1979 Daytona 500 from Daytona International Speedway | NASCAR Classic Full Race Replay

The race you are about to see appear as originally broadcast and may contain imagery that is offensive and doesn't align with NASCAR's values. NASCAR has since permanently banned the display of the confederate flag at all events.

[@turgid_member8717]

This was a great idea, NASCAR! Hopefully eventually the entire archive will get an official release.

[@D2RCR]

That call of the last lap crash and the fight still holds up today over 40 years later. Truly iconic.

[@m73m95]

Whoever dreams up the current rules for NASCAR should be watching these old races. I could watch these classic races all day...and I haven't watched a modern NASCAR race in years. If you want to find out where all your fans went, over the last few years...your answers are being posted on the "Classics" channel.

[@fishproductions22]

AND THERE'S A FIGHT

[@jaydenh922]

BETWEEN CALE YARBOROUGH AND DONNIE ALLISON!!!

[@naswii4360]

THE TEMPERS! OVERFLOWING!!

[@WalkerBulldog19]

​@@naswii4360THEY'RE ANGRY THEY KNOW THEY HAVE LOST

[@BradisFastYt]

AND WHAT BITTER DEFEAT

[@LouiseDenmar]

A couple of very hard man. Very hardly upset.

[@DrSamwpepper]

The greatest race in nascar history. The race that officially put nascar onnthe map. Only 1992 Atlanta has come close to topping this.

[@NASCARClassics]

Both are up there! 1998 Daytona also a huge moment!

[@RetroCarsForever]

THANK YOU NASCAR! This is awesome. Cant wait to see more classic races in such good quality.

[@BDeLuca4444]

I know we all think about the ending/fight, but can we just appreciate the talent in the field, Earnhardt and Gant as rookies, the Alabama Gang, Pearson, Petty, Waltrip, Baker, Foyt, BP, Yarborough, Bodine, Labonte.

[@SMELLGOODER]

AMAZING!!

[@met2539]

I want to thank you so much for all of these races you post. I grew up in the 80s so hearing the roar of the cars and my Dad yelling "he's got him! He's going on the inside!!! He's got him!" was just peaceful to me. I didn't get to watch the earlier races before mid 80s and these melt my heart with joy to watch! I obviously know why some of the tragedy races aren't posted. We were huge Earnhardt fans along with Allison and Kulwicki and Bonnet fans. I do however love to the following "memorial" races bc the outpouring of warmth and remembrance the guys made sure of is very heartwarming. I just really wanted to express my thanks for all of these. ❤

[@beeemm2578]

My dad was a huge racing fan, so I hear what you're explaining. Hearing him yelling and cheering....takes me back to when I was a kid. We went and watch dirt racing alot. It was awesome. So wish I could go back....

[@BrianIsTheGOAT594]

Thank you NASCAR for giving us a chance to see some of these awesome classic NASCAR races!

[@WildDiamond07]

This was the first 500-mile race to be broadcast live in full on national television. Ken Squier and his crew fought for their lives to make CBS accept the offer. They accepted. And they don't regret it at all. And to make it all better, the ratings skyrocketed, especially on the East Coast, where much of it was stuck indoors due to a snowstorm. And of course, who can't forget that crazy finish followed by the big damn fistfight?

[@WaltGekko]

Yep. The mentality back then was no one cared enough to watch a 500-mile race in its entirety. They were proven wrong. Of course, ESPN would debut in the fall of 1979 and give NASCAR an outlet to show races a lot of the time.

[@DanArnets1492]

It's so weird they went from ¿1972 Evergreen 200? to this with no middle steps. You'd think they would've tried first with some 400-mile race or even the 400-lap Bristol race, maybe have an annual live race...

[@Tobytony65]

Rip Ken squier one of his best moments 😢

[@QF_Dan72]

Richard Petty won the race..... ....AND THERE'S A FIGHT

[@stevorules1820]

I was born in 87 and watched NASCAR throughout the mid 90s to early 2000s. It's amazing to see some of the drivers I knew were still racing. They weren't exactly young either during this race. It's awesome to see some of them being rookies and 20-30 years later they were still racing. Every other sport athletes usually leave within 10 years.

[@m73m95]

Dave Marcus raced from 1968 until 2002- Unbelievable! And then, he was a test driver for IROC for a few years after that!

[@DanArnets1492]

Maybe it's because of the long-distance races but for decades NASCAR was a middle-aged kind of thing. You could be a hot young gun while being 30 😂 In Europe only rallying and endurance racing had such old folks up top. In rallying it made sense as you couldn't be in the car before you had a driver's license!

[@petercorzo3407]

Rest in peace to the greatest man who made this event super famous. I’m talking about Ken Squier. “And there’s a fight! Between Cale Yarbrough and Donnie Allison! The tempers! Overflowing. They’re angry they know they had lost. And what a bitter defeat.”

[@WildDiamond07]

David Hobbs: A couple of very hard men, very hardly upset. And Bobby Allison has stopped by his brother to help. There's Bobby Allison's car number 15. They're leading them away there. They're upset, very upset. It's difficult to tell from here but whatever happened shouldn't really have happened.

[@jaxonjaxoff3291]

Rest in peace Ken Squier

[@seanbonella]

The race that made NASCAR

[@DanArnets1492]

There had been better races (like the Rebel 500 Waltrip won by NOT being a gentleman going back to the flag) but they were either only partially broadcasted (usually the final hour) or shown in highlights form for a 10, 15, 30 or eveb 60-minute slot)

[@SMELLGOODER]

I was 7 years old in 79'! I watched this with my Uncle. I remember my Aunt saying "He doesn't need to be watching this, grown nen acting like savages all because of a little fender bender!" I sure do miss my Aunt and Uncle. RIP 🤍

[@DrSamwpepper]

34:05 to think the fight almost never happend...

[@MIke_Wazowski99]

Who knows what could have happened if donnies car didnt get back going

[@WildDiamond07]

Cale would've won the race, maybe.

[@TUBESWIMMINGCLUB]

Невероятно круто. Спасибо за этот выпуск.

[@SonicWilliamX]

The King!

[@DanArnets1492]

*WHAT HAPPENED BEFORE THE 1979 DAYTONA 500?* · Cale Yarborough was the 1978 NASCAR Cup series champion after scoring an average of over 160pts per race (that’s like finishing 4th for 30 races straight, absurdly good) · 1978 race winners David Pearson and Donnie Allison kept on just racing part-time · DURING THE WESTERN 500 at Riverside, Darrell Waltrip dominated the race, only allowing other drivers to lead laps when he stopped for fuel and tyres and during cautions. Brooks (33rd), Petty (32nd), Parsons (26th), Marcis (24th) and Bobby Allison (19th) all had to retire or at least undergo extensive repairs during the 500km race. Behind Waltrip, it was Pearson, Yarborough, Bill Schmitt and Donnie Allison for the top5 with Millikan, Baker, Thirkette, Williamson and Harry Gant completing the top10. · A MONTH LATER, Buddy Baker won the very first Clash. It was a 9-car 50-mile sprint with no cautions or pitstops with a mad average speed of almost 195mph. · Buddy Baker got the pole for the Daytona 500 going a bit above 196mph with Donnie Allison in 2nd out of almost 60 cars. Baker also dominated on his duel (that’s 3 out of 3 wins for those counting) while Darrell Waltrip did the same on the 2nd one.

[@jefferyrobertson7520]

1979 Daytona 500 At Daytona International Speedway In Daytona Beach Florida I Like 1976 Chevrolet Monte Carlo And Oldsmobile Cutlass S Iconic NASCAR Generation 2 In My Opinion NASCAR History Thanks For Uploading

[@bigdaddy3955]

even though we all knew who wins I had goose bumps watching the end!

[@markweston3345]

This is the most intense race I’ve ever seen

[@kylepiccoli4762]

Godspeed, Ken Squier ❤️❤️❤️

[@stephenthevhsdvdblu-raymed9346]

This is one of the best NASCAR Races of NASCAR History and the that had the infamous fist fight

[@DanArnets1492]

Skip to 23:50 for the real start of the Daytona 470 (yes, around 30 miles happened under caution because of the course not being dry enough)

[@evanwilliams6406]

Starting at 34:45 Cale and Donnie get involved in a wreck here when Bobby Allison tapped the back of his brother's car and Donnie got spun around in the grass and Cale spins trying to miss them.

[@70sport37]

Wasn’t to interested in nascar back then but now really digg everything about it !

[@luisy.gonzalez6469]

Great drive by Tighe Scott

[@tighescott691]

Thanks,TIGHE

[@dennis8445]

Dale pushed Neil up into the dirt on edge of the track. He was really good at wrecking his competition. He was a meme.

[@DanArnets1492]

Born in 1991 and I've never seen Dale Sr's appeal, terrible guy overall

[@gary24fan]

Those Oldsmobiles kicked ass as far as speed and looks.

[@WaltGekko]

This was also the first-ever race with an in-car camera, something that of course is heavily used now.

[@DanArnets1492]

Not the first one at all. A few years ago ABC put a camera during a Daytona race in some dentist's car (I don't remember the race or year but I for sure remember the insistence that the man had a nice job at home), they even added a mic and he talked on his own a few times

[@WaltGekko]

@@DanArnets1492 Never knew that. This was the first well-known instance of it.

[@jamesbrooke8237]

RIP Cale too! 12 31 2023!

[@grandnationalnetwork]

Why did y'all cut the first sixteen minutes of the broadcast? It was on the version you put on the website yesterday.

[@NASCARican22]

55:22 "Earnhardt not intimidated" the man who would become The Intimidator. NASCAR prophecy...

[@luisy.gonzalez6469]

RIP Cale Yarborough 🕊

[@steelmill]

The cars just looked so good back then.

[@DanArnets1492]

They looked a bit too pedestrian, I honestly prefer the early-90s ones, great mix of racecar and normal car

[@THROTTLEPOWER]

Enjoyed!!!! 👍🏁🏁👍

[@Lydia.LaMar0]

This was Allison's Daytona 500. Yarborough was loosing & couldn't bare to be passed. The film doesn't lie...

[@lordracer7743]

Nothing here was false or illegal. The try to overtake? totally legal, the block of donnie? totally legal. the wreck was only the consequense.

[@blpadge2]

RIP Cale Yarborough. If he gets sent to hell, we know he would scrap the Devil himself to win a place in heaven.

[@Backwoods_870]

This is what NASCAR was meant to be, instead of what it's become now.

[@johngavlick6479]

RIP Cale Yarborough

[@RacingGuy2448]

NASCAR is the greatest sport In history

[@briansenecal3071]

EPIC!

[@dsevil]

I just want to know what happened with car #50 (black flag at 1:27:58) and what the crossed flags at 1:45:20 was about.

[@AlfonsoPreciadoGonzalez-bv1xl]

I love NASCAR race cars from 1940---2000❤❤on my hotwheels race cars track by Mattel 😊😊😊

[@DanArnets1492]

Para mí los más bonitos son los que se parecen al coche de Daytona USA o al de GTA5, los de principios de los 90s

[@BallerRL-z4o]

3:02:06 and there’s a fight

[@RichardSmith-hi1zj]

Dale earhardt first start in the daytona 500

[@codym8897]

1979 1. Austin City Limits in its 4th season on PBS, Terry Lickona joins the show as the producer. 2. Charlie's Angels in its 4th season during the 1979-1980 season on ABC. The Movie Channel, ESPN, and Nickelodeon launched. 3. James Underwood Crockett died from cancer at the age of 63, and Crockett's Victory Garden became The Victory Garden; with Bob Thomson becoming the host. 👍

[@antoinettewoolf9541]

Garrett Woolf here and there a fight 3:02:05

[@markdos1538]

Le veo ahora 2023 y conociendo a los más famosos nombres de la carrera quería que ganara Richard Petty. Se terminaba todo con Donnie Allison 1ro. Hasta que...Petty!!! 😃 la suerte del campeón. 👍👍🇨🇱 I see him now 2023 and knowing the most famous names in the race I wanted Richard Petty to win. It all ended with Donnie Allison 1st. Until...Petty!!! 😃 the luck of the champion. 👍👍🇨🇱

[@DanArnets1492]

Petty venía de 1 suerte horrible, los Chryslers de los 70s eran penosos. No había ganado desde la Firecracker de 1977 (la carrera del 4 de Julio en Daytona). El Dodge Magnum era tan malo que después de la Firecracker de 1978 se pasó a General Motors en plena temporada.

[@markweston3345]

Seems so much more intense than today, are there cars going faster ?

[@DanArnets1492]

They're running unrestricted but slower than now (the cautionless Clash had an average of 195mph). The thing is that back then you had to coast into the turns and could even crash on your own in the turns!

[@jaydenh922]

3:02:06 is where the fight starts. You’re welcome.

[@pc88k]

1:03:03 😅😅

[@iybjs5308]

Dale Earnhardt is the rookie to watch!! If only we knew then

[@DanArnets1492]

He wasn't exactly a series rookie, just a "race rookie", this was easily his ¿15th? start or more

[@waynekaminski5438]

Yarborough was the instigator, ran right into Allison.

[@blackpagan100]

Allison clearly ran Cale onto the grass in an effort to stop him passing him. Cale only ran into him because of skidding on the grass!