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The Dale Jr. Download
Becoming Earnhardt 1980 Vol. 2 - Clash of the Iron Gladiators
00:27:36
With the scene set, it’s off to the races in 1980. The NASCAR Cup Series heads out to Riverside, California, to begin the season, and sophomore Dale Earnhardt is hoping to improve his road course performance. He will, in fact, finish runner-up to Darrell Waltrip, who, after a narrow loss in the 1979 points race, is regarded as a championship favorite for this year. Dale caps his successful West Coast trip off with a new season sponsor and a contract extension with Rod Osterlund, and he’s understandably feeling at the top of his game.
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Dale Earnhardt Jr.
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Plan your next adventure at a Bass Pro Shops near you or online@bass pro.com later in the episode, my sister Kelly shares her unique perspective on life with dad away from the racetrack. Now buckle up. Here's a brand new episode of Becoming Earnhardt presented by Bass Pro Shops. Man, I tell you, it just feels good to run to win here in front of the hometown crowd. I dreamed and thought about it for a long time and it's, you know, it's just great. I want to say a word to his mother. I'll put her on the spot. Martha, you gotta be proud of this boy. I can't talk. I'm so happy. Well, I can see that you are. You know, you've seen him come a long way in a short period of time here in two years. I sure have. It's hard to imagine dad as an up and comer. I think most of us remember him as the larger than life figure that he would become. The kind of guy who could change the feel of a room when he walked into it. What a driver Earnhardt has turned out to be in less than two years on the Winston cup tour. If there's ever been a tornado on the racetrack, these drivers describe Earnhardt as that. But at this point in our story, he's just a 30 year old stock car sophomore nipping at the heels of giants. He and Darrell Walker, two of the sensational youngsters to come on the scene in Wesley cup race. He'll be challenging the veterans like Petty and Baker, trying to make a name for himself in the big leagues before he finds himself back in Carolina racing the stream short tracks. We asked you yesterday if you had the experience to pull it off here today. Well, I remember what Kellen happened to Kel and Dunn last year in the 500 when Daryl started to shut me off on the inside, I just went to the outside and it paid off. On this episode of Becoming Earnhardt, dad looks to start the 1980 season off with a bang. Proving he belongs in the NASCAR cup garage for years to come. He makes some daring moves. He has all the confidence in the world and his own ability. He's just beside himself. He can't even get his safety equipment under hook. Can't believe it, Ned. It's something else. This team really worked hard, man. I just can't believe it. All right, it's time to start the 1980 season. Remember back then in 1980, the season didn't start in Daytona like it does now. The teams are going to drive all the way out to California to start the season at the famous race Riverside International Raceway in January. Now in the first episode I mentioned there was an interesting tie between the Reagan campaign and dad. And here is where all that comes into play. Mike Curb, who today is a very well known car owner in motorsports and record label executive, was at the time serving as the lieutenant governor of California. And in 1980 he also served as the co chairman on Ronald Reagan's presidential campaign. He was invited to serve as grand marshal at the Riverside event by Les Richter. Les Richter, the president of Riverside International Raceway. And Les, you have to be enjoying this one today. Either would represent our sport in a super way. And January of 80, Les Richter had been one of the co chairmen of my campaign where I was elected lieutenant governor. Here's Mike Curb explaining how it all went down. Bill Frantz and I want to talk to you. We want you to get involved with a car. I said, who do? What do you want? He said, dale Earnhardt. Dale wants to run the whole season and Osterlin is only committing a partial season at this point. Maybe he'll run the full. And we're wanting you to come in essentially as a sponsor. So starting the season at Riverside, Dad's car would carry Mike Curb Productions as a sponsor and it'd be on the car for most of the year. Dale Earnhardt, he's in the Mike Curb Hodgson Oldsmobile today. The race began on January 13, but it was stopped on lap 26 because of rain and wildly postponed a whole week later on January 19th. Gotta wonder what did the teams do during that week. I mean, obviously they probably all went back home. I wonder what they did with all their equipment. I guess maybe it stayed at the track. Well, rain has washed away the concluding laps of the Winston Western 500 here at Riverside International Raceway. An interesting tidbit of history here is that Osterlin Racing is going to field a car for the legendary Dan Gurney. Dan's been retired for 10 years. There's a really cool picture of dad and Dan chatting during the weekend. I'd love to know what they talked about. I think dad had a lot of respect for Dan and his history and success. And he was actually going to race all the way up to second place in, in that Austria car which was numbered 48 for this race. But he would retire with transmission problems on lap 79. Mechanical problems for Dan Gurney. That'll end his day. Now dad and Darrell Waltrip are gonna end up being the story here for this race. Strongest car in the field right now appears to be the Gatorade car of Waltrip. He is pulled away from Earnhardt, the second place machine by about 15 car lengths. First, Darrell Waltrip had a flat tire. Waltrip heading for pit road and he took a backdoor shortcut to get back to pit road. And this would result in a 30 second penalty from NASCAR. Now he'd eventually make up the lost time during a caution and resume the lead. Meanwhile, Dad's gonna charge from fifth and begin challenging Darrell. As the laps wind down, Bernhardt has really just suddenly run right up through the packs and run up to try to catch Darrell Waltrim. He ends up losing time when he goes off course into the dirt and has to settle for a runner up finish. Dale Earnhardt is off in the dirt. Earnhardt is off the track and slides through the dirt. But considering this is only the third time on a road course, this is a pretty impressive performance. And we aren't the only ones who noticed this improvement. So did his boss, Rod Oster. Why was Dale successful? Because he could run at every track there was. Right. And he had a natural talent for it. That's the voice of Doug Richard, who in this race is just a tire changer and a mechanic on dad's car. I really think he adapted more than most people. I don't think he saw it as a challenge. He just saw it as this is what I've got to do. You know, that's the only thing that can really explain it. So with the team's full time sponsorship locked up through Mike Curb and a strong start to the 1980 season, Rod Osterlin signs dad to a five year extension on his contract with a three year option. This will extend him through the 1986 season. At this time in NASCAR, long term contracts weren't really all that common. Darrell Waltrip with die guard was about the only other one in the garage. Driver deals had always been done on handshakes. Again, Deb Williams, if anybody has seen the movie Stroke or Ace, Burt Reynolds has this huge contract that he's going through from. I think it was Clyde Torkle. That's a spoof on the Darrell Waltrip Diegard contract. Dad was quoted as saying we're building a team and I think we'll reach 100% this year. When five years are up, we'll probably sign another five year contract. Another explosive rumor floated by the Greensboro Daily News in January of that year was that Junior Johnson and Bush Beer may have interest in dad taking over Kale Yarbrough's ride for the 1980 season. Earnhardt, who has really become an overnight sensation, so to speak, the fans have adopted him as the newest hero to come along in Winston cup race. Yeah, that was the most coveted ride at that particular time. You had the 11, you had the 43, the 21. Everybody respected Bud Moore too. That Bud Moore was a coveted ride as well. Here's a quote from that article. Perhaps the best compliment Earnhardt received was after the season when feelers were extended inquiring if he might be available to replace Cal Yarborough in the Junior Johnson car this year. Earnhardt wouldn't confirm the rumors that sprouted in early December that Johnson's sponsor Busch wanted him in the car. So the teams have returned from the season opener at Riverside and Dad has a brand new five year contract, a full season sponsorship and a runner up finish to his name. Now it's time to head to Daytona for speed weeks. Starting off with the second running of the Busch class. From Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida, this is MRN, the motor racing network with coverage of Daytona 500 pole position qualifying and the Busch Clash of 1980 brought to you by. Remember, at this time the clash was limited to pole winners of the previous year. Dad had picked up four poles in 1979 and he's going to start fifth in the race trailing some heavy hitters like Bobby Allison in the Hodgson Moore Mercury. Buddy Baker. Charlotte, North Carolina has the outside front row and that nap are Darrell Waltrip and Neil Bonnet, the die guard Gatorade Oldsmobile and the Purolator Mercury. That makes up the field for the Busch clash of 1980. But we're getting down to it. The Busch clash with 12 of the best Winston cup stock car drivers in the world, over a million dollars worth of equipment moving down the backside in just a moment, that safety car will dive onto pit road and we will be underway with probably the fastest race that has ever been run here at the Daytona International Speedway. On the front row, Bobby Allison and Buddy Baker. Darrell, Walter Peniel Bonnet back in row two. And here they come and they drop the green flag. Bobby Allison gets the jump. As there was a little mix up on the start, some of the drivers get caught back in the pack. And Allison sets sail down in turn number one. Darrell Walshup going fourth. Fifth is Dale Earnhardt, sixth, Cale Yarborough, Harry Ganta seventh. Going eighth is Joe Milligan, Benny Parsons, single file. They come out of that fourth corner and they are screaming as they come down to the start. Let's keep an eye on Dale Earnhardt. They have a real tight draft with Walter Earnhardt and Bonnet. Three cars have established a little bit of breathing room. They are Waltrip, Earnhardt and Bobby Allison. They have three car lengths on fourth place, Cale Yarborough. The white flag is waving their in turn one on the final lap. Earnhardt trying to draw in for the lead as they head to three. They have turned to Wick up and here comes Earnhardt. He is flying. He has gone past Waldorf on the outside wall. While they shuffle those positions around back there for second spot. Here comes the rookie driver during the last lap off a turn two and down the back stretch, dad would lead a four freight train in the outside line around Darrell Waltrip to pick up the win. Dale could do anything with a car, but he would do things sometimes that would absolutely make you, you know, tick you off. What the hell were you thinking? What the hell were you thinking? Tick you off? That little grin, you know, that he always had, he said, well, you know, guy was in my way. Earnhardt will win the Busch Clash. Earnhardt has won the Busch Clash of 1980, collecting some $50,000. Let's go back down to victory Lane and Ned Jarrett. They're still unhooking the safety paraphernalia on this beautiful yellow blue Osmobile. That Dale Earnhardt, he is so happy, Mike Joy, that he's just beside himself. He can't even get his safety equipment unhooked. Dad said in victory Lane, they say I'm inexperienced, but I got some experience racing. These guys last year. They would not only talk to me, but I'd learn from them while we were on the track. Well, Dale Earnhardt, congratulations on a super run there. And what a run it was. Can't believe it, Ned. It's something else. This team really worked hard Come down here and man, I just can't believe it. Well, we asked you yesterday if you had the experience to pull it off here today and you seem to have a lot of confidence. I remember what kill and happened to killing Donnie last year in the 500 when Darrell started to shut me off on the inside, I just went to the outside and it paid off. This would be dad's first of six Busch clash wins in his career. Now next up would be the two twin qualifying races that are gonna set the starting lineup for that year's Daytona 500. Boy, these iron gladiators battle these 37 PIH 100 pound iron horses as they come off the number four corner. Earnhardt goes downstairs, Bonnet tucks in on him. Baker goes high and tucking into the draft. Behind Baker is Yarbrough. Dad is gonna be in the first twin race and he started third and was running pretty well before blowing an engine. On lap seven, Dale Earnhardt down the back straightaway just exploding an engine as he works his way off the corner. Number two, your leaders are now in turn four. The smoke trail trailing from Earnhardt's machine. What a tough break for him as he heads down the back stretch. Here, the rookie driver from last year, the 1979 Rookie of the Year. Earnhardt takes his car back to the garage area. The Osterlin Oldsmobile. He's going to finish 31st, and that engine failure in the twin 125s will have him starting deep in the Daytona 500 in 32nd spot. Don't go anywhere. There's more becoming Earnhardt. Presented by Bass Pro Shops coming up. But first, check out what my sister Kelly has to share about our dad's love for the great outdoors. My dad picked up his love of the outdoors, I think, from my Papa Ralph. I think just because my dad hunted so often that it, you know, it was something that I wanted to try and do. I mean, literally any opportunity that my dad got away from the racetrack in seasons that of hunting, he was hunting. So he would be gone weeks at a time. You know, he would go hunting during the week, hit the racetrack. Wasn't anything for him to hunt the next week, you know, and hit the racetrack. But that's the thing about hunting is like the seasons are short, so you got to get it in there. And my dad did a lot of trips, you know, to New Mexico and Texas and fair amount of far off places. It just was always something that we knew was available and, and, and he had such a love for it that I think it made Me want to. Want to do it too, you know, and make me find out more about it and find out why he loved it so much. A lot of the times that dad and I spent outdoors would be kind of on the farm. When I was a little bit older, kind of in my teens and twenties, we really looked for any opportunity that we could spend time with our dad. And because he enjoyed being out on the farm so much, we would do anything to kind of get on the farm with him. So a lot of that was like bailing hay in the spring and in the fall, or, you know, doing something at the barn when they were moving animals or cows or something like that, or riding the property, checking property lines, checking fence lines, things like that. So, you know, that was special time in the truck, just the two of us. On many occasions where, you know, you're just checking on the farm and doing different things. Out in the farm like that, you could be camping, you could be hiking, but if those places don't exist, then we have nowhere to do that. So, you know, I think if you're an outdoorsman, you're a conservationist. I know my dad bought up lots of land here in Iredell county and, you know, wasn't a fan of developing land and things like that. He wanted to keep and create places, you know, so that you could have wildlife and all of those kinds of things that you do outdoors. So he was very, very big into that and did a lot of different things with people in that arena, like Johnny from Bass Pro and Richard Childress and people like that. The Earnhardt family has always relied on Bass Pro shops for our outdoor adventures, and that tradition continues with me today. I grew up shopping there, and now it's a place I love sharing with my own family, gearing up together for everything from weekend getaways to fishing in the pond. I'm also incredibly grateful for the support Johnny Morris and the entire Bass Pro team have shown across our business ventures, from the race team to DirtyMomedia. They believe in what we're building, and they've stood behind us every step of the way. 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And Bobby Allison chased his first 500 win for almost 20 years before he did it. 30 second starter, a driver who blew his engine while running the Thursday qualifying race that's why he's so far, far back in the field. Dale Earnhardt, some guys out there that's rookies, but it won't be too bad coming from back there. If I can just get up there for, you know, a couple of them, get away from the pack or so. What? In the Daytona 500, dad wasted no time charging to the front. And he appeared to be the only car that had anything. For Buddy Baker, who's driving that famous gray ghost, that was just one thing. You knew that you were gonna have to outrun him. And Carter drops that green flag, and the field is away at the 22nd annual Daytona 500. 195 miles per hour. Baker stands on the hammer as they come off turn four and head to the tower. Folks, we have smoke on Dale Waltrip's card. Waltrip has definitely got severe problems. Inches apart, 190 miles an hour. Keep an eye on day alert heart. Buddy Baker now has command of an Atona 500. He's definitely doing everything he can to keep Dale Earnhardt at bay. Buddy Baker has run away from everyone but Dale Earnhardt. Jake, are you giving him any instructions now in the closing stages? Oh, not right now. We won't make those moves until about the last pit stop. Bad luck's gonna strike. On the last pit stop of the race. The Oscillin team leads a lug nut off a wheel. NASCAR forces them to bring dad back to pit road to correct it. This is going to be a dramatic stop. Baker is already away after six seconds. Dale Earnhardt ran about 25 seconds on pit road. The crew Osterlin crew swarms over Earnhardt's car. This time they're jacking up the left side. They continue to fill the car up. This costly missed lug nut will be the first of many reminders of the Osterlin team's youth and inexperience. You know, in 1980, there were only two crew members on the Osterlin team who were over the age of 32. You know, they had a lot of people on that team that you'd never heard of before, other than Suitcase Jake. You know, with that young team, it was like a hit or miss thing. While they had the experience of Jake Elder at crew chief to work with, many of these crew members were still learning to perform under the pressure of the Cup Series. They might make it this time, they might not make it the next time. They might mess up on a pit stop. They might not. And there just wasn't the consistency there because of their youth had that last pit stop not gone wrong, it might have been interesting to see if dad had anything for the Gray Ghost and Buddy Baker that day. I think the answer to that scenario might come later in the season in Talladega. Here comes Earnhardt, down to the bottom of the racetrack now. Back to the race. May well be problems in Buddy Baker's pit. Now they're worrying about whether they gave him enough gas or not. When it come down, we needed one can of gas. I knew Buddy had zero patience. Here is the great Waddell Wilson, who was Buddy Baker's crew chief and the man behind what I believe was the greatest race car ever built, the Gray Ghost. He had been told me, he said, I've been trying to win this race for 19 years, and I haven't won it yet. Well, after last year's wall banking finish, today we've got a real cliffhanging finish. Buddy Baker is in the lead, but does he have enough fuel to go the distance? I put my arm in the windshield and get a hold of the top of his uniform, like I'm gonna hold him, and hopefully he'll listen and not go. Got a real battle going on also for that number four and five position between Dale Earnhardt and Terry Loboti. The pit road miscue is gonna trap Dad a lap down, and he's gonna have to settle for a fourth place finish. Buddy Baker would cruise home to victory in one of the most dominating performances in Daytona 500 history. Ideas going through his mind. Every little sound in the car sounds like a giant, giant problem because he sees the hear the train a comin' he's coming around the bend. Here comes Waddell Wilson. He's passing us again. Caution is on the speedway. With two laps to go, ladies and gentlemen, Buddy Baker has to be choked with emotion after 20 years of trying to capture the Daytona 500 checkered flag for Buddy Baker as he comes across. This win is going to be the crown jewel of Buddy Baker's career. It was his 18th attempt at the Great American race, and he had lost a few due to misfortune over the years. Take, for example, the previous year in 1979, when the gray Ghost made its debut. They dominated speed weeks, outclassing every car in the field. We just noticed something on Buddy Baker's car. His windshield is completely covered in mud. The car is sounding very sour, and apparently it is a lost cylinder in that car. Buddy's gonna pull the Gray Ghost onto pit road on lap 38 with engine failure. There are two crews just jumping up and down on pit road one is, of course, the Waddell Wilson crew for Buddy Baker, and they are holding aloft the other gas can, the one they did not get a chance to put in the car. Marty. I don't know how he could see out the windshield. There's about 30 people all climbed up on top of Harry Rainier's Oldsmobile. The chance to win the 500 so early in Dad's career had him feeling pretty discouraged after the race. And while this ended Buddy's streak of misfortunes, it's going to begin Dad's many years of hardship in the Daytona 500. The length of time that it took each one of them to win. The frustrations, the expectations. It was one where they'd almost get it in their grasp, and then suddenly it would fall out. It seems like the more they tried, the further the quest became. How can you go down and be so successful in the clash in the 125s and if you ran the Busch series race on Saturday and then things fall apart on Sunday in the Daytona 500. Dad said after the race, everybody said Buddy was too fast, but I wanted a chance to try him. He was fast, but so was I. So dad is starting the year off with a lot of speed, but inexperience is keeping him from Victory Lane. Earnhardt almost lost it. Earnhardt coming into the pits. Dale was in an awful big hurry to go. He took off before the jack fell. This is a storyline we are going to revisit several times throughout the season. The Osterlin team's inexperience, the pressure of a new contract extension, and mounting media attention. They went around with the right front, but they never did put it on the Doug Reichert crew. Down there, you screw up, drop the jack wrong, do something wrong on a wheel, whatever, and it's all over. And you can bet if he has the horses, he'll go after the lead in a moment. The road back to Victory Lane is going to be anything but easy. You either have it or you don't. Oh, here comes Earnhardt down to the bottom of the racetrack as they come across the line. He's there. Becoming Ironheart is a dirty Mo Media original podcast series. It is written and produced by me, Dylan Hart Jr. With Bobby Marcos and Colby Bass. Sound design by Alex Timms. Production assistants Tiff Powers, Mike Davis, Micah Caldwell and Evan Vecchia. This project is in partnership with mrn, the Motor Racing Network, and the Appalachian State University stock car Collection. Special thanks to SiriusXM Silver Tribe Media, NASCAR man and Bob Ellis. For additional Dirty Mo Media content, visit our YouTube page and follow us on all major social media platforms. Thank you to Johnny Morris and Bass Pro Shops for bringing us another episode of Becoming Earned Hart. They are such a great friend and supporter of everything we do, so remember to gear up for all your adventures at Bass Pro Shops, North America's premier outdoor and conservation company. 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