NASCAR Then and Now - Ben White [1]
The Great American Race, c. 1972: Bobby Isaac (No. 71 Dodge) leads the field to the green flag to start the Daytona 500. Eventual winner A. J. Foyt (No. 21 Mercury) is in second, followed by Coo Coo Martin (No. 14 Chevrolet), Bobby Allison (No. 12 Chevrolet), Richard Brown (No. 91 Chevrolet), Charlie Glotzbach (No. 6 Dodge), Frank Warren (No. 79 Dodge), Jim Vandiver (No. 31 Dodge), Jim Hurtubise (No. 56 Chevrolet), Mark Donohue (No. 16 AMC Matador), Cecil Gordon (No. 24 Mercury), Dave Marcis (No. 2 Dodge), and Vic Elford (No. 23 Plymouth).
A surprise snowstorm in February 1979 trapped people in their homes up and down the Eastern seaboard, holding them captive while CBS broadcast its first live flag-to-flag Daytona 500. In the end, the storyline couldn’t have been more interesting: While Richard Petty, NASCAR’s biggest star, won his sixth of seven career Daytona 500s, race leaders Donnie Allison and Yarborough crashed out of the lead on the final lap. When Bobby Allison came by to offer brother Donnie a ride to the garage, words were exchanged between Yarborough and the Allisons, which led to a sensational fistfight—all broadcast on national television. Talk of the exciting finish lasted for weeks.
In September 1985, RJR created a media buzz through a novel and lucrative incentive program: The company offered a $1 million bonus to any driver who won three of the Winston Cup’s big four races—the Daytona 500, Winston 500 (at Talladega Superspeedway), World 600 (at Charlotte Motor Speedway), or Southern 500 (at Darlington)—in the same season. This was a tall order, given NASCAR’s tight competition, but Georgian Bill Elliott was up to the challenge, scoring wins at Daytona, Talladega, and Darlington that year. Elliott’s incredible feat demanded the attention of many sports editors who could not have cared less about stock cars before.
By this time, drivers such as Dale Earnhardt, Ricky Rudd, Tim Richmond, and Rusty Wallace were making their way into the sport’s record books, besting the veterans at their own game every chance they got. Their achievements and colorful personalities contributed to NASCAR’s overwhelming popularity in the 1990s, which in turn brought a flood of corporate sponsors to the race teams. The result was a level of equal footing never before seen in the sport’s history. New stars, such as Jeff Gordon, Ernie Irvan, Mark Martin, Jeff Burton, and Sterling Marlin carried the wave of popularity further. Television coverage moved from cable-based outlets to national networks.
The loss of Dale Earnhardt was all the more tragic to NASCAR fans because they felt like they knew the Earnhardt family. Here Dale Sr. celebrates in Victory Lane at Darlington in 1989. On his left (head turned away from the camera) is Earnhardt’s third wife, Theresa. His daughter Kelley is standing in front of him, holding her younger sister, Taylor. At right is 15-year-old Dale Jr.
The tragic death of Earnhardt on the last lap of the 2001 Daytona 500 brought NASCAR to the media forefront around the world. Since then, Earnhardt’s son, Dale Jr., has become the sport’s most popular figure, a household name not only in North America but around the world. Every week, he competes against a field that features the best drivers America has to offer, including Gordon, Martin, Burton, four-time champion Jimmie Johnson, 2004 champion Kurt Busch and his ultra-talented brother Kyle, and many other superstars. NASCAR races are held in state-of-the-art facilities around the country with seating for tens of thousands of spectators, and every race is broadcast into millions of homes around North America.
What Bill France envisioned for stock car racing more than 60 years ago has far surpassed even his greatest expectations.
The rivalry between veteran Dale Earnhardt (No. 3 Chevrolet) and up-and-coming young gun Jeff Gordon (No. 24 Chevrolet)