The Most Important Race in NASCAR History Deserves a Closer Look: The 1979 Daytona 500
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- čas přidán 8. 02. 2020
- On a soggy mid February afternoon, a veteran TV broadcaster and a former Formula 1 driver finally convinced their employers at CBS to broadcast the first ever live 500 mile race. And, thanks to some great calls, excellent camera work, an amazing race with beating and banging racing, and a post-race fist fight, that one race down in Daytona Beach, Florida changed everything in the NASCAR world. Join in as we check out how it all came to be.
#NASCAR #Speedweeks #Daytona500
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"Two Grown Men Fighting Over A Wrecked Oldsmobile"
They did not give a damn about the cars trust me
@@79tazman
What are you talking about ??
They love those dang cars
They’re part of the cars that gets them through the race alive and a Winning car they love even more.
oldsmobiles are great if i had one and someone wrecked it i would be so mad
@@79tazman is that why many racer kept old cars they won with 🤔. Richard petty still has *alot* of his cars, most famously the Dodge Charger Daytona
3 not 2
"He commenced to beating on my fist with his nose." - Bobby Allison
And to this day, we still dont understand what that means Lol
I'm pretty sure I recall Cale also saying, "I may have questioned his parentage, then he started assaulting my fist with his face and just wouldn't stop."
wanna get my bobby alison car?
@@evannuh-koo-la4054 I mean... it's pretty self explanatory.
WTH was Bobby trying to do with Cale's leg...
I hit that play button harder than Cale hit Donnie in the infield.
#Savage
I absolutely love Cale ...
Nice
Lol
@@johngancarcik5682 ijiikiooiiiiiiiii b
Just get a job in NASCAR media division and take it over. The quality you're able to do with this just being your secondary work (some may call it a hobby) whilst you have a full time job is outstanding.
Jim France, hire this man
Yes sir! Concur! I remember being a newly minted millennial in 1980, and we got the "come back in 20 years" line CONSTANTLY! What happened?
I second this
I agree with this@
If he would speak in a slightly higher pitch, Slap would sound like Ken Squier. My mind is blown...
I disagree! Why? If S1apSh0es went to work for NASCAR, then he would become a mouthpiece for the organization and no longer be an independent voice; an independent voice that has challenged the wisdom of NASCAR over the years.
Best he stays where he is at, as he provides sensible commentary. If S1apSh0es went to a commercial media platform/network [just like NASCAR], then he would have to abide by what the advertisers [and the company line] dictates to the media platform/network . . . which can be nonsensical at times.
Earnhardt’s first 500, Beating and banging for the sports top prize, Petty’s record 6th win and questions of he could get a 7th, and the most famous fight in Motorsports history. This race has everything.
Ross Chastainfan10 couldn't have been said better if anyone tried.
You said a mouthfull right there, brother.. couldn't agree more.
And a major snowstorm in the east coast that weekend made everyone stay in. I say it was a perfect storm.
@@DC322 literally
Yeah, literally.
Living in Italy, this actually is the reason I know it exists.
I live in Phoenix. Had no idea there was a NASCAR track here.
I lived in Chicago a decade ago, wasn't until now that I rediscovered the potential memory of Joliet existing. And that's when I'm here, in Warsaw now.
3BaconsVEVO bobbii è stata incredibile questa gara.
I lived in Italy for a bit, what part are you from?
In the middle of little italy
"That Earnhardt kid is going to be a great racer! I would pull for him if I was you."
~My Dad's response when 9 yr old me was asking who else I should pull for. ( I already liked Darrell Waltrip and Cale Yarborough)
Yep I was a huge Darrell Waltrip fan. He was always the underdog back then, before the Dew Crew came along.
Dang, he KNEW...
Bro, your dad was the prophet... holy cow
@@aloelover6012 the Moses of Nascar.
We can question the best race in NASCAR, but we can never question the most important.
@Fire&Ice909 did you even watch the video? 😑
@Fire&Ice909 I think it was one of the 2015 Kansas races
@Fire&Ice909 The 1979 Daytona 500. There is a video about it on CZcams: "The Most Important Race in NASCAR History Deserves a Closer Look: The 1979 Daytona 500" by S1apSh0es. You are actually commenting on that video.
IMO, the most important race was the 92 hooters 500
@@omega1575 The '92 Hooters 500 was the best at the macro level (because of how many drivers could have won the championship that day, and it was just a damn good event to watch), but the '79 Daytona 500 was the most important (also a damn good event that introduced a huge chunk of snowbound suburbanites and city dwellers to NASCAR, and probably stock car racing in general).
You know how much of a badass Cale was?
It took TWO Allisons to put him on the ground.
The King of the Combovers was tough!
and Cale was a small boy
He actually knew Donnie was a fighter and went after Bobby and saying he caused the wreck you should go watch hall of fame Bobby allison
"Turning left is boring" < me a couple years ago.
After Cleetus McFarland sparked the interest with his Dale truck, I found S1apsh0es providing well made and informative videos about the history of the sport and its personalities. Some 9 months ago I watched the Tire Wars video, and I've been jumping on these videos almost as soon as they are uploaded since.
Turning left is one of the most interesting and exhilarating sports going. < me now.
Too right, that video gave me serious goosebumps. I'm hoping on getting a passport and a plane ticket to get out to the new Freedom Factory for the Cleetus and Cars "Grand Championship" in November.
I got sucked in by "there will Never Ever be another driver like Dale Earnhardt" by EmpLemon. Ever since I became fascinated with the whole atmosphere of Nascar.
I second this I always sorta liked Nascar since days of thunder but never followed the history until these videos
Turning left isn't boring, I'm a motorcycle speedway fan.
Now THERE's a sport that needs more recognition. It used to be huge. Now barely anyone knows it exists.
Well turning left has now become a science itself 🤔
Fun fact: That “rookie,” Dale Earnhardt was one of the drivers NOT racing an Oldsmobile that day. Rod Osterlund had Earnhardt in a Buick...
“And there’s a fight” the phrase that kicked off the nationwide phenomena that is NASCAR
And I wouldn’t want it any other way... totally worth it!
Sadly, I have to admit that I am old enough to have seen this...and I did, sitting in my living room in New York as the blizzard hammered us...BUT, I already knew NASCAR, and being a huge Richard Petty fan I was very happy with the results...
I remember watching this and it was the first time while seeing a car race that a fight broke out, just like in hockey.
I would have killed to watch it in real life. But I'm only 18 and from Germany 😔
@@hallo_welt_ag, is Nascar televised in Germany?
@@henriquepaladino3779 sadly no. And I'm pretty sure it won't be televised out there for a long time
@@hallo_welt_ag , do you have a favorite driver?
*”And there’s a fight!!”*
Ken Squire and David Hobbs are amazing.... see guys!! A two man booth works!!!
Squier's call *still* sends chills down my spine every time I hear it. Ken may not have always been the best at calling the actual action--and he definitely had deteriorated by the late 90s--but nobody, NOBODY was better at getting across the emotions of the drivers. The closest we have today is probably Mike Joy.
@@rdfox76 Now when Daryl Waltrip Started in 2000 until 2020 as Daryl Waltrip retired from broadcasting and is not doing the race calling, Daryl was also one of the best at doing that same raw emotion that Ken used but also in his own way too with things like his begging racing call he used at about 95% of the the races he did a broadcast for.
@@caseysmith544 Daryl sucked. Hated every moment he called races. Too old to know how the cars work anymore but act like a expert, same overused catch phrases every week and if I ever hear the boogity bullshit ever again. The dumbest thing to ever be said to start a sport and Nascar and idiots actually thought it was good. No wonder the sport died when you have people like Daryl calling races. He was only likeable in soundbites, he isn't something you can be around for hours at a time.
@@caseysmith544 Bob Jenkins, Benny Parsons, and Ned Jarrett will always be the best NASCAR commentary team. DW was AWFUL. Darrell Waltrip is the Merrill Hodge of NASCAR...someone who was pretty okay at competing, but they thought things still worked the way it worked for them 10-20 years after they retired...in addition to be overtly biased in who they supported (like Merrill Hodge trying to run the Pittsburgh Steelers as an analyst).
@@Kylora2112 I agree with Ned Jerrett being the Having seen him at the end of his career, DW was not the worst, that is the guy in the pit with the beard who is still doing NASCAR stuff and was on the Top Gear show. The in the past the worst announcer was that Australian or British guy who was a former Formula 1 guy when I hear his posts from early 1960's onward to the end of the 1970's when he stopped. The guy from Australia or Britain had 0% on how the cars worked so he would just announce what was happening as it happened and not understanding ever or will to accept that bumping in the NASCAR races can happen but not cause a wreck.
When Cale went for that last lap pass, I thought of the most iconic quote in racing history. “If you no longer go for a gap that exists, you’re no longer a racing driver.”
- Ayrton Senna, 1990
Haven’t met anyone else in the UK who likes or has even heard of NASCAR but this is a story I love telling people.
I think Days of thunder and talladega nights are the only reasons people in the UK know about NASCAR 😂
Unfortunately, yes.
Erm, Sheffield here pal.
There’s a few of us ‘Limeys’ knocking about on Slaps videos. For some strange reason, we all seem to be from up North. Maybe the North of England is the UK version of the American Deep South?
Anyway, another great vid SlapShoes. Another fantastic story, brilliantly told.
I'm from Brum, big Dale Earnhardt fan.
@@frazerguest2864 That would make sense since I've heard the North of England/Southern U.S. be compared a lot. Both are known for having a very blue collar/working class vibes.
Ken Squier's call of the fight at the end should be up there as one of the most iconic calls in all of sports entertainment.
“The leaders are coming off of turn 4” that was. Ken Squire letting the cameramen know where the leaders were
And at that time the cameraman was focused on a car that looked like Petty’s (idk the name) but actually wasn’t.
Oooookay boah.
Michael Bolia you alright boah?
Correct...........Buddy Arington running as a back marker who idolized Richard Petty had his car painted in the same blue and STP red scheme like Petty and as a result the camera people thought that was Petty in 3rd.............it panicked the guys in the booth so they kept yelling out where the battle for 3rd (now the lead battle) was hoping the director would tell the camera people where to go.......Ken's call worked and they picked up the battle in time.............believe it or not when some of the people came down from CBS to set up all the equipment there were questions asked among them "which direction do the cars run?".............LOL they were that clueless but managed to pull off great coverage when it was all said and done.
"The King is not used to having a win just handed to him like that..." LOL😂😂😂
Yeah, the guy that had truckload after truckload of Hemi's delivered to his house for a decades...
You should totally do a vid about Buddy Baker! He had a hell of a career, was an extremely talented and versatile driver (even outside of NASCAR), and experienced just as much Daytona 500 heartache as Dale Sr did.
Buddy actually started on pole in this race and retired early due to an engine failure.
Quality animation on the CBS guy. That whole segment I was giggling
And to think I almost cut that out 😅
@@S1apShoes glad you kept it in. The sequence nails how suddenly Nascar blew up in the public eye and NBC was forced to take notice. Really set the roots for growth for decades.
I heard the F-bomb...😆
@@Razz415 I agree. Glad Slap kept that part in. The starkness of the call is echoed by how it's done and it really draws the attention to how empassioned the announcers were that day. It's right up there with the great calls in sports history.
@@S1apShoes AWESOME!
This piece was a great production.
The voices behind the phone calls. What they said...
Seen many documentaries on this race. BUT this one is so far the most enjoyable. TX!
KUDOS! Love your work!
*Donnie and Cale swing their helmets*
Myles Garrett: I like these guys!
Lol
Tony Stewart: Hey that’s a great idea, I think I can make it better though...
Tony: throws helmet
Not enough people give the announcer credit. Perfect in the moment broadcasting 👌🏽
To put it lightly, NASCAR wouldn't even be popular among the national crowd had this race not happened. It would've gotten a mention here or there, but nothing more. Sure the sport is in the doldrums right now, but thanks to this race, it's lucky that it gets mentioned nationally every little once in a while. Safe to say, the 1979 Daytona 500 is not only the spark behind NASCAR's boom in the 90s and 2000s, but also the foundation behind the iconic and historic lure it has over the event today. If it weren't for this happening, I'm pretty sure the Daytona 500 would've either been slightly popular with a mention or two, or a burnt out husk of a tradition that ended years ago.
Ditech Cup Series 1979 Daytona 500 first ever live flag to flag coverage on CBS Sports
NASCAR got the boom in the 90s due to Jeff Gordon getting hot and the split in Indycar between IMS/IRL and CART.
It brought the national TV spotlight on nascar racing but way before that the stands were packed to the point it was standing room only
Robert Dorst my favorite CBS Sports VHS tape of all time Daytona drama danger dedication story of Daytona 500
S1ap, thanks for doing this video. Even though the story and legend of the 1979 Daytona 500 has been covered multiple times, it's one of those races that you just can't hear enough about.
Two of my uncles in Pittsburgh were among those viewers affected by the weather that saw the race. One of them worked on cars and liked dirt track and open wheel racing, so he tuned in out of curiosity and having nothing to do that day due to the weather. He got hooked as a result and was among those that called CBS after the race to ask if they were going to show the next one, because the racing was superb and he wanted to see more of it. Then when he met up with my other uncle, he found out my other uncle had also watched it and called CBS to ask about the next race because he wanted to see if the heat between the Allisons and Yarborough would continue to flare up. They still watch to this day, though they're not as enthusiastic about the product as they used to be for various reasons, at least a few of which you can guess.
Sorry if that went on long, but I figured you'd like to hear about two of those that got hooked as a result.
"do they fight at the end of every race, is that like a thing?"
God I wish
Yea it's basically hockey on wheels.
CZcams's ALWAYS Having A Fight Between The MaximilianMus Army!
Another brilliant video S1ap. And am I the only one that misses David Hobbs from his time calling Formula 1?
Nyeeeowwwwwwm.
"We gotta do the next race..." That graphic u did was hilarious.
This race is great for threee reasons.
1.- The broadcasts.
2.- The crash.
3.- the Yarborough and Allison’s fight.
Me, personally? I never found nascar that interesting. That was, until I found emplemon's video on dale Earnhardt, and also your channel. Its given me way much more appreciation for the guys behind the seats of those metal death traps zooming around at 170 MPH, and I look forward to seeing more content out of this channel.
What makes it interesting compared to other racing series is the incredible speed and low grip. These cars are pushing speeds the F1 cars regularly make, but in cars that have the aerodynamics of a brick by comparison. Watch Louis Hamilton drive in a stock car. He’s amazed at how slippery it is.
Cole Trickle had a hard time adapting too....
Within a slightly mores than a year were three of the most significant events in American sports history. This race, for all the reasons you mentioned, the 1979 NCAA basketball championship of Bird & Magic, and in February of 1980 The Miracle on Ice.
true
I live in australia and dont care about nascar but i love a good racing story. Cant believe this channel isnt bigger.
Yeah I'm American, I've been watching NASCAR all my life. I'm only 15 but I still saw the great downfall the sport's popularity took. It honestly hurts to see how many people just lose interest like that.
@@tyler6012 I feel for you. As another Aussie, I have a soft spot for NASCAR. From EmpLemon's video on Dale, to S1ap's videos, it's grown on me.
@@unclubbableplus Yeah I wouldn't expect too many people outside of the U.S to be fans of NASCAR. I don't even know any popular motorsport leagues there in Australia so kudos to you for at least knowing an American motorsport
@@tyler6012 Australia has V8 supercars, which is kind of entertaining. However it's suffering from F1 syndrome atm; a certain car always leading and winning.
@@unclubbableplus. You must be only 2 years old.
Literally listened to the Dale Jr podcast with Hobbs as the guest this morning.
This was VERY well done. I had just turned 16 that month of February of '79, and I was watching this race on tv from California.Like so many others in the rest of the country, we only had 3 stations to choose from. We got each station via an antenna on the roof of our house, but the picture from the CBS channel was not the greatest of quality. The picture drifted in and out, and lost its color fro time to time, but it was still good enough to get a general idea of what was happening. I was mainly an Indy 500 fan back then....(still am today)....but I had seen other NASCAR races before from ABC's Wide World of Sports, but they were always just highlights, and never a whole race. Daytona was about the only NASCAR race I was interested in back then. So when I saw this 1979 Daytona 500 broadcast take to the air, I was glued to the tv set for the duration of the race. Being in California, it all stated at 9:00 in the morning for me. I had never seen a flag to flag NASCAR race before. Back then, even the Indy 500 was only an edited highlights show in the evening after the race had been run. It was only live and flag to flag on the radio, (which I still listen to faithfully to this day). But this flag to flag coverage of Daytona '79 was something really special, so I was all in. When it came down to those last few laps, I knww Cale was waiting for the last lap to make his move. When he did, and I saw what occurred, I thought, "OMG this is NOT happening". After the first impact, I thought they were going to recover and continue on to finish the race. But as son as they impacted the 2nd time, I knew it was all over for both of them. I sat there in my chair with my mouth wide open and my eyes as big as baseballs. I was SHOCKED!! Into the wall they went and down into the infield. "Oh my GOD", I yelled aloud. I couldn't believe what I was witnessing. It was the best finish to ANY race I had ever seen to that point.
My dad worked for Valvoline in the late 90s and so I grew up an absolutely *huge* NASCAR fan, I even have Martin's front bumper from his 99 Watkins Glen race. But I will always remember my dad telling me about being right out of High School, living at Bethany College in West Virginia, snowed in, and fixated on this magnificent sport on his 9" black and white TV.
Slap, this video and your presentation skills are sky-rocketing, great job bud. Also, I'm not sure if it's worthy of a video concept, but the era(s) like 1979's NASCAR cars actually drove interest in, and sales toward, the makes because they were so recognizable as very nearly the same car bodies one could go out and buy. My theory for a big reason NASCAR lost so many of us has been the plastic-shell, nothing-remotely-resembling-stock nature they morphed into. Perhaps you could do a video on this progression towards "meh" that the industry placed upon itself? (I mean, hell, after watching this video - I want to go out and find that exact version of the Oldsmobile being raced, lower it, and do an ever-changing paint job reflecting any one of the many cars in this very race just from this video, alone - it caught me just now, and modern plasticized NASCAR cars have never, ever done that.)
Sure, sure, we all understand that under the hoods and bodies just about nothing was the same as OEM even in 1979, but folks could still have that dream, have that thrill, of owning something that they believed could be morphed into what they saw being raced on the NASCAR tracks, and that meant more than I take it NASCAR and the auto manufacturers ever realized.
Great point, David. I'd also love to hear Slap's take on this.
As for me, I gave up totally on Nascar when they introduced the "Car of Tomorrow" concept. May as well be IROC if they are all racing essentially the same car.
I understand NASCAR wanted to prevent one driver/team from being too dominant and therefore introduced ever-expanding rules to achieve parity among competitors; which makes the sponsors happy; and closer races, which makes the fans happy I suppose. But in the end, it's always about money.
NASCAR was neutered when Dale Earnhardt died.
Depends on how old you were. I didn't see the '79 500 (I was just over *two* at the time), but I do remember watching in 1980 and seeing DW driving a Caprice and thinking it was exactly the same as the car we had at the time (a '77 Impala), just with a few modifications like plating over the headlights and removing a lot of the interior. Those a few years older probably realized there was a lot less "stock" than that, and yeah, those in their teens knew that it was just stock bodywork... but for at least one three-year-old? Those were pure production stock machines with some safety modifications. (Didn't hurt that the engines were the same block as the production car, so they sounded like the time Dad hammered the throttle to avoid an accident...)
@@rdfox76 Absolutely agree with you. I wasn't even aware of NASCAR until the mid 1980's, but even those - with their body template measuring - seemed much like you described. But then NASCAR threw it all away. I'd much, MUCH rather watch slower, but close-to-stock, cars race now. Show me what the engineers at each of the car companies is developing for US (we the consumers). I don't give a hoot about if the current NASCAR lives or dies, but would gladly pay to go see a 2020 Prius racing in the same category as the 2020 Hyundai Ioniq, perhaps while being on the same track and time as a category of mid-sized, OEM engined Ford Fusions and Subaru Legacies battled it out.
Not too be a Ass but Their bodies are not plastic the Xfinity series bodies are composite and the cup series Is sheet metal Unless they changed it too composite this year and instead of paint they were vinyl wrapped and if You have seen the Ford Cup car and the Ford Street car They look a lot alike
I'd you haven't yet, you should read "He crashed me so I crashed him back."
A great book about the entire 1979 season
I love NASCAR videos that give straight up FACTS. What does S1ap do? He gives out straight up FACTS. I love all of your factual videos S1ap, keep it going. Love from another NASCAR nerd.
I'm probably the youngest NASCAR nerd, and the youngest viewer watching this masterpiece. But I don't know for sure.
@@randomreviewsrebooted5156 i wasnt even a thought in 1979
alexander1485 me neither! Lol
Me as well
The best possible way to wake up on the morning for The Busch Clash!!!!
I'm not even a fan of NASCAR and I subscribed to this channel. Good, quality videos and a lot of information. Don't ever sacrifice quality for quantity.
End of race be like:
*NASCAR has now become Hockey Racing*
Why does that sound like a really interesting sport idea?
@@landrylongacre6391 high level speed skating has some vaguely similar principles to it when compared to Auto Racing
@@andrejg4136 yeah but less expensive crashes unless you live in the USA
The age of Modern NASCAR began that day.
Or the end of NASCAR's "golden age", depending on one's perspective.
I've always said that the 79 daytona 500 give everyone a reason to watch and Dale Earnhardt gave everyone someone to watch
Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhjjjjj
🤦♂️🤦♂️🤦♂️🤦♂️
Oh yeah. Finally a new closer look video! THANK YOU S1AP FOR THIS. MASTERPIECE!!!!!!!
Oh yeah, one of six mil here! Of course my dad retired long before the 70's from what was the old leagues in southern racing. "Officer Don"(dad was a leo in his regular job) #32, racing a '55 Bel Air and a '63 Studebaker Avanti.
You can say a lot about the France family, but you can't deny they are lucky as hell.
I watched this live as a 14 year old kid in snowy Massachusetts. It was awesome to see those Oldsmobiles battle it out, looking a lot like the ones I saw on the roads every day. Ken Squire made this race. His skills at making anything excited are nothing I have experienced in any sport. That guy could do a play by play of baking a cake exciting. A true talent. Later in life I raced stock cars at an amateur level because of this race and Ken's having made it so exciting..
Where it all began. In fact, the two most landmark races in NASCAR history were this one and the 1992 Atlanta 500 with all the drama concerning the points race, Petty's retirement and the debut of some kid named Gordon.
🍺🍺 To the Oldsmobile 🍺🍺
RIP Oldsmobile
Old but bold and gold!
@@jackthorton10 and one hell of a racing brand despite having old in the name.
@@landrylongacre6391 This ain't your Daddy's Oldsmobile :)
I remember this race, I was about 100 feet from the action and it was great. I was screaming for Cale to beat that allison ass and then his brother jumped in but Cale didn't care he stood his ground. That is one of the greatest memory's from my childhood.
Thank you so much for making these videos. It helps to remind us how intricate and energetic an otherwise simple idea can get.
For me, NASCAR represented one of the many ways you could have a great time in life. When you think about it, the racing is the main attraction to a fair or party people could attend. You can either just sit back in the grandstands and enjoy the sun and sound, or get as interactive as you can be. It has a grand yet down to earth, home grown feeling which I love.
I really wish that the higher ups pushed through with their attempt to go multinational. Europe would seem like a fertile audience in some places, I'm sure it's at least worth making at least one small attempt to test the waters over here.
Then again I may just be one of the last Poles to have a childhood involved with Motorsport. And even more unlikely was my probability of revisiting so many of these memories in my late teens, before they fade completely. Being conceived in Chicago did have it's benefits after all, eh? I got to witness glimmers of the show right at it's peak. That was enough to make me dive and take it all in and the history a decade later. I will never forget ESPNs promo from the DVD release of Pixar's Cars.
Good times are good times. Don't waste them.
I’ won’t sir, I won’t waste em’ especially not like this... this is just too... cool 😎
Im only 44 but my granddad loved nascar so after church while dinner was cooking it was a tradition that I truly miss I've seen death and I've seen tears of joy I miss those days he's gone and so are the legends I used to route for
The first of 22 consecutive 500s on CBS
Some of the best advice for getting into nascar was something a friend told me. The excitement isn’t the cars racing around the track, it’s the cars racing through the traffic.
the 80s music for this video is awesome.
9:29 One thing i love about NASCAR is the view, you never get that anywhere else
This is the most incredible series of events. You just know somewhere in some corner office some exec was yelling “Now THIS!! is TELEVISION!!!”
You are a NASCAR expert. I've watched documentaries on SPEED channel that provided a teaspoon of information compared to what you put together and provide viewers. I first learned of this race when I was 12, something like that, learned about who Cale Yarborough was, the Allison's, wasn't Darell Waltrips car running sour? I never knew this was the first broadcasted race (or forgot it was) and that it drew 6 million viewers. Thank you
Would love to just time travel and see this race because it was amazing.
Luckily NASCAR has the entire race on CZcams
That CBS part at the end was funny as hell. You do a great job at making these videos!
Absolutely loved the Jon Bois inspired moment 12:16 your editing has gotten much better!
This race was the main reason my grandfather started watching NASCAR, and he is the reason I started watching NASCAR. I wish I was able to take him to a race before he passed.
you do these so well its insane. it brings me back. to a time i wasnt alive to realize some great moments.
I was in the 8th grade when this race was run, and I remember watching it in black and white that day. We didn't have a colour set. And I was mesmerised. I enjoyed watching races til Bobby Allison stopped driving and we entered the newer era.... Today I don't much care about any of it anymore. Oh and don't forget, at that 1979 Daytona 500, Benny Parson's car was the first to carry an in-car camera.
Dale Jr talked about it on his podcast.
The camera weighed over 100lbs and took hours to install.
Epic race and a great video illustrating the importance of it. Kudos, S1ap - fantastic job! 🏅
Great video! It's almost as if this race seemed destined to be one of the greats
Your documentaries are consistently interesting and well-researched. Thank you!
The Quality an depth of your NASCAR history lessons is amazing! Thank you
This was really well done! I loved about all the details you discussed to what lead up to that infamous last lap battle and fight. NASCAR is what it is today because of that race. It's incredible :)
That was cool getting to see the first broadcasted 500, and how awesome that race was. I wasn’t surprised to see the ratings go that high with all the fun and crazy action the first 500 offered.
Maaaan... you are on top of your game. Nailed the script, told a great story. The depth of archival footage, laid beautifully over stock footage and images. Great work. Thank you.
Congrats on 50k subscribers, S1ap. You worked hard and it's paying off. But the quest to 100k and even a million subs is not over.
I just watched this race as my first NASCAR event and had more fun than expected! appreciate this explanation of it's significance
I still get A HUGE SMILE watching anything about this race
and especially this SlapShoes Doc. in particular.
I knew exactly what race you were going to cover as soon as I read the title of your video. I totally agree with you on that! Excellent choice! 👍
The editing on this is just top notch. I want to watch this race again now, lol. Thank you!
He started to ram his face into my fist.
Thats my story and im stickin to it 🙂
Yeah don’t even like NASCAR but I’ll listen to your videos on it all damn day dude
Thanks, bro. glad to have you on board 👍
You do a great job narrating these videos man. Keep up the good work.
Crazy how little I actually knew about this race. Thank you for the video!
Your videos are as well written as anybodies out there, outstanding job, well done!
I know I'm super late to the party on this video, but I've been watching all your work, and every vid is fantastic! If anybody's interested in reading more about how the '79 500 unfolded and what it meant for NASCAR, read "The Great American Gamble" by Joe Menzer. This video's an awesome summary, though! :D
OooOooo dawgy I'm ready for this one!
It's not the first video I've seen from this channel, but this one won me over.
Who the fxxx is this guy behind the channel, I mean he will make anyone a Nascar fan. My guy you are the mvp of Nascar material, history and narrating bro
Ive missed this channel so much. This is just what I needed.
I've been watching the Daytona 500 for a while as the kickoff of motorsports in the year, but never really watched a full season. With COVID, I've watched the most NASCAR I have ever seen, and these videos really help put into context the sport.
Hahaha “Do they fight after every race” that CBS hotline part was great! Another great video! Thanks again!
Your videos are consistently great. Not many channels I can say that about. It's like we got SBNascar out here.
Thanks for sharing! I was born in 1995 and didn't become a NASCAR fan until 2004, but I have a DVD of the 1979 Daytona 500. Although I've only watched the full race once (to the best of my knowledge), I definitely think you hit the nail on the head with this video. The 21st running of the Great American Race is the one race that put NASCAR on the map - who could ask for a more iconic event?
This was the first race my grandmother ever watched and she introduced me to NASCAR as a child and we watched races together every Sunday together from when I was born in 1986 until 2005 when she went into a nursing home.
I remember watching that race, snowed in and happy not to have to listen to the race on the radio. I finally GOT to the King for real, on TV! Not just in my 7yr old imagination.
i genuinely get excited when your content pops up
Another thing worth mentioning is that Earnhardt finished 8th in the race due to a bad call on a fuel pitstop...he tried to stay out ahead of the pack during their stint under caution if memory serves right and before turn 1 Bobby Allison just flew past him with little trouble
Time for the Busch Clash!
The Race that put NASCAR on the map!
The 1979 Daytona 500 was as wild as it's always been after. Thanks for posting and the awesome narration.
#NASCARRules
nog 1 week for the daytona 500 , cant wait . greatings a DNFer (Ducth NASCAR Fan)
0:00 I immediately recognised that song because it was my wake-up tune for a while
that was a song? What song is it?
Power5 it's in the video description (Pulse Power by Dynatron)
It's kinda funny how the aftermath of the 1979 Daytona 500 was mirrored by the (admittedly slower) explosion of interest in pro wrestling following the first WrestleMania. Pro wrestling went from something the majority of people outside of the southeast or the New York/New Jersey/Pennsylvania area had never seen to Cyndi Lauper and Mr. T on TV with Hulk Hogan and every kid wanting as much merchandise as their parents could afford.
First NASCAR race I ever watched. I was 7 years old and I liked the blue and yellow car. From that point on Dale Earnhardt was my driver. Glad I grew up in the Charlotte area. I've been to so many races I've lost count. Lol