. And all hail King Petty Long may he reign!
The best that ever lived Richard Petty
Badass beautiful race cars, no restrictor plates, no trash stages, no trash playoffs, no splitters, just racing and also great commentary, the way it should be. And it was exciting.
I was reading on all the new rules and was quite dumbfounded! Playoffs this isnt football! I rember being a kid watching nascar it is so sad to see how sissified nascar has become!
Greatest Brand and dangerous
NASCAR seriously needs to do something about the cars they are using today. I just can't take them seriously they look so goofy. The COT and the follow-up Gen 6 were a solution for a problem that didn't exist. Basal skull fractures as a result of frontal impacts was the mechanism that killed so many drivers in the 1990s and early 2000s. Once the HANS became mandatory in late 2001, there hasn't been another fatality in any of NASCAR's major series. That device has done more than anything else in preventing the type of injuries that were killing drivers. The addition of the HANS, safer barriers and the development of wrap around carbon fiber seats (often overlooked but another major safety improvement) made the Gen 4 cars used up through 2007 in Cup (and for much longer in ARCA) plenty safe enough. It wasn't necessary to raise the roof height by 4 inches which has completely ruined the looks of the cars by turning sleek race machines into out of proportion ugly ducklings. Flips and fires weren't killing drivers! Head on impacts into the wall and side impacts where the driver's head slapped the wall were killing drivers. The HANS and the new seats prevented that. And the safer barriers gave them an even greater safety margin. COT and Gen 6 were terrible knee jerk reactions to Dale's death and are largely responsible for the lack of interest in today's NASCAR.
Fantastic upload. Thanks NASCAR.
26:11-26:40 is such impressive commentary. All of it is, but just gotta throw somw appreciation at Ken's call of that sequence.
Wow never tought NASCAR would upload this
the Sistine chapel of NASCAR Races
If nascar could. They'd go back in time and ruin these cars too.
@@MikeMikewaz NASCAR would ruin an orgy with pornstars.
I love these old races, and drivers, we don’t see enough NASCAR in the UK sadly, these guys were gladiators , and the cars look like, well, cars 😊
It feels like going back in time going out cycling in overcast weather, then putting this on the speaker and listening to the broadcast like on the radio. Only then it made me realize how good the coverage was.
I wish Nascar was still like this.
Amen
Thanks for sharing,it was the most exciting race I had in NASCAR
For us Richard Petty fans, this one was just about perfect. He went on to win the Championship!
i love how some of the cars have different exhaust notes to them, some of them sound like a more european v8...you'll never get that today
I thought some even sounded like a V6.....heaven forbid!
no, no v-6s. what you're hearing are some of the cars with 180 degree cranks (what we today call flat plane crankshafts) at slower speeds. it took me a while to figure out that nascar teams did run 180. it faded away after a few years, but great sound.
@@SwineBrothers also tri-Y headers which make the engine sound something like a V6 which, if I’m not mistaken, was used in the late 80’s to mid 80’s by Junior Johnson
I’m able to hear the difference between the Toyota’s and Chevys when I go to races. Anyone can notice it honestly, it’s just hard through the TV
@@SwadBod I've never noticed, to be honest.
Amazing to hear him refer to Dale Sr as a kid back in 1979 and a sensation. Only did he know what kind of a legend he would become.
And even then, he really wasn't a kid; he was 28.
Rest in peace Ken Squier 🖤
Ken Squir could paint a picture like no one else. Love this race - it’s the first one I remember watching.
I watch these old races with my kid's so they can see the real NASCAR! It's like seeing a old friend NASCAR isn't NASCAR anymore and hasn't been for at least 20 yrs. It's funny back in the 50s thru early 00s most your driver's came from NC and other Southern States . Now in 2019 California has the most NASCAR driver's .
This is awesome! reminds me of watching these races when i was a kid (around the time of this race)
I had no clue that AJ Foyt ran NASCAR, I knew of his Indycar prowess as I watched him race the Indy 500 for a lot of years, but didn't know he did NASCAR too....that's pretty cool!
Always cool to see Richard Petty in his prime, he's one of my favorites and a great look at Dale Earnhardt as a young rookie upstart, he had the skills to drive even back then
Not only did he race in NASCAR he won 7 races including the 1972 Daytona 500.
I was not even alive when this race was run since I was born in 1984. Thank you for allowing me to experience it. When was the last time Buick, Mercury, and Oldsmobile were even used in NASCAR?
This is so bad ass. Could you imagine seeing NASCAR today with real stock cars like the challenger and charger hellcat, Camaro, mustang, and others?
If Dodge ever does come back to Cup racing, it would have to be either a Charger or Challenger, more likely a Charger
We need more dealerships like pontiac and Oldsmobile again
@@wwetnabamafan194 Why? They race mustangs, camaros, and camrys in NASCAR today. Well I mean that is the lights decals they use.
@@averymacleod9707 True, but more likely they would bring Pontiac back using the Camaro body for the Firebird/Trans Am
@@Power5 For one thing, Dodge was pretty competitive when they returned to the Cup Series in the 90's with the Intrepid, Avenger, and Gen 1 Charger bodies
Growing up in the 1970’s my father, an Indiana native. Would take me to a local theater to watch the Indianapolis 500 live. My father never talked about NASCAR so I had never seen a race. This was the first race NASCAR race or race of any kind. I had seen at home. I WAS HOOkED!
Best Daytona 500 ever!!!
Thank you for the trip back in time :) guess I could talk of advancements in all things technological but we already know about that, some of us have accepted it and others have tried to fight it "tooth and nail" but as they say "that's racin", thanks again.
#17 Skip Manning lives down the road from me in Bogalusa,La,he has told me some great stories from his time in Nascar.
That was like watching a movie. The way they both contact with the cars perfectly out of control together is like artwork.
I've been putting together an olschool NASCAR / Kenny Rogers personalized track for my Mp3 player for work- Maybe 'Six Pack' doesn't hold up as well as it did in '82 when it came out- but Rogers's Brewster Baker character redeems himself as he realizes he can be a great driver, stepfather and cuts out drinking. He was great as an actor and singer for decades!
Thanks for the memories,Tighe.
It's a sad commentary on modern NASCAR that I prefer to watch old races to the stuff that masquerades as racing today. I already know the outcome, but I'd rather watch this than the overly commercialized races of today, where each car is the same and the rules won't allow drivers to race like this. Too many rules now.
Papi Uuhmelmehahay I agree with you whole heartedly I wish I could have been alive to watch real stock car races
the drivers aren't allowed to race like this? did you see the race at watkins glen this past weekend?
@@TheJingles007 Link?
@@TheJingles007 the problem is the money......when a team becomes a 50 million dollar industry..with sponsors....the driver becomes a plastic corporate spokesman....so much so....the few outspoken don't care drivers who do and say what they feel,,, get bad press....stewart...2 busches...keslowski...and any time any (good guys ) get mad....they get negative press.....money destroyed nascar
I couldn't agree more brother...
These are some of the best races in history. Thank You for the video
The #41 driver is Grant Adcox, from Chattanooga. He was killed in a racecar. My dad worked for HIS Dad, Herb Adcox, at a huge dealership in Chattanooga, Tennessee when he was in his early 20's. My dad said Herb had grants crumpled racecar that he was killed in brought back to the dealership and stored in one of the back rooms and would occasionally just go look at it and reflect for a minute. That's extremely depressing lol
Ken Squier forever remembered thank you
OMFG WATCHED THIS FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER AND IT'S EVEN BETTER THAN F1 OR WRC. THANKS FOR THE BEST SPECTATOR SPORT EVER USA, FAE SCOTLAND!
Just watched this entire race, and I must say, it is maybe more exciting today than it was then! I watched it live back in the day, and obviously it was great, but seeing it again reminded me of how great the cars were. Nice to see some of the classic paint schemes that I hadn't thought of in years. The drivers were hard ass characters as well. I haven't really watched NASCAR in years now, since they came out with the chase format, but I appreciate them posting up this video. It reminds me of why I used to love this sport. I still love racing, but I just can't be a NASCAR fan any more. Whenever I do catch a bit of a race, it's pretty easy to see that there are lots of other people that feel the same. Maybe NASCAR will figure that out one day.
I love ken squire voice is a drama.
"Petty wins it!!" What a finish 👏 👌
Ken Squire and his iconic voice announcing an iconic event, you can't plan this type of thing, nothing like witnessing a historic event LIVE, I watched this as did millions of others snowed in from a massive blizzard..
What a classic this put NASCAR on the map we had a huge snowstorm in Chicago what a great race to watch that day nothing better to do that day
this is so cool. todays fans NEED to watch this. i can almost smell the burnt race fuel. for me, everything about this era/race is just *more*. its louder, more mechanical, failures were more prominent, levelling the herd. pit road mph?.. never heard of it. the stops?.. when was the last time you saw a hood go up?. even the announcers were more exciting because they were more excited. you could see it on their faces. & if it needs to be mentioned, the end. i know its cliche' to say vintage is better but in this case?. see for yourself.
I love how in the Malaise Era even NASCARS looked like luxury cars.
The good ole days.. When the drivers were southern & down to earth and the fans could proudly display their Stars n Bars
Geoff Bodine wasn't from the south, Labonte isn't from the south. Alot of them aren't from the south.
The south is dead, hooraaah
All the greatest names in the sport from the past, this is like an all-star baseball game.