Racing History Minute - 1979 Daytona 500

The era of live TV for NASCAR racing began with the 1979 Daytona 500. Despite the beliefs of many, however, the first live broadcast of a full race wasn't that race. It was a 1971 race won by Bobby Isaac at Greenville Pickens Speedway. But the timing and technology weren't right for the networks to do more, so races reverted to being packaged into segments for shows like Wide World of Sports, American Sports Calvacade, Car and Track, etc.

CBS and NASCAR revisited the idea later in the decade, and the deal was struck to air the full 1979 Daytona. I've often heard it referred to as 'flag to flag' coverage though I never understood why because of the number of commercials. Yet, the broadcast - especially its finish - drew large ratings, and the race is arguably the most famous Cup race of all time. The effort set in motion a new permanence of races being broadcast on over-the-air network and cable TV channels.

Ticket stub scan courtesy of Jerry Bushmire

As pretty much everyone knows, Richard Petty won his 6th Daytona 500. Before Petty took the checkers, however, many wondered if his career was done. His last win had been at Daytona 18 months earlier in the 1977 Firecracker 400. He raced his STP Dodge Charger the rest of 1977 without a win. He began 1978 in a Dodge Magnum, but the wins didn't return. About two-thirds of the way through the season, he changed from Dodge to General Motors - but the results were the same. The only glimmers of hope were a close but controversial finish at Atlanta and a Winston West win in Phoenix, AZ.

Source: Motor Racing Programme Covers

Also, Richard's health coming into the Daytona 500 was a big question mark.

• The stress of the losing streak - including how it affected the lives of his family and crew - wore on him.
• The King had never been one to embrace an athlete's diet. He feasted on Pepsi colas, aspirin powders, and mayonnaise sandwiches.
• Richard's son - Kyle - indicated he was ready to start his racing career. Richard agreed, and plans were put into action to help get a car ready, land a sponsor, and find a way to get Kyle some meaningful testing time.
• Petty was at a crossroads of sorts with his sponsor since 1972, STP. As the 1979 season began, the 43 did not have the STP logos on the hood at the season-opening Riverside race or at Daytona. - Jerry Bushmire
  

The toll of all these variables in the years leading to the end of 1978 resulted in significant ulcers for the King. Shortly after his Phoenix Winston West win, he underwent stomach surgery. His physicians advised him to skip the early portion of the 1979 season to help his recovery. Instead, he qualified 6th at Riverside in January - though he finished 32nd because of a failed engine. And then he headed to Daytona for Speedweeks. Being back at the track likely helped vs. hurt Richard's recovery - at least publicly he was saying as much.

Source: Wilmington Morning-Star, December 8, 1978

The 500 was just the beginning of a magical season for the sport - equaled or exceeded perhaps only by the 1992 season. Cale Yarborough and his Junior Johnson team were seeking to extend history by chasing their 4th consecutive championship. And a bumper crop rookie class arrived on the scene with talent that I'm not sure has been matched before or since. Included in the class was...

• Joe Millikan who parlayed his time with Petty Enterprises including two late model sportsman wins at Daytona and Talladega into a full-time Cup ride. He replaced Benny Parsons in the perennial favorite L.G. DeWitt ride. - Thomas K. Craig
  

• Terry Labonte

• Harry Gant - Mike Shaub
  

• Geoff Bodine - Ray Lamm
  

• and Dale Earnhardt

The two hot shoes in qualifying were driving a pair of Oldsmobiles. Donnie Allison was quick on pole day - and throughtout Speedweeks - in Hoss Ellington's Hawaiian Tropic Olds. But Buddy Baker went even quicker in his new ride to take the pole. Buddy Baker won the pole in his first outing with the #28 Harry Ranier team. - Matt Butcosk

Baker joined the team after a single season with M.C. Anderson in 1978.The inaugural Busch Clash for the pole winners of 1978 was held the same day as qualifying, and Baker went 2 for 2 as he made quick work of the short, made-for-TV event.

Packaged with qualifying and the Busch Clash was the annual ARCA 200. The 1979 edition had more eyes on it than in many years because of a true rookie driver making his first professional start: Kyle Petty.

Kyle started his first career race - at Daytona - on the outside of the front row - in one of Richard's hand-me-down Dodge Magnums discarded during the 1978 season. Despite some challenges during the race, Kyle made some crafty moves and won the race. The win was huge for Kyle, Petty Enterprises, Richard's healing, a lead-in story to the 500 for CBS television, etc. (For the career of this writer , however, I don't think Kyle's win had much of an impact at all. His article includes more failures than a college physics class.)

In the 1st qualifying race, pole winner Baker had the 3x defending Cup champ and 2x Daytona 500 winner Cale Yarborough alongside him in yet another Olds.- Richard Guido

In the 2nd qualifying race, Allison was flanked by what? ... yep, another Olds driver - Darrell Waltrip. Coincidentally, Waltrip took took over from Donnie in 1975. - Richard Guido

For the qualifying twins, rookie Earnhardt raced the Rod Osterland Olds that he'd qualified the previous Sunday. The raw talented son of Ralph Earnhardt turned heads with his performance. He finished 4th in the Olds which easily transferred him to the 500.

But for reasons I don't understand, the team swapped to a Buick for the 500. Most teams did well to bring two cars to the beach in that era - a primary and perhaps a less-than-ready backup. For Osterland to have brought 2 cars of 2 different makes was quite surprising. Even more surprising is that NASCAR did not make the team surrender its 10th place starting position after making the car swap. - Craig Bontrager

Bobby Fisher - brother of Woody Fisher who bought a winning Dodge Charger from the Pettys - qualified D.K. Ulrich's Buick and raced it in the win. Afterwards, Fisher was removed from the ride with Ulrich schedule to take over. But on race day, CBS announced Dick May was put in the car at the last moment. I honestly have no idea if that was the case or not - though Ulrich's name is credited in the final running order. Here is Fisher racing Paul Fess in the twin. - Rick Meason

For the wonderment the 1979 Cup season brought, the late model sportsman season began ina much more somber way. During the Permatex 300, Joe Frasson's Marion Cox Ford was hit by Freddie Smith in the 43. Frasson's car was jacked up as he spun helplessly downthe backstretch. Suddenly, Delma Cowart center punched the rear-end of Frasson's #50 which caused the fuel cell to explode into an inferno.

Incredibly, Frasson was able to whoa the car and bail out. He suffered minor burns and a singed beard but was otherwise OK. Sadly, however, the same can't be said for Don Williams. The young, part-time driver was trailing the accident when he ran into parts flying from it. He too wrecked but didn't walk away. Williams was injured badly, transferred to the hospital, lapsed into a coma, and never recovered. He came out of his coma but was forever brain damaged. Don lingered for 10 more years under the constant care of his mother before passing away. - Mike Cox

Mike Cox

Mike Cox

After the multi-car accident, the race did continue. Darrell Waltrip won it to continue his hot streak of winning multiple preliminary races as the 500 eluded him.

Heavy rains fell on the speedway Saturday night before the 500. After an extensive drying effort, the track was just about ready. CBS prepared to air its first live flag-to-flag race - and I'm sure they were puckered about the possibility of a delayed start or even a cancellation. Fortunately, the rain stopped, and the track dried pretty quickly.

Credit to and courtesy of Jerry Bushmire

Darrell Waltrip and his DiGard/Gatorade team took a bit of a risk and agreed to be a 'rabbit' for NASCAR. As the rest of the field followed the pace car, Waltrip agreed to rip a couple of laps at race-speed to make sure the track was completely dry. He radioed to his team and track officials that it was OK to drop the green. Had the track not been ready and/or if Waltrip had wrecked ... well, I'm not sure what Ol' DeeDubya and NASCAR had as Plan B.

Hard-luck Baker once again had little to show for his 500. His ultra-fast Gray Ghost was fast on pole day and in the Clash, but his engine went kaput after only 28 laps into the 500. He'd have to wait another year before finally bagging the coveted trophy.

Donnie Allison led almost half the race despite an early caution when he, brother Bobby Allison, and Cale Yarborough all spun. The three of them ended up in the soggy, sandy mud left from the overnight rains. Good fortunes fell to Donnie and Cale as they were able to unlap themselves - and Donnie even returned to leading laps.

Most race fans - young and old, vets and noobs, deeply interested and casual followers - are familiar with the race finish. Donnie and Cale found themselves again back at the front of the field with enough distance on third place A.J. Foyt to settle it between themselves. Instead, they crashed on the backstretch in front of a national TV audience, slid down to the same mud pit through which they spun earlier, jawed at each other as Bobby Allison pulled up to say 'wazzup?' and then had a brief scrap post-hyped to have been the second coming of The Thrilla in Manilla.

Meanwhile, Foyt backed off as word of the wreck happened allowing Petty and Waltrip to pass him. Late in the race, Waltrip was said to have dropped a cylinder. Even though he was able to draft Petty and Foyt, his engine apparently didn't have the burst it needed to make the key pass when it was time to go. With so much dampness in the air a few hours earlier that may have affected engine performance, I've often wondered if DW's rabbit laps earlier ended up coming back to haunt him as the checkers fell on the 43.

Legendary racing radio and TV announcer Ken Squier helped partner CBS Sports and the Daytona 500. Some sound bites stand the test of time - because of their spontaneity, brevity, and accuracy. Squier's post-race reactions as the winning 43 cruised down victory lane are included in that exclusive list of hall of fame exclamations:

And there's a fight! The tempers ... overflowing. They're angry.
They know they have lost. And what a bitter defeat.

Equally interesting to me, however, is how Squier helped the production crew and camera operators as Petty led Waltrip to the checkers. Once Donnie and Cale wrecked, everyone immediately knew someone from the next group of cars would win. But CBS couldn't seem to find them! One camera went to the start-finish line. Another one panned around. It required the on-air, calm, directing demeanor of Squier to help his team. I'm sure he was supposed to keep his eyes on the monitors, but he directed his crew to look towards turns three and four. Getting them reconnected with Petty's car helped CBS ensure they got the winning shot.

The call of the last lap and post-race fireworks by CBS' Ken Squier and David Hobbs...

And a historical revisit of The Fight - including comments from Donnie, Cale and Bobby and the MRN radio call by Barney Hall, Mike Joy, and Eli Gold.

If you want the high-test, full-octane, caffeinated, whole enchilada version, here is the 1979 race in its entirety.

Joe Biddle, who wrote the following article, grew up in east Tennessee. After his stint with the Daytona paper, he moved back to the Volunteer State to cover sports in middle Tennessee for the Nashville Banner and The Tennessean. In an e-mail exchange I had with Biddle a couple of years ago, he acknowledged he hadn't covered NASCAR much and was a bit out of his element. But he submitted a great article with several great quips - from the drivers and himself - seldom included in articles today such as:

• Biddle: Down the backstretch they charged. Time to intimidate. No room for error.
  
• Biddle: ...the force richocheting them pell mell to the infield grass...
  
• Cale: He smarted off, and I knocked the hell out of him.
  
• Gary Balough: It felt really good out there. I was Cadillacing out there.
  

The coincidence of the issue number of the Daytona Beach Morning Journal's paper the day after the race wasn't lost on me - number 43.

Source: Daytona Beach Morning Journal, February 19, 1979

Finishing order

Fin	Driver	Car
1	Richard Petty	Oldsmobile
2	Darrell Waltrip	Oldsmobile
3	A.J. Foyt	Oldsmobile
4	Donnie Allison	Oldsmobile
5	Cale Yarborough	Oldsmobile
6	Tighe Scott	Buick
7	Chuck Bown	Buick
8	Dale Earnhardt	Buick
9	Coo Coo Marlin	Chevrolet
10	Frank Warren	Dodge
11	Bobby Allison	Ford
12	Buddy Arrington	Dodge
13	D.K. Ulrich	Buick
14	Bill Dennis	Chevrolet
15	Ralph Jones	Ford
16	Terry Labonte	Buick
17	Richard Childress	Oldsmobile
18	Benny Parsons	Oldsmobile
19	Bruce Hill	Oldsmobile
20	Blackie Wangerin	Mercury
21	Bobby Wawak	Oldsmobile
22	Paul Fess	Oldsmobile
23	Grant Adcox	Chevrolet
24	Dave Marcis	Chevrolet
25	J.D. McDuffie	Oldsmobile
26	Dave Watson	Chevrolet
27	Dick Brooks	Oldsmobile
28	John Utsman	Chevrolet
29	Geoffrey Bodine	Oldsmobile
30	Lennie Pond	Oldsmobile
31	Ricky Rudd	Mercury
32	Neil Bonnett	Oldsmobile
33	Harry Gant	Oldsmobile
34	Ronnie Thomas	Chevrolet
35	Gary Balough	Oldsmobile
36	Joe Millikan	Oldsmobile
37	David Pearson	Mercury
38	Skip Manning	Oldsmobile
39	Butch Mock	Buick
40	Buddy Baker	Oldsmobile
41	Jim Vandiver	Oldsmobile

PERSONAL MEMORIES: Our family trip to Daytona for the 1979 500 was full of excitement from the moment we left home. My parents had gotten their brand new motorhome just before the 1978 Southern 500 so the first trip for the new one was to Darlington. The first motorhome they had was a 10 year old used one they had bought which my father had worked on for days to make it "race ready". That one was small and did have many of the amenities the new one contained.

We decided to go down Friday night and be there for the Sportsman (now Nationwide) race Saturday. We left Columbia about 7:00 p.m. on what was a warm Friday evening for that time of year.The "we" in this equationincluded my mom and dad, brother Richard, and six of our friends so we had 10 in the 28 foot motorhome.The trip down was uneventful until we got south of Richmond Hill, Georgia. I was driving, it was about 11:00 p.m. and, unbelievably, we were one of the few vehicles on the road. Suddenly, with no warning, not even a sign warning of problems, two of those orange traffic cones appeared directly in our lane. A quick check of the mirrors told me there was no direction I could go as a car was almost even with the rear of the motorhome in the left lane. Although I lifted my foot from the accelerator I did not slam on the brakes as everything beyond the cones appeared normal. I immediately thought it was either a prank pulled by some kids, or the Georgia Department of Transportation had misplaced some of its cones. I can certify, beyond a doubt, that when a motorhome moving at approximately 75 mph hits two orange traffic cones, the result almost equals the launch of a rocket from Cape Kennedy.

We arrived at the track in the wee small hours of the morning and had to wait for the press office to open so we could sign in. It was a misty rain falling then. We signed in and as the motorhome would not clear the tunnel entrance, we had to drive around to cross over the track on the backside. That situation was a night mare as no one was willing to give anyone a break and there were about 12 lines trying to merge into one to cross the track. Finally, one of Daytona's finest came over to direct traffic. We got inside the track and headed to the press parking. By that time it was raining pretty good.

For some reason, I do not remember a Saturday race taking place. What I do recall, however, is the heavy rain that seemed to be deafening inside the motorhome. We extended the awning to give us some outside space to sit but that was limited as everything was wet. It was too wet to set up tents that night so there were 10 of us sleeping inside the RV.

Sunday morning it was pouring rain still. On this trip we had our own "weather forecaster" with us. Robbie was a kid who loved racing and had an uncanny ability to look at the sky and give you a weather forecast for the day. In all the years I had known him, he had never missed a forecast. He looked out through the windshield and said the rain would stop by noon. As I recall, he didn't miss it by far because it stopped.

Shortly after 9:00 a.m., four of our friends from Green Cove Springs, Florida, who were to meet us at the track for the 500, walked up to the motorhome so now we had 14 folks inside as the rain fell. My Mother, who could always seem to work miracles under any circumstances fed us all breakfast. I really have no idea how she cooked that huge pot of grits with all those people in that small motor home but she pulled it off.

When the rain stopped, as Robbie had predicted, we all went topside the motorhome to see our vantage point. Remarkably, we could see almost the entire track. When the rain stopped, it was remarkedly warm and we were in shorts and our Petty t-shirts. I had learned the previous year that press credentials or not, it was a waste of time to venture into the pits before the 500 and this year with CBS there to televise flag-to-flag, it was even worse. So, when the cars took to the track, there we were, 14 strong, all with Petty t-shirts adorned, ready to watch the 500 from the super vantage point.

It was like lap 60 or so before Petty took the lead for the first time and we went wild. It had been so long since Richard had won. But he seemed not to be that competitive as Waltrip, Yarborough and both the Allisons seemed to have much more power than did Richard. But we could hope.

As I always did, my concentration was on the 43. I would watch Richard every lap of every race, as I had done since he started his career, and that is exactly what I was doing this Sunday. Oh, I would sometimes look away to watch a good battle going on in a race, but mainly it was the 43 I watched. As the cars of Donnie and Cale came under the white flag, I was watching for Richard. He seemed like he was miles behind by the time he came into sight in the tri-oval. By that time, Donnie and Cale were exiting turn two. I was watching Richard battle D.W. when my friend John grabbed me and spun me around in time to see Cale and Donnie sliding into the wall. I immediately turned to see where Richard and D.W. were. Richard had him at that point coming down the back straight.

We lost sight of the cars as they came off four and couldn't see them again until just before start-finish. I almost fell off the top of the motor home trying to get a view of who was going to get there first. When that red and blue 43 came across in front of D.W., the fourteen of us on top of the motor home went nuts. The jumping and screaming were the result of all the pent up emotions of it having been so long since Richard won. I went to step for the ladder to get down when I noticed the Orlando television camera crew were standing on the ground videoing our reaction to the win. When I hit the ground, the sports guy wanted to interview me about the win, but I was headed to Victory Lane! I was going to be there when Richard got there.

By the time I got to the gate to let me into the pits and Victory Lane, I realized I had left my pit pass credential in the motorhome. So, I hung on the fence outside, watching what I could see of the celebration. My Mama and Daddy were there as were the rest of my friends and we just kept cheering. At one point Richard looked over to see what all the noise was and he pointed that long finger at us and waved.

It was long after dark before we got out of the infield and headed north in I-95. We had to stop for gas so we pulled off I-95 at the exit to Florida Highway 16 in St. Augustine as that is where our friends from Green Cove Springs would exit. I was standing there, barefoot and in shorts and the Petty t-shirt when a guy pulled up on the other side of the pumps. He saw the South Carolina tag on the motor home and asked me "you aren't going to try to go back to S.C. tonight are you?". I said "sure, we should be home by 2:00 a.m.". He went on to tell me that he had come through S.C. that afternoon and it was snowing blizzard conditions.

Although it was getting a little cold standing there pumping gas, I couldn't imagine the kind of snow in SC that he was telling me about. We went to the pay phone (remember those) and called my Aunt Dot in Columbia. She confirmed that it was indeed impossible to get around anywhere near Columbia as the snow was (she said 14 inches deep). Our friends from Green Cove Springs invited us to stay over night with them.

We travelled the 40 or so miles over to their house, backed the motor home up the drive way and plugged in the power to their garage outlet. When we finally got to the television, the news was all about the huge blizzard that had hit the country. Scenes from South Carolina and northward were shown. We were happy to have the hospitality of those friends to be warm and safe.

Monday morning we were up early to a very sunny and bright day although it was exceptionally cold, very cold for Florida. We decided to hit the road as we had to get back for work on Tuesday. Back on I-95, we were literally flying up I-95. Traffic northbound was somewhat heavy but southbound traffic was almost non-existant.

When we travel to Daytona or back to Columbia, there was a Union 76 truck stop at Richmond Hill, Georgia where we always stopped for gas. This trip was no exception. We decided to eat in their restaurant after filling up the motor home. I can very vividly remember that awesome cheeseburger! We were standing in line to pay at the register when someone stepped between me and my mother who was in front of me. I heard him ask "Mama, what are you doing here?" As if I didn't recognize the back of his head, the voice was unmistakable. Mama turned around and smiled from ear to ear as Richard was standing there. Kyle was right with him along with several of the Petty crew.

After paying, we moved outside where we spent a good 20 minutes with Richard and Kyle, we got autographs on our race programs and just about everything else we could find worth an autograph and talked about what the road conditions in South Carolina and northward. The driver of the Petty rig (which we didn't know at the time was our own Billy Biscoe) said to follow them. So, we hit 95 northbound again,the Petty transporter, the Petty family in a van following the rig, and our motorhome next.

Seriously, by the time we were 40 miles in South Carolina we were about the only traffic moving, although you could tell other 18 wheelers had made a hazardous trip up the right lane. I was driving and as we split

up with the Petty crew heading on north, I blinked the headlights and BB flashed the trailer lights. We made it home after what seemed like weeks on the road. We actually slid into our yard. There must have truly been 10 or more inches of snow. My carport had been caved in but for some unexplainable reason, I had not parked my car under the carport. Good thing because it had T-tops that would surely have smashed.

The next week at Rockingham as we walked up to Richard on Saturday, he asked if we had problems getting home the previous week. We told him no and then he told us about getting right to the Petty Enterprises compound when the transport slid into the ditch. Billy Biscoe remembers that. Ask him.

So, the 1979 Daytona 500 will always be a special memory for me for so many reasons. May have been the first 500 mile race covered flag to flag, but to me it was an exceptional weekend in so many ways. My Mama would always tell the story of that meeting with Richard in the restaurant. He had been calling her "Mama" for several years but that one time it meant something so extra special to her. There she was with the winner of the ARCA race and the winner of the Daytona 500 and she was the center of attention, something my Mama never sought and rarely got. But that was her day! I can still see that smile and I always will.

Honor the past, embrace the present, dream for the future.

Bump