Tony's World

Memorable Moments in NASCAR History

Fireball Roberts Dies From Crash - 1964

Plumes of black smoke rose over Charlotte Motor Speedway in May of 1964 after a violent collision involving Fireball Roberts, Junior Johnson, and Ned Jarrett. Roberts who had allergies that kept him from wearing flame-retardant suits was severely burned and succumbed to pneumonia thirty seven days after the crash.

Charlotte Motor Speedway on October 17, 1965:

Few fans who were at Charlotte Motor Speedway on October 17, 1965 will ever forget the dramatic  battle for the lead shown here. There were 50 laps to go and A. J. Foyt (Car 41) and Fred Lorenzen (Car 28), were battling for the lead with Dick Hutcherson (Car 29) right be­hind them in third place. Suddenly Hutcherson made his move coming down the backstretch and came along side the other two to make it a three way battle for first place. Every fan was on his, feet and stayed standing as the three battled back and forth until Foyt's car went into a spin on the fourth turn in the final 10 laps. It was a race few fans will ever forget.

"The Fight" - Daytona 1979

The 1979 Daytona 500 was run under memorable circumstances. It was the first five‑hundred‑mile race to be televised live and in its entirety, and NASCAR put on one hell of a show. For the special occasion, CBS‑TV introduced some revolutionary techniques that soon would be taken for granted on race telecasts, including setting "speed shot" cameras low on the retaining wall near the start‑finish line to allow fans watching at home to experience the rush of seeing cars rocketing by at speeds pushing two hundred miles per hour. Suddenly, you no longer had to be there to "feel" the power as cars zoomed by, producing the thumping, deafening rumble that rattles the brain.

 The 1979 Daytona 500 was owned by the Allison brothers, Bobby and Donnie, and Yarborough‑though none of them would go on to win it. There was some uncertainty that the race would be run because of overcast, rainy weather that forced fifty laps to be run under caution to dry the track. Officials were nervous about the weather because CBS needed the event to go off on time; a delay could have been disastrous and might have discouraged the network from ever committing to cover NASCAR live again. On lap thirty‑two, both Allison brothers and Yarborough were involved in a wreck that sent them to the pits to try and get their cars fixed. Donnie Allison's ride was salvaged and he lost only one lap. Yarborough's car survived the wreck, but it cost him three laps. Bobby Allison was the big loser in the crash, as his car could not be fixed well enough for him to possibly get back into contention. He eventually got back on the track, but could not make up the ground he needed. Bobby Allison thought Yarborough was to blame for the incident (interestingly, Donnie Allison later told reporters that he thought Bobby was actually responsible for spinning all three drivers out), so while Donnie Allison and Yarborough made up for lost time, Bobby Allison stewed about the earlier mishap, convinced that Yarborough caused the crash.

As they headed into the final lap, Yarborough and Donnie Allison had not only made up all their lost laps but were dueling for the victory. Halfway down the backstretch, Yarborough, running second, attempted a slingshot pass of the younger Allison, who moved down on the track to successfully block him and close off the inside lane. But Yarborough refused to back off; he continued to try to pass on the inside, and a series of broadside slams brought the crowd of 125,000 to its feet.

After repeatedly making contact, Donnie Allison drove Yarborough onto the infield grass. In his attempt to recover and get back on the track, Yarborough had to make a hard right—directly into Allison. Both cars then shot up the banking, out of control,  and slammed into the outside wall before sliding down and coming to a rest in the infield. 

"I had Donnie set up for the slingshot move on the last lap," Yarborough said years later. "When I pulled out to go by him, he just ran me off the racetrack. It was that simple. It had been raining all night. The infield wasn't nothing but mud. I hit that and was out of control." 

Three other drivers remained on the lead lap at the time: Richard Petty, Darrell Waltrip and A. J. Foyt. Prior to the wreck, they had little or no chance of catching Allison and Yarborough‑in fact, Petty, running third at the time, was half a lap behind when the checkered flag went up,‑ but suddenly they were dueling for the lead. Notified by their spotters via radio, they went low in turn three to avoid the wreck and began racing one another hard for the win.     

Petty won by a car length over Waltrip, who was running on seven cylinders and struggled to keep up, but the show was farfrom over. As Petty crossed the finish line, Bobby Allison stopped his car at the site of his younger brother's wreck with Yarborough. By then Donnie Allison and Yarborough were out of their cars and arguing heatedly over who had caused the crash. As the elder Allison pulled up to the chaotic scene and the national television cameras continued to roll, the incensed Yarborough approached Bobby, who remained sitting in his car. He accused him of slowing to try to block him on the last lap, even though Allison was several laps down. Bobby tried to argue that he had been well ahead of the duo when the wreck occurred and that he had nothing to do with it. But there weren't many words exchanged before punches started flying. Talking to reporters about the incident later, Donnie Allison recalled: "Cale said something and hit Bobby with his helmet [through the window]. I knew what was going to happen next. I'd seen that look on Bobby's face before. Bobby beat the shit out of him." Bobby later insisted that all he did was stop at the scene of the accident to offer his brother a ride back to the garage area. "Donnie said, 'Go on,' so I started to put my car in gear," Bobby Allison told Ron Green Jr. of the Charlotte Observer on the twenty year anniversary of the fabled race. "Then Cale started to yell at me. More words went back and forth and he ran to my car. He hit me in the face with his helmet and I saw a couple of drops of blood on my leg. I knew I had to get out or I'd be running from him for the rest of my life. "I got out and he went to beating on my fist with his nose." Asked who won the fight, Yarborough later said: "The fireman that finally pulled us apart." By then, Petty had made it back around the track and was getting ready to head off to Victory Lane. "I slowed down to see what was going on and I could see helmets flying and all that," Petty said. "But I don't think we cared much about what they were doing." He had just lucked into his sixth Daytona 500 victory. "I wasn't involved in the race. I just happened to win it," the King later joked. While much of America was snowed in by heavy storms in the Northeast and Midwest, television viewers watched the first live telecast of NASCAR's biggest race in record numbers. This helped take the sport from the south and introduce it o the rest of the country.

1987 Winston "The Pass in the Grass"

Perhaps the most famous, or perhaps infamous Winston was the 1987 event.  The format that year had been changed to try to stir things up a little.  Rather than a single race, the Winston consisted of three segments, the first 75 laps long, the second 50, and the final a ten lap dash for the cash.

Among the 20 drivers in that years event, was Tim Richmond.  Richmond had missed the beginning of the 1987 season, due a mysterious flu-like ailment, and was using the Winston to see if he was ready to return to combat before trying a full points race.

Bill Elliott thumbed his nose at Humpy's rule changes, by going out and flat dominating the first two segments of the race.  The cars lined up for the ten lap Shootout with Elliott on the pole and Geoff Bodine on the outside pole.  Richmond was lined up behind Elliott, and Earnhardt was right on Bodine's rear bumper as the green flag dropped.

Bodine knew his only chance at a win came at getting a jump on Elliott and beating him to the first corner.  Geoff managed to nose ahead of Bill, and Earnhardt decided he was going to force his way past both of them.  Bodine dove low and ran Bill onto the apron.  Elliott's car got loose and made contact with Bodine's rear bumper, sending him spinning.  Earnhardt made a nifty move right through the middle of the mess and grabbed the lead.

The caution flag for Bodine's spin bunched up the pack to try it again, and Elliott and Earnhardt engaged in one of the most furious battles our sport has ever seen.  Elliott had the faster car, but Earnhardt was making his Chevy awfully wide to keep Bill from getting by.  The two cars made contact numerous times, though whose fault that was depends on which driver's shirt you wore to the track that day.

With seven laps to go Elliott was on the outside of Dale trying to bull his way past.  Heavy contact was made, and Earnhardt was sent flying down the track and across the grass.  Dale never even lifted off the throttle and charged back onto the track without even surrendering the lead.

But Dale wasn't too happy about the infamous "Pass on the grass".   On the back straight Dale got out of the throttle.  Sensing his rival might be losing a tire, Elliott went high to make the pass.  As Elliott drew along side Earnhardt cut the wheel hard right and sent Bill into the wall.  A lap later Bill lost a tire and he lost a lap in the pits.

But the fireworks weren't over. The normally laid back Georgian driver was so angry, Elliott charged back onto the track and rammed into Earnhardt's car.  Geoff Bodine thought that was a fine idea, and rammed the Wrangler entry as well.  All three drivers wound up getting fined for their actions.

The 1989 Winston 

All's fair in love and war, especially on the race track in The Winston at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Rusty Wallace spun Darrell Waltrip out of first place with just over two miles remaining and went on to win the fifth edition of The Winston at the 1.5-mile superspeedway. The 202.5- mile event, which was otherwise a relatively serene affair, heated up in the final moments and after the race, as fans voiced their displeasure over Wallace's exploits. Wallace and Waltrip won the first two segments of the three-part all-star event. They started on the front row for the final 10-lap dash, and Waltrip bolted to an early lead. Toward the end, Wallace started creeping up on Waltrip.

Entering the fourth turn as the pair were coming up on the white flag, Wallace dove under Waltrip and clipped his rear bumper, sending Waltrip spinning into the grass. The caution flag came out and officials ordered Waltrip to the rear, and took one lap off the scoreboard.

Dirt track-type rules were in effect in the final 10 laps, whereas in the event of a yellow flag, the restarting order would be determined by the order of the cars running prior to the caution. Waltrip contended he should be placed at the front of the line since "he (Wallace) caused the caution by spinning me out."

NASCAR officials disagreed and placed Waltrip at the rear of the field. Wallace led the final two laps and beat Ken Schrader by three car-lengths to win the $240,000 first prize. Dale Earnhardt finished third, Bill Elliott was fourth and Alan Kulwicki fifth. "It was an ugly win," said Waltrip, who charged from 15th to seventh in the final two laps. "He drove into me and spun me out. It was pretty flagrant." Waltrip then added, "I hope he chokes on that $200,000," in reference to Wallace's prize money.

"If a man thinks this is a leisurely Sunday afternoon ride, he ought not to be in the race," Wallace said. In the post-race interview, Wallace insisted he did not intentionally spin Waltrip out. "I'd be crazy to drive up on the rear of somebody and just spin them out in front of God and everybody," Wallace said.