1979 Season
This is the story of the NASCAR Winston Cup Series from 1979 on. As you could probably guess by the title of the thread if you were a NASCAR fan back in the day, my favorite driver was Sterling Marlin. I'll try not to make it a Marlin wank, but it probably will be because it's my world. My POD is the infamous 1979 Daytona 500, when NASCAR formally arrived on the national scene.
DRAMATIS PERSONAE FOR 1979:
Full Time Drivers (Or Ran Over 20 Races):
Bobby Allison
Donnie Allison
Buddy Arrington
Buddy Baker
Neil Bonnett
Dick Brooks
Richard Childress
Dale Earnhardt
Tommy Gale
Harry Gant
Cecil Gordon
James Hylton
Terry Labonte
Dave Marcis
J.D. McDuffie
Jimmy Means
Joe Millikan
Benny Parsons
Richard Petty
Baxter Price
Ricky Rudd
Ronnie Thomas
D.K. Ulrich
Darrell Waltrip
Frank Warren
Cale Yarborough
Part Time Drivers/Field Fillers (5 - 20 races)
Grant Adcox
H.B. Bailey
Chuck Bown
Bill Elliott
Roger Hamby
Bruce Hill
Al Holbert
Slick Johnson
Coo Coo Marlin
Dick May
David Pearson
Kyle Petty
Lennie Pond
Tighe Scott
Travis Tiller
Blackie Wangerin
Full Time Drivers (Or Ran Over 20 Races):
Bobby Allison
Donnie Allison
Buddy Arrington
Buddy Baker
Neil Bonnett
Dick Brooks
Richard Childress
Dale Earnhardt
Tommy Gale
Harry Gant
Cecil Gordon
James Hylton
Terry Labonte
Dave Marcis
J.D. McDuffie
Jimmy Means
Joe Millikan
Benny Parsons
Richard Petty
Baxter Price
Ricky Rudd
Ronnie Thomas
D.K. Ulrich
Darrell Waltrip
Frank Warren
Cale Yarborough
Part Time Drivers/Field Fillers (5 - 20 races)
Grant Adcox
H.B. Bailey
Chuck Bown
Bill Elliott
Roger Hamby
Bruce Hill
Al Holbert
Slick Johnson
Coo Coo Marlin
Dick May
David Pearson
Kyle Petty
Lennie Pond
Tighe Scott
Travis Tiller
Blackie Wangerin
1979 DAYTONA 500 SUMMARY:
NASCAR's big debut on CBS, the race ended up marred by cautions (largely due to the terrible conditions on the track thanks to a rainstorm) and was one of the slowest 500's up to that point. Pole sitter Buddy Baker came in a heavy favorite, but had to drop out due to engine problems. Early in the race as Yarborough and Donnie Allison jockeyed for position, Allison lost control of his car and spun with Yarborough into the swampy infield. Also collected in the accident was Donnie's brother Bobby. Somehow all three cars only sustained minor damage. The Allisons only went one lap down while Cale lost two laps. The frequent cautions that ensued aided their efforts to unlap themselves, Donnie and Cale both had very strong cars that were able to run with the leaders while Bobby could not. At the end of the race, Donnie Allison and Cale Yarborough were battling for the lead while Richard Petty was half a lap behind and Darrell Waltrip, another early favorite (who stated later that his engine was experiencing overheating issues and he was trying to just coax it to the finish line) was further back. In turn 4, Yarborough attempted a slingshot pass around Allison, who blocked him, which caused the two to begin wrecking. Both cars slid across the finish line and into the infield. The photo finish of the race revealed that Donnie Allison (who had led the most laps through the course of the race) had come across the finish line just ahead of Yarborough as they were wrecking. An angry Cale confronted Allison and the two began an argument that quickly escalated into a brawl for all the cameras to see that also included Donnie's brother Bobby who came over to separate the two. The Allisons and Yarborough were fined by NASCAR for the brawl. The fight turned into a PR victory for NASCAR though as the New York Times' sports section declared that NASCAR had arrived as a national sport and finally shed its regional roots.