THE ’79 DAYTONA 500 _ yes, I’m writing about NASCAR

Okay… I haven’t posted crap in weeks… that makes for a pretty shitty blog, I apologize.   To win you, my beloved readers, over once again, I’m throwing this out there for you.  But, be warned: this post has nothing to do with movies, nothing to do with comic books, and nothing to do with football…  I just don’t really feel like writing about that stuff lately.  Instead, the topic of this post is… the 1979 Daytona 500.  (Yes, I’m serious.)

I'm droppin' the hammer!

And what’s so awesome about the ’79 Daytona 500 that I just had to write about it?!  To be as brief as possible, I will sum it up like this: before the ’79 Daytona 500 nobody really gave a sh*t nor knew that much about (unless you lived in the south) stock car racing.  After the ’79 Daytona 500, every sports fan in America could tell you what NASCAR was.  It literally put the sport on the map.

Rubbin's racing.

So what was so special about this race?  Plenty.  But first I have to point out two very important facts: 1. This was the first Daytona 500 televised live.  2.  That same weekend, most of the country had been hammered by a devastating blizzard (we know what that’s like) leaving millions of Americans with nothing better to do or watch than a bunch of guys drive around an oval track…

Hit the pace car? Hit the pace car!

Obviously, they saw something pretty awesome, even by today’s standards.  I’m just going to let Ryan McGee of ESPN The Magazine paint you the picture…

Feb. 18, 1979. The Great American Race is being televised live flag-to-flag for the first time. It’s a rainy, sloppy day in Florida while most of the East Coast is sacked by snowstorms. Cale Yarborough and Donnie Allison pound on each other’s cars running 1-2 on the final lap. Big wreck in Turn 3. Richard Petty sweeps by to win his sixth Daytona 500. Bobby Allison stops on the cool-down to check and see if brother Donnie is OK. Two drivers commence beating the hell out of each other live on CBS Sports. Millions of people without anything else to watch one month after football and two months before baseball fall in love with NASCAR.

And you for those of you that can’t read (figures you’re on my blog), you can see the crazy-as-hell final lap here….

Some of you might still be wondering why this topic interests me.  Well, the answer lies in the details.  Did anybody notice what kind of car they’re driving?  Well, I will tell you…. It’s a 1977 Cutlass S 442 (the old slant-nose.  Can you believe that was considered aerodynamic back then?  Lol – like a chiseled brick.)  And here’s a little confession… I’ve been putting some thought into getting her out on the streets again… something has to be done… we will see…