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Becoming Earnhardt Vol. 8 - The Race To The Finish
00:39:05
After 27 grueling weeks, it comes down to the final four races. Somehow, after all the roster changes, crashes, fights and calamity, there are two tight points races to be decided. As the NASCAR Cup contingent prepares for the last stretch, the season points championship and the Rookie of the Year battles have never been closer. Dale Earnhardt surely had the rookie crown locked up after his stunning victory at Bristol in April, but the trusty DeWitt team and their unproven chauffeur Joe Millikan have kept him in sight. After Dale’s disastrous crash and time on the sideline, Millikan took full advantage and strung together a series of top-10 finishes to take over the top spot in the standings.
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Struggling to see up close. Make it visible with viz. VIZ is a once daily prescription eye drop to treat blurry near vision for up to 10 hours. The most common side effects that may be experienced while using VIZ include eye irritation, temporary dim or dark vision, headaches and eye redness. Talk to an eye doctor to learn if VIZ is right for you. Learn more@viz.com the College Football Playoff is.
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Every toughness, roles, sacrifices.
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Everything you got all day to day. The attention to detail is like none other. Be physical. Keep playing. We are the winners.
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Tulane takes on Ole Miss, followed by.
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James Madison in Oregon. It's time to bring it first round.
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Coverage of the College Football Playoffs presented by allstate today at 3:30 Eastern on TNT and HBO.
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Max, are you ready?
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Let's go.
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The following is a production of Dirty Mo Media. In a year that has seen upset victories, driver swaps and, in my dad's case, painful injury, it's all come down to four races to decide two cup crowns the overall points champion and the Rookie of the Year. The latter of the two was all but a lock during the first half of the year. Dad had won at Bristol and had epic battles with the best, but his time away to heal from a vicious Pocono crash has given Joe Milliken the chance to get back into the conversation. Joe chipped away at Dad's lead with quiet consistency, efficiency and strong performances in the second half of the schedule. Meanwhile, a massive points lead by Darrell Waltrip in the overall championship vanished with four races to go. His lead over Richard Petty was just 53 points and the Petty Enterprise's crew was firing on all cylinders. King Richard had his eyes fixated on an unprecedented seventh cup championship crown. I'm Dalenhardt Jr. And on this episode of Becoming Earnhardt, we conclude the dramatic 1979 NASCAR cup season. We travel to North Wilkesboro, Rockingham, Atlanta and Ontario. And when the dust settles in Southern California, we will have crowned two new NASCAR champions representing the present and the future of stock car racing. This episode of Becoming Earnhardt is presented by Chevron. To keep up with all of Team Chevy's winning racing programs in NASCAR, IndyCar, NHRA and IMSA. Visit Chevrolet.com Motorsports or follow Team Chevy on all social media platforms. Coming up later, we'll talk more about Chevrolet, but for now, let's get on with Volume eight of Becoming Earnhardt.
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Good afternoon, sports fans, and a beautiful afternoon it is. And greetings from Wilkes Kennedy, North Carolina. I'm Dick Jones of the Universal Racing Network team at North Wilkes Cross Speedway. And we're here to bring you The Holley Farms 400, the 28th event of this exciting major league stock car racing season, which is now in the crucial late stages of a very close championship battle.
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All right, welcome back to becoming Earnhardt. Episode 8. And we just got done racing at Charlotte. And now we're going to race number 28 on the season. Just four races remaining in the year, and it's The Holley Farms 400 at North Wilkesboro. Now, this race weekend was rain delayed from September 30, and it's going to happen on October 14. But before the rains actually flooded the property's parking lots back in September, teams did complete qualifying sessions.
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And of course, the young man on pole position for the big one, The Holley Farms 400. A new track record. Dale Earnhardt, Kannapolis, North Carolina. The Austrian Chevrolet at 112.783 miles per hour.
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And that sees dad win his fourth pole of the season. Man, he is a rocket in qualifying here. Late in the year, a new coat of asphalt on the short oval helped dad turn the first lap in the track's history under 20 seconds. Obviously, with a new track record, dad was in rare form with the media. Let me tell you something. If it was like politics or making peace, then Jake Elder wouldn't be worth a damn. But when it comes to racing things like springs and gears and how to get into and out of the corners, he can say it all in just a few sentences. Relatively, he can tell you more in a minute than a politician can in an hour. Darrell Waltrip and his crew are going to show up again with that Caprice named Dolly after hit, had shown solid speed in Martinsville weeks ago. He's going to qualify third. Richard Petty, who's battling Waltrip tooth and nail for the championship, struggled to an 11th place qualifying effort. Things are looking promising for Waltrip to possibly extend his points lead with a solid race here in North Wilsboro. In a strange set of circumstances, a Chevrolet that was entered with driver and short track legend Butch Lindley crashed during practice with driver Dean Combs at the wheel. Lindley himself was unavailable for practice due to a commitment to a race. That same day at another track, David Pearson was actually scheduled to practice the car for Lindley, but Pearson was delayed by storms. Pearson was actually sitting in his streetcar at the infield gate waiting to be let in the track when Combs, with a stuck throttle, crashes Lindley's car right in front of Pearson. Man, that must have been something.
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And the green is Out. And Dale Earnhardt goes down to the inside, takes the lead going into turn one. Bobby Allison on the outside. Darrell Waltrip comes in.
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As we get to the race, we're gonna drop the green flag, and Dad's gonna lead the first 12 laps before being passed by Darrell Waltrip driving old Dolly. Dad's never gonna lead again. For the remainder of the event, Darrell Waltrip and Bobby Allison take command of the race for the next 250 laps. Bobby was really strong, but DW was able to keep him close. And the two hard chargers had a lively exchange on lap 308, which began when Waltrip tapped Allison in turn three and caused them both to get sideways. Waltrip's going to complete the pass, but Allison returns the favor down the front straightaway, giving Darrell a bump, and sends Waltrip right into the wall.
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Bobby Allison shoots the deuce to it. And look out here now. Waltrip tangle to come in the number four. They use one down. Waltrip is the wall. He smacks the wall and slides at it sideways. And Bobby Allison holds over and hides it more forward and keeps it under him. And he is going to come around to the start finish line. Darrell Waldroup hits the wall right on the front stretch, puts it against the wall, bounces it off, pins it against the wall and slides down backwards, coming to rest in the start of turn one.
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The crash causes Waltrip to pit for repairs, and he's going to return to the race 20 laps down.
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Bobby looking for the passing room. He wants to get around there and do battle with Benny Parsons, but he is having his problem.
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Dick.
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They're giving the passing flag to Darrell Waltrip. He is moving out a little as Bobby tries to get by, and they're giving him the passing flag. And they're talking. NASCAR officials are talking. Bobby Allenson now back on the back bumper of Darrell Waltrip. And he'll try to move around him on the outside, giving the passing flag out.
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During the next caution period, Waltrip attempted to position himself between leader Benny Parsons and Bobby Allison, who was running second at the time. But he gets black flag by official Pete Dunbar, instructing him to stay out of the battle for the lead.
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And NASCAR has an official down in the Darrell Walter pits talking to his crew chief. And I think they're probably telling him, you better tell your boy on the radio to move over and quit blocking that far. Well, they just walk down and the flagman has the black flag in his hand.
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After the black flag, Waltrip will return to the track. And as leader Parsons Laps him. He's going to position his car in front of Allison's again, this time attracting the ire of NASCAR competition director Bill Gazaway.
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Back at North Wilkes Brawl. The green is not going to come out. They're going to hold them. They're going to hold them. And NASCAR director Bill Gazaway is pointing to number 88, Darrell Waltrip and saying, you get down on the bottom of the racetrack, he's gonna hold the race up. Dick, apparently they're going to do more than just make Darrell Waltrip move down on the track. They are telling the flagman to give him the black flag and make him come to the pits for a little consultation.
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He's gonna walk down to the track surface and Bill Gasaway is gonna personally black flag Walter. He's brought in for a two lap discussion and eventually allowed to return to the race to finish 13th. Gazaway would explain, for a driver who is 24 laps down, Waltrip is not giving the leaders any racing room. One of these days he will be the one in the same position and will expect the same considerations. We cannot tolerate that style of driving all year long.
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We fixed our car and got it back in the race. Didn't matter where it was or what was wrong with it. If it was wrecked, we fixed it where I could drive it. If it blew up, we put another engine in it. That's the name of the game. I think NASCAR was a little bit out of line by black flagging us. The two times they did. I was observing the layover flag. I was running in the lower half of the racetrack. I was leaving the outside lane for the faster cars. And they, you know, they were trying to analyze me. They were, they were like a bunch of psychiatrists up there trying to figure out what I was thinking. And that's not their job. Their job is to run the race, to do what they think is right. And the same way with me on the racetrack.
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Waltrip's comments were, bobby intentionally wrecked me and I won't forget that. I can't believe he'd do something like that, knowing the points race I'm in. Why in the hell would he do this? Allison insisted his innocence, saying that it started when he hit me three times trying to pass me. He has to learn that when you want to pass somebody, you go around them, not through them. I passed a lot of cars during the race, but I had no trouble with anybody except for Waltrip. Waltrip counters, this cost me the race, maybe the points championship and a good.
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Friend going into turn three, Bobby Dives down low on the inside. He's up touching the back bumper of Benny Parsons. He's there coming in. Benny closes the door, crosses the start finish line and your winner of the Holley Barnes 400, Benny Parsons of Elleby, North Carolina in the MC Anderson Chevrolet, Bobby Allison finished second.
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Benny Parsons will go on to lead the final 92 laps and he's going to beat Bobby Allison by less than a car length to win the fall race at North Wilkesboro. It would be car owner MC Anderson's first Cup victory and Parsons first win of the season. This win also put the new team on the Winner's Circle program. We talked about how that was really helpful to any new team like Dads in Bristol earlier in the season. And this win and being on the winner's Circle program is credited with keeping the team on the full schedule for the following 1980 season. Had they gone winless in 1979, they were planning to scale back to 20 races the following year. In 1980 and Dick.
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The finish position of Darrell Waltrip is not figured exactly, but it was down around 50 NASCAR scoring things and that was going to make it very close. Possibly just a few points difference one way or another as to who is leading the grand national standings.
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When all the dust settles, Richard Petty is going to finish third and now he's going to move within 17 points of Darrell Walter for the championship. And when asked his opinion about the confrontation between Darrell Waltrip and Bobby Allison in the race, Richard Petty replied, I'm here to race, not be a referee. But if those guys want to get into it, let them. Dad's going to go ahead and finish a solid fourth place at Wilkesboro. And Ricky Rudd's going to round out the top five. Before we head to the next race, let's take a quick break to hear from our sponsors. Hey everybody, Dale Jr. Here. Let's take a minute to talk about Chevrolet. As you know, the Earnhardt family is a Chevy family. I own a Chevrolet dealership that I'm very proud of and there's sure to be a Chevy dealership near you. So do me a favor. Before you buy your next new or pre owned vehicle, check out Chevrolet's lineup of durable, innovative, award winning, performance focused models. You'll be glad you did and we'd be honored to have you in the team Chevy family. One great option you should check out is Chevy's factory lifted trucks. These lifted trucks help you tackle the trails. The first ever Silverado ZR2 Bison offers the extreme performance and capability you need to make easy work out of the most difficult terrain. Featuring a 13 inch touchscreen display, the versatile multiflex tailgate, 33 inch mud terrain tires and Multimatic DSSV dampers, this truck allows you to stay connected while taking adventure to a whole new level. Dare to be different with the first ever Silverado ZR2 Bison Chevy. Find new roads struggling to see up close.
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Make it visible with viz. VIZ is a once daily prescription eye drop to treat blurry near vision for up to 10 hours. The most common side effects that may be experienced while using VIZ include eye irritation, temporary dim or dark vision, headaches, eye redness. Talk to an eye doctor to learn if VIS is right for you. Learn more@viz.com Fall weather changes fast, hot, cold, wet and windy. Sometimes all in one shift. True work is performance workwear built like it matters because it does. Founded by a trade professional who is tired of wet, heavy gear weighing him down, truewerk set out to make workwear that keeps pros comfortable, capable and ready for whatever the day throws at them. Their pieces are designed with advanced performance fabrics for lasting comfort, all day mobility and year round job site protection like their M3Wobi hoodie which is designed to be wind resistant, insulated and crazy comfortable. What I love about the M3 Wobby hoodie is how versatile it is. You can wear it on the job site to keep you warm. It's also the perfect jacket to travel with in the wintertime. When it's cold, it doesn't take up a lot of space. Throw it in your suitcase and off you go. When you get to your destination, it's cold, throw it on and you're now warm. Their T2 work pants are also amazing. Right now it's cold out, but you still have to do some things out in the yard. Maybe get the Christmas lights up. These are the perfect pants to be wearing out there to get the job done. Upgrade your day with workwear built like it matters. Get 15% off your first order at truework.com with code dalejr. That's T R U E W E-R-K.com right now there's a talented person out there who could take your company to the next level. Do you want to hope they see your job post before your competitors or do you want to match with them with indeed sponsored jobs?
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Yeah, Travis, Hiring indeed is all you need. Join the 3.3 million employers worldwide that use indeed to connect with quality talent that fits their needs. Sponsor jobs Boost your posts for quality candidates so you can reach the exact people you want faster.
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Indeed.comdalejr Terms and conditions apply. Hiring do it the right way with indeed.
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Greetings sports fans and from Rockingham, North Carolina, welcome to Universal Racing Network's broadcast of the American 500 stock car race at North Carolina Motor Speedway.
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The next race on the schedule is race 29, and it's the American 500 at Rockingham. One interesting thing about a car that entered that race, it's driven by Larry Pearson. That's David Pearson's oldest son. He's going to attempt to qualify for his very first grand national event in a car owned by Junie Donlevy. But he crashed in practice. His father, David, had just got done chewing his butt about trying too hard. During his first laps around the track. Larry didn't heed the warning and he hits the turn two wall in his second time out, causing serious damage to the car. Late Saturday night before the race, a fan snuck into the banking of the speedway, high up in the turns and spray painted. Cale and Dale are still hail. I guess it rhymes. So that's good.
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Buddy Baker of Charlotte, North Carolina is on the pole in the Win Chevrolet. His speed was 141.3.
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Baker won the pole for the race, extending his lead in the Bush Poll Award standings to a total of six. Dad's gonna qualify 10th.
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But the story everybody wants to talk about, and we mentioned it earlier on the broadcast, and Gail said he's gonna write up a note card, put an explanation hanging around his neck. And he said that way he won't have to answer the question, why no pole position victory so far for his car this year. And we asked Gail, you know, could he believe that he had not won one at all? Well, it's been, it's been pretty tough. You know, it's hard to believe that we won more polls than anybody else did last year and can't win one this year. But you know, it just happens that way. I guess we've been trying just as hard, just things just haven't happened. But we still got two more shots at it and we gonna give it our best effort to win one of those poles for that bushclash In Daytona when I hear you brought a special qualifying engine and a practice engine and a race engine. But what happened? Well, the qualifying engine ran one lap and blew up. So we had to put our race engine in to qualify with. And we didn't get an opportunity to scuff our tires in to qualify on. So we had to qualify on old tires. And you know, it's just been that kind of year all year long. So I'll just be glad when this one's over and we start a brand new and I think it'll be a whole lot better.
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Carol Yarborough, who still has not won a Busch pole award all season, came with a special hand grenade engine that was built to haul ass for at least one lap. Well, yeah, it did. The motor exploded in practice. Cale's team would have to stuff a practice motor in the car for qualifying and only manage a 9th place starting position.
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They're waiting. The flagman giving the hold, hold. Mr. Warner Hodgson, the honorary starter, waves the green and they're off and running in Moneymaker then on the inside. Moneymaker cuts down single file lead. Finney Park.
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Neil Bonnet's gonna lead early in this race from his fourth place starting position once the race gets underway.
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Quite a battle going on the racetrack between Richard Petty and Darrell Walter. The men battling for the point championship. They are going at it on the track. We've had reports Darrell Waltrip, car number 88, is smoking. Darrell Waltrip is being black flagged because of his smoking car. Officials have determined that it's putting some oil on the track. He just got the black flag.
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Championship hopeful Darrell Waltrip is going to split an oil pan which is going to put him eight laps down after repairs. More trouble for Darrell and the die guard team in the championship battle. Neil Bonnett's actually going to spin out from a blown engine on lap 238 and he's knocked unconscious by the impact with the retaining wall. He had a short visit to the infield care center before being released.
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A chance to fight our ninth caution flag of the day. Bobby Allison, Ricky Rudd get together going into turn one. Hill Overton is in front of you.
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Bobby Allison and Ricky Rudd have a horrendous crash. This starts when the two cars get locked up in the third turn. They crash into the wall and Allison's car erupted into flames. Allison was reportedly undoing his seatbelts as he slid down the banking trying to escape the fire. Rudd would get out and collapse on the track and Allison raced to his aid. Both drivers would be uninjured but badly shaken. Richard Petty and Benny Parsons would begin an entertaining battle during the final 25 miles. And Richard Petty's gonna lead the final nine laps to win at Rockingham, just a tenth of a second ahead of Parsons. Another great run for Benny. Cale Yarborough was close in third place. Donny Allison and Dad will round out the top five. Dad never led at any point in the race and he was actually four laps behind the winner. He suffered a bit of damage to the nose of his car avoiding one of the 12 cautions. Darrell Waltrip's gonna nurse his sick Monte Carlo home to a sixth place finish. But the finish would leave Petty with now an eight point lead for the first time in the 79 season. Miraculously, Richard Petty has made up 229 points in just two months.
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Good afternoon from Atlanta International Raceway on a beautiful sunny Sunday afternoon at Hampton, Georgia. I'm Dick Jones with the Universal Racing Network team and we're trackside awaiting the start of the Dixie 500 stock car race just a few minutes away. It's the 30th and the next to the last event of the most exciting season in the history of major league stock car racing.
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As dad headed to Atlanta for the next to last race of the season, you have to wonder how excited he may have been to return to a track that saw him compete for Osterlin in the Cup Series for the very first time just one year ago. A lot's changed for him in 12 months and a solid run here again would almost surely lock up the Rookie of the Year battle. Atlanta, as we know, would become an incredible track for dad in his career. At one time they used to give away ski nautique boats to the winners. And Dad's warehouse on the farm currently stores a half a dozen of those boats. But his success at Atlanta began early with a fourth place run in this race last year for Neal Bonnet. The weekend started off with an incredible bit of news. The Wood brothers had decided that keeping Bonnet behind The wheel for 1980 was in their best interest. And they shook hands on an extension with Neil. Donnie Allison and owner Hoss Ellington have come to terms to continue their relationship into next year. Fourteen races were on the schedule for 1980. Haas had sponsorship issues that made any more of a commitment difficult. Allison seemed pleased with the deal. Petty and STP were set for 1980 and also announced 10 STP sponsored events for son Kyle Petty next season.
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About next year, I understand you aren't going to be running for Rookie of the Year honors, but you're going to run about 10 races. Whose decision was this? Well, really, STP. So we're going to run 10 races for them and we got a sportsman car and we're going to run some sportsman races. So we figured if we run a bought a sportsman car and run sportsman races, we'd run a whole lot more races than just the 31 Grand national races. Kyle Petty, nice talking to you. Back to Network Control.
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Darrell Waltrip and Richard Petty are in a tight battle for the championship. Darrell enjoyed that 229 point lead after a victory at Talladega. But Richard has won three races and finished no worse than ninth in the last nine races and now has an eight point lead with two races remaining.
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You know, much has been said and written about the pressure which might be on Darrell Waltrip and Richard Petty and their battle for the Grand National Championship. So we asked Waltrip if he felt the pressure. If somebody asked me that one more time, as I'm getting sick and tired of hearing that, no, it's not getting to us. We've never said anything about pressure. It's everybody around us that's talked about pressure. Every time you talk to Richard Petty or anybody else, they say the pressure is getting to us. We don't, we're not under any pressure. We don't have anything to prove. We want a more race than anybody and more money than anybody. And if we win a championship, then we're going to be absolutely thrilled that that caps off a great season. We just had, you know, go talk to J.D. mcDuffie. He's wrecked in about three or four. The last race, he said it hadn't even caused any of me, just been in the wrong place at the wrong time. It happens in this business and everybody going around and dramatizing the whole situation has really gotten on my nerves. All I hear is it's getting to you. The pressure is getting to you. I'm not under any pressure. I'm a race driver. I take a win, I'll take a lose. I can't predict what's going to happen. I can't project what's going to happen. We're here to do what we know how to do best, and that's win the race. We build our team on racing and winning and that's the way we're going to continue.
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Buddy Baker and his Lanier team would win another pole and this is their seventh on the year. And that wraps up the Busch Poll award money for the season. Unfortunately, during the race, a broken cam would put them out at lap 88. But between the money for each pole position throughout the year and the $50,000 from winning the February Busch Clash and the 25,000 for the most polls, Baker has taken $100,000 from the Busch beer marketing funds. In 1979, we asked Buddy what has.
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Made him such a good qualifier this season. A good race car, that's 90% of it. I've got Waddell Wilson building engines and Zoomer and all the guys that work on the car. Just doing a super job for us this year. And I'm real. I'm just pleased with everything right now.
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Kel Yarborough, who is sponsored by the beer brand, is still yet to win a poll this season, a fact his competitors have not let him forget. During the race, both of our championship contenders would find multiple problems.
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Darrell Walter was leading the race. Tried to come in for a pit stop, overshot his area. NASCAR official would not let him back up. Sent him around the racetrack once again. And that right, that right front tire. Dave is flat.
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Waltrip pitted once with two flat tires after a misunderstanding on pit road with Dave Marcus. Both Petty and Waltrip would be black flagged at one point for passing the leader during one of the five cautions.
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Back at Atlanta International Raceway. We're under the green and look out. We got Richard Petty sideways up in turn four traffic, able to get around.
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And then Petty would go for a spin after contact with Ty Scott. But escape undamaged. These incidents left them both a lap down from the leaders at the end.
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Gail is on the high side. Dale Earnhardt right behind him. Neil Bennett on the bottom of the racetrack, able to get around Dale. And now Neil Bonnet is up side by side with Cale Yarborough coming down the front chute. And they're side by side across the finish line, dead even and into turn one. You can put the proverbial blanket over those first three automobiles as they really.
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During the last 50 miles of the race, the lead changed hands multiple times in a fascinating battle between dad, Neil Bonnet and Cale Yarborough.
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Dale Earnhardt moves to the outside. He's up equal with Neil Bonnet. Neil Bonnet and Dale Earnhardt are side by side coming out of turn four. The inner trophy dash for the start finish line. And it's going to be Neil Bonnet, the winner of the Dixie 500 by half a Carlin a half a car car lift over Dale Earnhardt.
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Neil Bonnet made a pass on dad in the final four laps and he's gonna hang on and win the race by just one car length. Cale Yarborough, Bobby Allison and Darrell Waltrip are gonna round out the top five. Richard Petty is gonna come home in sixth place. That one position difference, along with Waltrip's ability to lead a lap in the race, allows him to return to the points lead by just two points. Man, I really miss those bonus points for leading a lap in the race, waltrip said of the points battle. When we go to California, I'll be racing one car. The number 43 will be the only car on the track. Petty responded to the two point deficit by saying, that means I gotta beat Darrell by just one position. With Dad's runner up finish in the race, he gained 17 points on Joe Milliken in the Rookie of the Year battle. His season performance, including his win at Bristol, assures he has the on track portion of the Rookie of the Year award locked up. But there's still that panel of judges with the final decision at the conclusion of the year. Dad had this to say after his second place finish in Atlanta. Neal was simply too good off the turns for me. I felt it could come down to the last lap. Neal was running so good low, I figured I would try him high. My only chance was to get back to the gas real fast and I just couldn't do it. I hoped the outside challenge might rattle Neal, but it didn't. He was just as determined as I was. I just got beat. I do think this will help a lot towards the Rookie of the Year. That's what we've been shooting for all season. It's been so close. Me and Joe haven't had much breathing room. Bonnet's check for the win was $20,000. Dad got $16,700 for second place and Cale Yarborough got 13,000 for third. But he got an additional $10,000 for leading the most laps. So Cale takes home the most money of the three drivers. More becoming Earnhardt coming right up.
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This show is sponsored by Better Help. The holiday season is right around the corner and balancing family expectations, travel and trying to make everything perfect can be really tough. And what's even worse is sometimes you forget about taking care of yourself. That's why BetterHelp is encouraging you to rewrite your traditions this season by making time for you. Incorporating therapy into your new or existing traditions can help you slow down and take care of yourself during what can be a joyful but sometimes hectic and lonely time of the year. The holidays look different for everyone. Maybe it's baking your great aunt's sweet potato pie or starting something new like a quiet night in with friends. Therapy can be one of those new traditions too. Better help gives you space to pause, reflect and feel more grounded. They match you with licensed therapists based on your goals and preferences. And if it's not the right fit, you can switch anytime. With over 30,000 therapists and more than 5 million people served, Better help allows people to close the year with clarity instead of chaos. This December, start a new tradition by taking care of you. Our listeners get 10% off@betterhelp.com DaleJr that's better. H E L P.com DaleJr the college.
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Football Playoff is everything.
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Toughness, rolls, sacrifices.
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Place your focus. This is where I 50 everything you got all damn day. The attention to detail is like none other. Be physical. Keep playing. We are the winner.
- [31:18]
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Tulane takes on Ole Miss, followed by.
- [31:20]
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James Madison in Oregon.
- [31:21]
C
It's time to bring it first round coverage on the college football playoffs present.
- [31:25]
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Presented by allstate today at 3:30 Eastern on TNT and HBO.
- [31:28]
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Max, are you ready?
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Let's get em.
- [31:36]
B
As the teams loaded up to begin a western haul to California for the season's final race, talk in the garage wasn't about the championship battle between Waltrip and Petty. It was about Bill France's public announcement of rule changes coming in the 1981 season. For 1980, the current cars would still be eligible. But beginning in 1981, multiple changes would occur. The maximum wheelbase would shrink from 115 to 110 inches. The engine size would reduce from 358 to 315 cubic inches. Overall car weight would reduce several hundred pounds from the current rule of 3700. Change was coming, but the teams were really relieved. They would have just over a year for such a monumental adjustment. Speaking of manufacturers, Chevy has the manufacturer championship wrapped up with one race to go in the season. They've won 17 races. Ford has won only five. Oldsmobile also has five wins. Mercury has three. Buick and Dodge are winless.
- [32:43]
C
Good morning everyone from Ontario Motor Speedway in Southern California. While the curtain comes down Today on the 19701979 Winston cup racing season here at Ontario Motor Speedway.
- [32:53]
B
Alright, so here we are, race 31, the final race of the season. It's been a long year, but we're headed to Ontario for The Los Angeles Times 500 Ontario Track GM Ray Smarts is advising the press about rumors on the sale of the facility. Foreclosure had been filed against the track. Racing in 1980 was very much in doubt for the track. Several groups wanted to purchase the property and not all of them wanted racing to continue. The crowd for arguably the most important race of the season was underwhelming. This really speaks to the challenges in 1979 to expand the footprint of the sport beyond the southeastern routes. The race wasn't even televised, leaving fans only the radio broadcast to keep up with the championship battle.
- [33:44]
C
And today, Richard Petty and Darrell Waltrip will decide among themselves which one becomes the nation's number one stock car driver for 1979. Richard Petty said it best yesterday talking to the riders here in Ontario, California. For himself and Waltrip, it's the seventh game of the World Series and today we'll decide it all. How will these two run today's race? Well, I guess millions of people around the world would like to know their strategy for finishing ahead of each other here this afternoon. We'll just have to wait and see.
- [34:12]
B
After a fierce points battle that saw possession of the points lead swapped several times in the waning weeks of the schedule, Darrell Waltrip is going to enter the year's final race with a two point lead over Richard Petty. Petty was quoted as saying that he was going to Ontario to win the race. We're going to run hard all day. We are not going to play it safe. Waltrip reported that the Dygard team made a unanimous decision to play it safe and just finished the race. Despite Richard's declaration of chasing victory. Petty's gonna qualify fourth. Darrell qualifying 10th.
- [34:48]
C
Cale Yarborough, who picked up the pole. That in itself is a story. It took Cale 30 races to get to this point and it looked like he wouldn't be in the Busch clash for 1980 at Daytona Beach.
- [34:59]
B
Qualifying on the Bush Beer poll for the final race of the season for the very first time this year is the Busch Beer sponsored car of Cale Yarborough. Finally, Cale is going to avoid the humiliation of going the entire year failing to win the award marketed by his own sponsor. I wonder how legal that engine was.
- [35:21]
C
Ship Warren giving the indication to hold it down a bit. And they drop the green and they move across the start finish line at the time 500 is under way. Cale Jarviro, Benny Parson.
- [35:30]
B
So we're gonna get the race underway. And after Benny Parsons and Buddy Baker swap the lead early in the contest.
- [35:36]
C
Neil Yarborough is holding it very tight in three and Petty is going to try to make a move up in three. Petty is making a move and he has moved into first place.
- [35:46]
B
Richard Petty's gonna take over the lead on lap six. All right, so that awards him five bonus points. And it sends him into a mid race points lead.
- [35:56]
C
We have an accident in the heart of turn three, coming out of the three into turn four. And it looks like there's a car sitting right in the middle of turn three. And guess who else was involved in that? Little Frankens Darrell Waltrip.
- [36:10]
B
Disaster is going to strike for Waltrip though. On lap 38 he's going to spin out trying to avoid a stalled John Resick as they come to the line.
- [36:18]
C
Single file. We verify Darrell Waltrip is indeed one lap in arrears to the leaders. He lost a lap there back. It's hitting late.
- [36:24]
B
Under caution, Waltrip retreats to the pits immediately. But since the pace car had not yet caught the field, the leaders are going to race around and put him a lap down. He's never able to make up that lost lap the entire race. This seals his fate in the points championship.
- [36:41]
C
Green flag waves again at Ontario Motor Speedway as they come flying down across the start finish line. And Earnhardt wastes no time in going after the lead on Bobby Allison.
- [36:50]
B
And dad would lead a handful of laps past the 50 lap mark, but he too would lose a lap to the leaders at some point. Some articles state that he lost all but fourth gear in his transmission with around 65 miles to go.
- [37:03]
C
Here's the leader right now heading across the start finish line. Cale Yarborough a very healthy margin over second place Richard Petty.
- [37:11]
B
Now with 15 laps to go, Cale Yarborough is in a commanding lead and looked to be on his way to victory when James Hilton blows an engine. This caution allows Benny Parsons and Bobby Allison to close the gap out of turn number four.
- [37:24]
C
51,000 fans are on their feet as Petty drafts Yarborough to the line three wide at the stripe. It's Baker on the inside, Bobby Ellison, Ford in the middle of the sandwich. Outside is Betty Parsons. They hit turn one and when the.
- [37:36]
B
Green comes out with 10 laps left, the race resumes. Benny and Bobby easily pass Cale. And Benny is going to go on to win the race over Bobby Allison by half a second. Now Benny and his MC Anderson team have been on a tear in the final four events. They've won two and finished second once. That's how you finish a season strong. Richard Petty's gonna go on to finish fifth and earn 160 points. Darrell Waltrip comes home in eighth place one lap down, only netting 147 points.
- [38:09]
C
Richard will finish fifth, but it will clinch his seventh Winston cup driving title for Richard Petty and give Petty all the credit in the world. Mike Joy, because all he had to do was just ease it around the speedway, and he's just not that kind of a race driver.
- [38:21]
B
He tried.
- [38:22]
C
As hard as it's possible to win this afternoon.
- [38:24]
B
This would award king Richard his seventh and final cup championship. He's going to win by 11 points, and it's the closest margin of victory to date. After going winless in 1978 and experiencing the lowest point of his NASCAR cup career, Richard Petty said, from that standpoint, winning the title again is satisfying, but really, to me, seven is just a number one higher than six. Now. If I'd have won the race, I'd be sky high. I wanted to take the title by winning now. That's how it should be done. I'd imagine that the King is real happy these days because winning that final race is usually what it takes to win the title. Darrell was quoted as saying, it's hard to swallow. I ain't never gonna figure it out. Never, never, never, never. I came here with all my hopes, and I'm leaving with a broken heart. It's very depressing. Very, very depressing. Dad's final result in the last race of the year will be ninth place. His closest challenger in the Rookie of the Year, Joe Milliken, came home in 12th. After the completion of the event, NASCAR is going to announce that dad had Indeed won the 1979 Rookie of the Year. The voting panel of three NASCAR officials, along with last year's champion, Cale Yarborough, met before the race, but they produced no change to the actual standings. Any details of the panel's meeting were not disclosed. Dad would win the 1979 First City Travelers checks Rookie of the Year award over Joe Milliken by 17 points. Joe would finish sixth in the final point standings. Dad would finish seventh. But the rookie of the Year was based off of a driver's best 15 results. Milliken and dad had traded the Rookie of the Year lead multiple times during the year. Milliken claims the lead during Dad's absence due to his injuries. And Dad's going to reclaim the lead after a top five run at Wilkesboro late in the season. And he never looked back.
- [40:25]
C
Well, you talk about. Rookie records come during the month of December and first part of January. They're going to rewrite the record book because they'll. Earnhardt has set so many records. He won at Bristol on April 1. He's won four pole positions. He's won more money than any rookie ever. $215,675, and you could just go on and on and on, naming the new records now established by Dale Earnhardt. And you have to think about something else, too. A shoulder injury sustained and a wreck at Pocono put him out of action during the late summer. So he had a great deal of catching up to do to latch on to that rookie lead.
- [41:02]
B
Dad's going to finish the year with one win, 11 top fives and 17 top 10 finishes, winning a total of $274,000. Milliken was winless and he only captured five top five finishes during the year. But he made the Rookie of the Year battle a compelling one all season long with his consistency. Texas Terry Labonte is going to finish third in the Rookie of the Year standings. Now, during each of the 1979 races, the top finishing rookie was awarded $500. And in claiming the overall title, dad was given a check for $10,000 from First City Travelers Checks. And going further, this is really interesting to me. First City Travelers Checks would give dad an additional $1,000 for every race he enters during the 1980 cup season. So he's guaranteed some money if he continues to race next year. And even with dad missing four races, he set a record for money won by a rookie in NASCAR's history. And with that, the 1979 NASCAR cup season has come to a close. Standing on top of the mountain of stock car racing is once again King Richard Petty. But this time he will share the spotlight with his Successor, this scrappy 28 year old rookie from Kannapolis, Dale Earnhardt. But before we conclude our story, we'll take some time to ponder the impact of the year and why it truly is the greatest NASCAR season in history. To help bring our season to a conclusion, we'll sit down with some of our guests from past episodes and deep dive into all that we've learned on our journey through the historic 1979 NASCAR cup year. Join us next time for the conclusion of Becoming Earnhardt. Becoming Earnhardt is a podcast series by Dirty Mo Media. It is written and produced by myself, Dale Earnhardt Jr. With Bobby Marcos and Mike Davis. Sound design by Ben Potts. Production assistance by Tiff Powers, Michael Caldwell, Dustin Lee, James Brosan, Andrew Curlin and Alex Timms. This project is in partnership with nascar, NASCAR Productions and the Motor Racing Network. For full replays of classic races, visit the Motor Racing Network's website@mrn.com race broadcast audio for this episode was from Universal Racing Network and provided to us by the Hank Schofield Universal Racing Network collection, now part of the Stock Car Collection. At Appalachian State University. Special thanks to Canis13 and Silver Tribe Media. For additional content on Becoming Earnhardt, including exclusive videos, visit Dirtymo Media's YouTube page and follow us on all major social media platforms.
- [44:04]
C
Primal Kitchen is known for outrageously delicious sauces and condiments, and now their pure avocado oil can be a staple in your kitchen too. With its high smoke point, neutral flavor.
- [44:15]
B
And healthy fats, it's perfect for grilling.
- [44:17]
C
Baking, sauteing, marinating, whatever you're cooking. Primal Kitchen Pure Avocado Oil gets the job done. Pure, quality, tested and trusted. Grab a bottle at Walmart stores nationwide or online@walmart.com the College Football Playoff is everything.
- [44:34]
B
Toughness, roles, sacrifices.
- [44:36]
C
Place your focus. This is where i50 everything you got all day today. The attention to detail is like none other. Be physical, be playing. We are the winner.
- [44:46]
A
Tulane takes on Ole Miss followed by.
- [44:49]
B
James Madison in order Oregon. It's time to bring it first round.
- [44:51]
C
Coverage on the College Football Playoffs presented by allstate today at 3:30 Eastern on TNT and HBO.
- [44:57]
A
Max, are you ready?
- [44:58]
C
Let's go.