The 1979 Daytona 500 is memorable for several reasons, chief among them a wild finish featuring a last lap crash complete with a fistfight.
But the feuding of Yarbrough’s and Allison’s aside, what made that Daytona 500 historic was the turning point it marked.
For years CBS had carried the 500, but taped in snippets with only the ending shown live.
1979 though marked the first time the race was broadcast live flag to flag. On that Sunday most of the northeast, where the majority of television viewers lived, was snowbound due to a blizzard. Combine the wild finish seen by those millions of snowbound viewers, many of whom had never been exposed to NASCAR, and you had a perfect storm of sorts.
That 1979 Daytona 500 really put NASCAR on the map according to many. A seed was planted that eventually grew into the largest auto racing sport in America.
Fast-forward to the 2010 Daytona 500. Many of the same elements present in 1979 are swirling around, and come Sunday they could form into another perfect storm for NASCAR.
It’s been no secret that NASCAR came through 2009 with a few bruises. Seats were empty, many called the racing boring, and perhaps more importantly in terms of revenue, television ratings were down substantially from the previous year.
NASCAR has made some changes during the off-season they hope will make the racing more exciting. On the Superspeedways this season NASCAR will no longer police the practice of bump drafting, and they’ve increased the size of the restrictor plates giving the cars more horsepower.
“The bigger plate is just more speed and with more speed means handling is more important,” said driver and 2008 Daytona 500 winner Ryan Newman. “It is harder to hold it wide open. This is a track where it seems like you are on that edge at least part of the run for trying to hold it wide open."
If last Saturday nights Bud Shootout is any indication the changes should make for more exciting racing for not only the fans but the drivers as well.
“I think you're in for some action,” said Daytona 500 pole sitter Mark Martin. “And I can't wait. The race is during the day. The track will be slicker than it was for the Shootout, and it was slick during the Shootout so I expect it to be even slicker, which is a good thing. It's good for racing and puts on a great show and tremendous challenge for the teams."
Thursday the Gatorade Duel qualifying races both had photo finishes. In the first Duel Jimmie Johnson in a backup Chevy charged his way from the rear of the field through the pack to win by .005 seconds, the second closest finish in Duel history since NASCAR began electronic timing and scoring in 1993. In the second Duel, Kasey Kahne beat Tony Stewart by .01 of second.
Based on the two 150 mile races Thursday and their respective finishes, NASCAR’s changes seem to have worked on the track.
“The cars are a handful to drive,” said four-time champion Jeff Gordon after his Duel. “The extra (size) plate definitely carries a lot of speed off into the corner. We're still seeing a lot of bump-drafting and you've really got to use the tools that NASCAR's is giving us to make the cars handle good too, which means the drivers have got to drive the heck out of them. So that's what I was really happy with.”
Gordon proved his point during his Duel when he smacked the wall exiting Turn 4 damaging his Chevy to the point that he will start the 500 from a back up.
“We got shuffled back there at the beginning and we were able to drive back up into the top five and unfortunately we didn't save it. But oh yeah, there's going to be plenty more of that. Usually the 150's are pretty calm. So if that's what it's like, then the fans are in for a treat with the 500."
NASCAR seems to have done their part on the track. The other element that has fallen in place, quite literally, like 1979 is good old Mother Nature. Millions of people are snowbound this weekend and no doubt will tune in to see what this NASCAR ‘stuff’ is all about.
If the weather keeps people home this weekend and if racing this week is any indication of what we could see Sunday, all the elements could be coming together for another Perfect Storm. The kind of storm NASCAR needs to kick off its 2010 season.
Check out all the Examiner.com 2010 NASCAR Daytona 500 Previews
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