Here’s the dichotomy NASCAR faces as it stages the 51st running of its marquee race—the Daytona 500—today.
Given the economy and its accompanying doldrums, the sport could surely use another ending like the one that occurred 30 years ago. It was the famous, or infamous, 1979 race that concluded with the fistfight between the Allison brothers—Bobby and Donnie—and Cale Yarborough. And it etched NASCAR into the national consciousness, setting the stage for its meteoric rise from a regional sport to a national phenomenon.
Asked a week after the race if he would fine the Allisons and Yarborough, France replied: “Fines? Hell, I should be giving those boys a bonus.”
NASCAR did indeed fine the trio $6,000 apiece.
That certainly would be the case today, as well. Such antics would be seriously frowned upon and would certainly result in fines, point penalties and perhaps more.
“You can’t go beating people up, though, if there’s a wreck, you know . . . You can’t fight, that used to be cool but I don’t guess it is anymore, or it’s not, I know it’s not,” said two-time 500 champion Michael Waltrip.
“So maybe a little wrestling, who knows?”
The Fight
What: The tussle following the 1979 Daytona 500
When: Feb. 18, 1979
Where: Third turn, Daytona International Speedway
Who: Bobby Allison, Donnie Allison and Cale Yarborough
Why: Yarborough and Donnie Allison wrecked each other on final lap and a confrontation followed. Bobby Allison jumped in on cool down lap to defend his brother.
Fight winner: Subject to debate 30 years later
Race winner: Richard Petty, who was running fourth when Allison and Yarborough wrecked.
Historical significance: The 1979 Daytona 500 was the first 500-mile race to be broadcast live on national television, airing on CBS, whose audience was increased in much of the East and Midwest due to a blizzard. The fight brought national attention to what had been up until that day a regional sport. The rest, they say, is history.
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