It was 1979 and a beautiful afternoon for a race in Daytona, FL. Thousands of spectators showed up for one of the most spectacular events of the year. This was the first race where CBS broadcast a race from start to finish and the drivers, crew, and fans were pumped full of adrenaline. (Those days people would only get to see bits and pieces of the race on TV) The race was thrilling with position changes going on everywhere… a huge battle was going on for first place between Cale Yarborough and Donnie Allison with record speeds. Richard Petty was in third and at least a half a lap behind the battle for first. Who won? Well take a look below to see what happened on the very last lap!

Not sure if you recognized him, but Bobbie Allison was the darker haired gentleman explaining how he stopped to give his brother Donnie a ride to the pits. He was a lap down and the real reason he stopped was to get a few fists in on Cale. Bobby later described the incident with Cale: “For some reason, Cale kept hitting my fist repeatedly with his nose.” These are the stories that are still talked about today! Who remembers the win in 1980? (guarantee it’s not many) It’s incredible events like these that keep the lasting memories of races that helped bring NASCAR where it is today. This is a competitive sport and it just goes to show that drivers are humans and they HAVE emotion. The whole fight was broadcast on CBS and guess what happened to NASCAR ticket sales?… they skyrocketed through the roof.

What are your thoughts on NASCAR’s view on letting men be men?

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