1978 Daytona 500 from Daytona International Speedway | NASCAR Classic Full Race Replay

the action is live as we near the 300 mile Mark of the 20th annual Daytona 500 the stock car racing classic of American Motor Racing the leader he's the man who has won the Nascar championship for the past two years and has won this race twice kale yabo Timmonsville South Carolina in second place an immense man 6' 5 in tall Buddy Baker who has never won the race and behind him number 15 Bobby Allison another veteran who at age 41 has never won the race but look now as Buddy Baker tries to take the lead from K Aro and he's done it buddy baker has been coming here since the early 1960s his father Buck Baker came here before him neither one of them ever managed to win the great classic with just about 200 miles to go Budd he has the bit in his teeth he's always been known as one of the greatest Chargers in the sport of automobile racing can he hang on well his history is but very often he cannot last year for example although he won more than $25,000 he did not win a single automobile race however it is Baker in the league lead car Aro second and Bobby Allison third coming to you live from the Daytona International Speedway live from the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach Florida ABC Sports presents the 20th annual Daytona 500 the world's richest and most prestigious stock car race this ABC Sports exclusive is brought to you by Goodyear developers of such Tire Innovations as the new allseason TMO radial with a special tread design for all kinds of weather by First National City Travelers checks with over 45,000 pre-authorized refund locations worldwide and the Miller Brewing Company Brewers of Miller High Life if you've got the time we've got the beer well I'm Jim McKay reporting to you live from Daytona International Speedway as Buddy Baker tries to stretch that lead out just a little bit with me in the commentary Booth is the three time world champion of motor racing Jackie Stewart down in the pits as always Chris aaki the editor of national speeds cour news there have been spectacular doings here there have been things that have frightened us this afternoon it started off calmly enough when over the first 60 laps they went further without a yellow flag than ever had happened in the history of the Daytona 500 for that reason because there were no yellow flags and pit stops at that nature they were breaking all speed records suddenly there was a major incident involving three of the great names in the sport Richard Petty and uh Daryl Waltrip and David Pearson then shortly after that AJ fo the greatest single name in American Racing had his car flip Underneath Him land on its roof come back on its four wheels he was taken to the track hospital has now been transferred to Halifax Hospital in Daytona Beach and even since then there has been another spin involving three or four cars on the back stretch this was Jerry Jolly and car number 28 Ty Scott number 30 Jimmy Lee caps number 26 and one other car whose number we were not able to spot spinning wildly Jackie we I couldn't see the reason for that could you no it was obviously coming off of Turn two this very fast 3,000 ft B backstretch and they almost spun all the way down to turn three they must have been doing 185 to 190 miles an hour when it happened and when you spin at that speed Jim you go a long way no question of that Chris aaki is down in the pitch I believe he has a further report of the condition of AJ Foy Chris can you hear me come on in if you can all right just I've just come back from the field hospital here on the ground the International Speedway where aj po who was removed from his car and taken into the track Infirmary conscious one arm and a shoulder being favored by the doctors he regained Consciousness in the infirmary he was bandaged his head was bandaged his arm and shoulder was bandaged he was wrapped in blankets and very tenderly placed in an ambulance oh just a few minutes ago and taken to Halifax Hospital here in Daytona Beach foy's accidents in his career the worst ones have always been in stock cars in ' 65 he was heard at Riverside in a stock car and the following year at Milwaukee his shoulder injury may keep him out of the Indianapolis 500 back to you Jim all right Chris we have now officially passed the 300 mile Mark in this race and the leader is Buddy Baker we get a report from NASCAR officials that Carol yor may be having engine problems I don't know what that's based on we'll investigate it when we come back and we will be back in a minute we return again live to Daytona where the leader of the race continues to be Buddy Baker in car number 27 Carol yoro the NASCAR National Champion in second place in car number 11 there is the leader in the race buddy Bakers we said he's the largest in the NASCAR tour 6' 5 in is tall just behind him right now you see Benny Parsons in car number 72 but that is not the second place car Benny is actually two laps down in the race because of an incident that happened to him earlier which you'll be seeing as we go along here we're going to have to double back remember almost 300 miles had gone by before we came to you live here if you were with us earlier in some parts of the country on Superstars however you saw live reports on many of those incidents we will however be showing them to you again Buddy Baker is beginning to spread out his lead lead over K yro to a couple of hundred yards but Benny Parsons stays attached to him using his draft to try to unlap himself of one laap he'd still have to unlap himself again to get back into The Fray but the way things have been going this afternoon that certainly could happen now the first major incident of this day came after 60 laps of racing had gone by as I said before as you see Benny Parsons looks like successfully onlapping himself of one lap he still has another lap to go before he's on the same lap with the leaders uh they had gone six laps of racing further than ever had been gone before in the Daytona 500 without a caution flag without a yellow light going out uh at that point we all were kind of lulled into a false sense of security Richard Petty was leading the race with Daryl walr second and David Pearson third suddenly it appears that a tire went well as they come out for turn four here there's still a lap before this incident occurred but you see Richard Petty's car clearly doing well Richard Petty who had had an accident two days before a lot of people thought that he would not run in the 5 100 and yet here he is leading the the 500 mile race at this time behind him darl walri who had won several races over the weekend had run three races and finished second in the other and of course the foxy old grandfather himself David Pearson trying to overtake as they came on to this back stretch he tied a Dutch duck out there from time to time this is videotaped earlier today just before this accident happened now Jim they went into turn three everything seemed to be according to plan darl walop went a little bit low Richard Petty driving smoothly in the groove and then just about now Richard Petty's car slips out sideways it starts to spin hits the wall the two cars behind them can't avoid the situation they go towards the infield Richard Petty's car the blue and white car hits the fence sear up into the air with Richard Petty inside all three cars coming in contact it must have been some kind of mechanical happening we do know of course now what did happen but at that time as you can see in the slowmo gym here the lead car Richard Petty the back can slides out it looked to me like oil had dropped onto the rear tires it seemed that it could not possibly have been a driver incident then Dar Waltrip touches them slightly as also does David Pearson hit walri Then They smash into this wall at a speed of an excess of 180 mph coming down and with tremendous driver control that only men of this caliber could do uh they managed to get the cars to stop not before hitting a wall as you will see as they come down into here but none of those drivers were injured uh Petty was injured two days ago remember was knocked unconscious we have a report from uh the pits I believe from Chrissy Kaki okay that three car accident knocked out Richard Petty and David Pearson Daryl Waltrip's car was badly battered he brought it back to the garage they worked on it back there he brought it back to the pits and they spent a lot of time working on it he has just gone back out of the track Richard Penny said that a left side tire was punctured and cut and S him into the wall W to said he just ran into a Pearson said he had a terrible shot their cars are badly wrecked hopelessly out but wal back on the track in a back to you Jim all right Chris Chris and kamaki with an on the scene report that's the move over flag being given there to some car Buddy Baker still the leader and but a fairly comfortable margin at this point Carol yo is second Bobby Allison third the only cars on the same lap then we have Ron Hutcherson the teammate of the injured AJ Bo and Benny Parson two laps down we'll be right back Aker must now begin to have dreams of winning the Daytona 500 the career object of every member of NASCAR he's never done it he's been coming here since the early 60s his father came here before him LZ Wy Baker senior neither of them has ever won the race with less than 200 miles to go he's beginning to move out his lead a little bit over K yor the current NASCAR National Champion we showed you the one incident involving Richard Petty and Daryl walri and David Pearson there was another one shortly afterwards just a couple of laps afterward and this involved two more great names in the sport one of them Benny Parsons a former winner of the Daytona 500 the other AJ Point let videotape now let's take a look at that situation here we had Carol yber on car number 11 leading the race Benny Parson in car number 72 was in second place as they came through uh this must be turns three and four at this point on the video tape behind them car number 53 is Ron Hutcherson the teammate of AJ fo now AJ fo's car looks exactly like that also an orange car but that isn't AJ that's his teammate AJ is even out of the picture at this point now here suddenly the tire exploding coming apart large bits of rubber flying Parson spinning down into the infield and as he does that AJ right about this point appeared to hit some debris or something and flipped over into the infield un Invisible by the the smoke there and there were still on vny Parson's car but there was AJ who flip went onto the roof and back onto the wheels again what do you think Jackie happened I Can Only Imagine that AJ F hit some of the debris that was on the racetrack some of the tab that had exploded and of course you must remember Petty already had had a puncture but here we can see them past the start Finishing Line then you'll see suddenly pieces of black rubber bouncing off of the racetrack there you will see and there they come shattering pieces of tire it must have had a a very heavy puncture to cause a blowout of this kind the car then slew sideways car gets into a slide Ron Hutcherson masterfully avoids that situation as car number 7 d goes into this soft infield now it's been raining a lot this is very soft a car could easily dig in and go upside down on the right hand side and there is the car of AJ F The Rescuers had come to that car the stretcher had been brought by this time the amazing safety of these cars amazing the structure inside the car is really truly great and there is AJ F being lifted out still with his crash helmet on onto the stretcher very gently but the car was severely damaged but he was a lucky man that it wasn't even more a physical thing no question without the roll cage it would have been very serious now a live report on this situation from Chris aaki well Benny Benny Parsons got back in the competition is on the scoreboard shown up there in fifth place but with fry it's a different matter he was removed from the track infirmary not long ago to Halifax Hospital here in Daytona Beach an i intravenous injection Vel was being held by an attendant as he Str was placed in the ambulance it was seen that his head was bandaged his shoulder and arm were bandaged he is complaining of a sore shoulder Gorton johncock who raced him in this last year's Indianapolis 500 was in the hospital with him and said that it looked like as the car was upside down F's shoulder was on the deck and that means rubbing against the track so he everyone seems to think that AJ F will be okay but he's having a tough time of it right now in Halifax Hospital back to you Jim all right we'll be waiting Chris for an official report as Buddy Baker the leader in the race came into the pits has made his pit stop and going back out again but that is going to make Carol y we has to make kale yoro the leader of the moment in the race Bobby Allison also on the same lap there is Carol yabro just getting by him right now the car in front of him 53 is Ron Hutcherson remember who sat on the outside of Row one when the race began yo was on the inside on the pole position Hut the 34-year-old teammate of AJ Foy there is Carol yo at age 37 uh many people think on his way to becoming the new king of the sport in fact as saw a banner coming in here today held by some of his fans that said kale is King uh me meaning instead of course of the traditional King Richard Petty who is out of the going here Carol yro started this race in the lead he relinquished it in brief spurts to Daryl walri in the first few laps later dropped back to about fourth place to exactly fourth place when it was petty and Waltrip and Pearson up in front then when they when they went out he took the lead again since then with yellow flags and various things he dropped back to second and third place now is in first first place again Jackie it's always wild at Daytona but this seems Wilder and in a sense more insecure than ever well there's been several reason for this I believe there was a lot of trepidation going into this race there are a lot of new cars the aerodynamics of those cars were being suggested to be very difficult to handle from the driver's point of view the tire problems that we've had I think are partially to do with the fact that this track has had a lot of rain and of course there been a lot of rough stuff brought onto the track a lot of cars have been coming out of the infield onto the racetrack it could be that you've got Nails pieces of glass and other stuff on the racetrack for matter that would not normally be there so for that reason it could be that some of the incidents that were seen have been caused by that kale yro about to put another lap on or at least like he looks like he might on number 90 dick Brooks who's in fifth place in the race right now that would put dick Brooks two laps down instead of one and it does right now however you are is going to have to pit very soon himself the action is live and we'll be back K yor on car number 11 the race leader in the pits at Daytona 500 however by the time he comes out he may not be the race leader it may be Buddy Baker again Baker already having made his Pit Stop under the green we had an earlier report from Nascar we don't know what it was based on but a report from the officials that kale might be having engine problems but they certainly didn't look at the engine when he came into the pits kale yo for the last two years the NASCAR champion a very interesting man at age 37 why don't we meet this fellow up close and personal K two times Grand National Champion how has the day-to-day existence of kale yoro changed now that you're a champion twice over well you know it's a lot more Demand on my time Chris uh it's a lot of things to do but you know uh it hasn't really made any difference to me I hope uh the way I act and all cuz it's uh it's part of the game it's something I've been after for a long time and I've done it and far as me changing I I hope I haven't but it's uh I have to live a hectic schedule yeah what about politics you expressed an interest in that you were active a while back what about now in politics well right now I'm out of politics I just buil a new home over on my farm and I moved right across the county line so I had to resign my uh political position but uh after this Racing's over then we'll take another look at it and you know maybe uh maybe there is a future in politics for me I don't know I'll just have to wait and see an introspective look at kale yarro for the past two years the NASCAR National Champion but now out of the lead again in the Daytona 500 Ron Hutson number 53 unla himself from K yo he must unlap himself yet from Buddy Baker the leader there's dick Brooks doing the same thing Brooks now is one lap behind kale but the leader Buddy Baker is by himself at the moment in car number 27 as I said all 1977 he didn't win a single race Jackie yet still managed to win $225,000 which indicates among other things that he led many races for a long time well he's always a very competitive man he wasn't at all pleased with his last year of course he had no success and no driver is comfortable with that he even changed teams he got away from the team he had been driving for of course and that always is somewhat of an unsettling thing Bud Mo very successful team which he left I think felt a little bit hurt by this but right now he must be pretty happy the way that his motor car is running looking at this race as I do now I have to think that K yra is definitely having a problem with his car in one way because it seems to me that he's got an engine problem he's certainly not going as fast down the straight very interesting that the two lead cars at the moment there's smoke coming from somebody I can't spot that number somebody is having a problem it's uh I think that's Al hbert isn't it car number 48 yes Al hbert from the road courses of America and there's a streak of luck because in fact right behind Al hobber at that time is our leader in fact he was just right behind Al hbert our leader and you can see him in car number 27 there buddy Baker it could have been so easy for him to collide with Al hobbert at that time when Al hbert had a mechanical all right it's very interesting the car number 27 Buddy Baker and number 15 Bobby Allison are the onew leaders in this race right now because they started way back in 31st and 33rd positions respectively why did they start way back there with very fast cars well because in the 125 M qualifying race here the other day one of two such Races they were well up in the lead when they had an incident there it was 27 and 15 running together ironically 15 was Buddy Baker's number last year now it's Bobby Allison's number the two of them coming down in the infield and Jackie you remember well what happened from here as buddy came straight up he came straight up and collided with the wall as you'll see the concrete wall at the height of this 31° Banking and just look at that scratching through there tremendous Bill Elliot just passed him by the skin of his teeth that could have been even a more difficult situation okay so the man who was involved in that spectacular accident who had to start 31st in the race is now in the lead Buddy Baker oh my goodness he wishes it was all over at this point because as I have said so many times in his Long Nascar career buddy man with a very heavy foot has led races only to see something happen in the latter stages so it's Baker in first place Bobby Allison second Carrie Aro third those are the only three cars on the same l lap now one lap down is Ron Hutcherson in car number 53 and now also only one lap down is Guess Who vny Parson the man whose Tire exploded in front of us going down the straightaway so the cars which are one laap down may not be quite out of it let's not forget about them but the only three on the same lap at the moment are 27 Baker 15 Allison and 11 kale yo it has been some afternoon at Daytona and there's still a ways to go we still have 58 laps to go we'll be right back after this commercial message not only that but a word also from your local station here we go we return live again to Daytona International Speedway this is Jim M reporting with Jackie Stewart and Chris aaki on the 20th annual running of the Daytona 500 it has been a spectacular afternoon the racing has been skillful courageous and extremely exciting there have been a couple of incidents which unfortunately eliminated a number of the major drivers in this race among them Richard Petty and David Pearson and AJ Foy who is in Halifax Hospital in second place in the race at the moment is the veteran 41-year-old Bobby Allison of Hueytown Alabama in car number 15 he is several hundred yards behind Buddy Baker at this point only one other car is on the same lap and that is car yabo in car number 11 now the AJ fo uh situation Jackie was one that certainly scared us here we still don't know his final condition but certainly he is in better condition that he would be without the roll cage the car really had a lot of banging around it must have gone off the road around 190 M hour the car flipped and came down heavily how why AJ f is not more seriously injured I would never know all right well here is the man who at age 43 has won the Indianapolis 500 four times he is one of only two men not members of NASCAR who have ever won this race the other one being Mario andred as I move along I'm coming in front of a a mesh effect now this here is fireproof the idea is to stop a driver's head or arms being thrown out in the case of the car rolling over to get into the car he has to put that down because he can't get in the doors the doors are welded up just in case they fly open as well the first thing you see obviously is this seat which is certainly different from the normal car it's padded to keep the driver in the seat against the high Bank TOS at high speeds the G's that he gets holds them in particularly in the shoulder side here of course the driver wear seat Bel like every driver in the road should nowadays he's got two shoulder straps he's got a waist strap and then he's got one that slips through between his legs the reason for that to stop something called submarining when a driver on heavy impact can slide underneath his own seat belts and sometimes even get the capitated that has happened this certainly would stop that steering wheel it's paded in the case of impact as well it's got fire extinguishers on board although the fire hazard is certainly minimized in the NASCAR by the fact that this the tanks are sealed outside the survival cell that we're looking at right now it's underneath the car and shouldn't get in if a fire does occur however we've got two fire extinguishers independently operated by the driver or by a rescue crew who could come they just pull the pin and the fire signature goes off there the all over cage is the most important factor of all and this has probably saved more life than anyone else you see all of this cage in here heavily pattied again to stop the driver from coming into contact with his arms or his crash helmet to stop severe impact but that roll over cage is certainly save more lives than anything else I can think of in any category of racing in the world on the wind screen as well we should have a little look at the windscreen because here there are struts on this windscreen to stop anything heavy coming in it's mandatory to to have three but Richard Petty a man of safety has four so that he's not going to have anything come in there there's a lot in safety in NASCAR it's the safest type of motor racing that I know and I would rather be in this car in an accident than any other I know well I taped that particular piece some time ago but all the things that I said in there are responsible for the fact that AJ f is not very seriously injured after an incredible accident on this front stretch here at Daytona the car flipped as I said around 190 mph and that cage that was inside the K inside the car truly helped AJ F from Serious injury all right we're going to have a report from the pits on AJ FY from chrisy Kaki Chris I just was over at the field hospital and talked to Dr Carol her the man who treated AJ fo before he was sent to Halifax Hospital here in Daytona Beach he said that fo's injuries are contusions and abrasions and the intervenous injection bottle was a precaution in case he has a broken shoulder Dr Heron does not think that AJ for has a broken shoulder but he's undergo x-rays in the hospital now he expects them to be held overnight and if there are no bones broken we should be released tomorrow back to you Jim all right Chris that's certainly the most optimistic report we've had on AJ FY and good news to everybody here at Daytona and around the country the leader is still Buddy Baker in car number 27 however the second place car of Bobby Allison has just pitted under the green that's going to drop him back a good ways and I would believe although we can't see as yet whether he's Managed IT that K yber will move into second place only three cars remember on the same lap we have passed the 370 M Mark of the 4 500 mile race we passed lap 151 49 laps to go and still Buddy Baker in no apparent trouble now thing that Buddy Baker probably has less experience in than anything else I think Jackie is cooling it being way ahead in a race and being able just to try to drive not a slow but certainly a cautious and intelligent race he's usually had to try to charge to pass somebody else well I think your word cautious there is the main thing Buddy Baker the man on the left hand side of your screen now he has to stay out of trouble I mean this is the key to the type of accidents that we've seen today so far at detona the enormous speed that the cars reach around this racetrack averaging more than 0 mph if an accident happens or an incident of any kind even a mechanical happening happens up front of you you have to be in a position to position your car in such a way as to get round the slowing vehicle because when you're doing at a speed of more than 190 mph you have to smoothly negotiate any trouble that you might run into and that's what Buddy Baker the man you're looking at right now has to do he's after a first prize of at least $51,500 lap money can bring that to considerably more and you see that second place third place fourth place are also extremely profitable here total money $457,500 in the annual Daytona 500 so Buddy Baker still in the lead second place now is Carol yoro as I said he was able to pass Bobby Allison there is car yor in car number 11 he was able to pass Bobby Allison when Allison hitted under the green however it may be that y BR and Baker will have to come in now there is Bobby Allison in his car number 15 who is in third place and still on the same lap only three cars on the same lap in fourth place is Ron Hutcherson in car number 53 the teammate of AJ F and the brother younger brother of Dick Hutcherson who was a very skilled NASCAR driver of a few years ago in fifth place is Benny Parsons who is also only one lap down so those two cars still bear some watching Jackie with the kind of things that have been happening today well you can never leave anything to Chance in a race of this kind but I think the big question now is whether this blue and white car can change the luck of Buddy Baker could change to to bring him back to be a winner because I think a lot of people had given up the idea of Buddy Baker coming to be a winner predicted because of his winless year last season and of course buddy bacer more than anyone else must have been in some way questioning his position and his future in Motor Racing even though you know that you've got the basic talent to drive quickly there's always that rumbling fear are you ever going to get it together if you don't get it together now is your racing career going to come to an end it's a very difficult situation for any d particularly when you're not an old man here's a young man Buddy Baker whose father of course was a great success in the sport also Buck Baker Buddy Baker lead leading the race by the way is in an Olds mobile now until K yo very recently won the first NASCAR race of this season on the road course at Riverside California in Oldsmobile no Oldsmobile had won a NASCAR race in 20 years and when was that it was the very first Daytona 500 won by Lee Petty the father of Richard Petty who led this race earlier today he won in a 59 Oldsmobile I can almost remember what they look like and here it is 1978 in the 20th Daytona 500 and SS is back again when I came to Daytona this week I looked around the garage area and I saw names like o mobile and I saw the name of Buick somehow or other when I come to America I expect these cars to be driven by middle-aged very conservative Republicans they don't seem to be the type of names that you would expect to be running around a super speedway at Daytona maybe some of these drivers are going to be a little conservative from now on well the second place car at the moment kale yor is also an Oldsmobile and as for Bobby Allison he is in a fourth those are the only three cars still on the same lap Buddy Baker the leader however and he's a very interesting guy he's slow talking but he is not slow thinking he's quick of Mind humorous sort of guy Budd he is and most of all very very big let's meet him a little bit Buddy Baker well buddy you're driving a new car and you had problems in the one 125 crunched it when you ran into oil what shape is it in now for the 500 well Chris I don't know uh I really don't know uh we found rear end housing all been out of shape this morning we uh changed a lot of things on the car and you know it looks good in the garage as far as everything Plumbing back up but uh you really don't know until you they drop the green flag and we go off in the first corner but uh had we not found the rear end housing bent like it was I'm sure I'd have been out in 15 20 miles budy you had consistent poor luck here at Daytona you you look as though you're jinxed at this racetrack well it does look that way you know I got burned two or three times at Talladega and it was in several big crashes there and then I went went on to win three straight there so you know uh I don't think there's such a thing as a jinx track or anything else I anybody else would hit the oil that I hit in 125 M they' have went the same way I did it just seems that uh here at Daytona um my luck has run a little bad but I think if it ever goes the other way as bad in the same direction as it has in bad I'll be in good shape well we hope it changes for you buddy well thank you so far today that luck has finally changed that was a disappointed Buddy Baker yesterday after his accident on Friday in the 125 M qualifying race disappointed he as he was he could have had no idea really of how things might go today starting from 31st position in the race he is now the leader with 43 laps to go we'll be back we return live to Daytona Buddy Baker still safely leading the 20th annual running of the Daytona 500 at age 37s possibly on his way to the greatest victory of his racing career in car number 27 a new number for him for a long time he had car number 15 on his car number 15 is third at the moment but this year that's driven by Bobby Allison that number in second place is number 11 Carol yo he's had that number for a good long while Buddy Baker the leader another report from the pits and Chris I'm I'm standing in leader buddy Baker's pit in 6 to eight laps he'll come in for his final Pit Stop of this race and it's going to be these men that can win or lose the race for the big man from Charlotte they're all on the kyv they want to get him in and out as fast as possible back to you Jim all right Chris and there is the man who'll be coming in very shortly then for his final pit stop and the timing of that will be important although he has what looks like a comfortable lead over car yo right now one slip of the Jack one mistake by a member of the pit crew could make the difference well of course you're depending so much on your pit crew here at Theona and these NASCAR pit Crews have really become very famous for their talents people like the Wood Brothers who look after the car that is normally driven by David Pearson the petty crew is very famous also and they could become very famous today the crew of Buddy Baker if they do something wrong they will certainly become very Infamous and there's K yabra into the pits the man who's leading this year's NASCAR championship points and has been the winner of that same championship for the last two years he's got a do he's got a very good experience pit you've got Junior Johnson a great stock car racing driver he's the car owner he's the man who masterminds the whole effort a little slow out of the pets goes number 11 K yra as he accelerates down pit Lane all right there is K yro in car number 11 we have another late report from an official at Halifax Hospital they say that uh AJ point is still being x-rayed and has been placed in the concentrated care unit however we would repeat that uh chrisy Kaki reported from the pits that his information was that AJ was going to be okay that these injuries were not going to be serious just the latest word we have that's true what you see on your screen that Carol y won his second consecutive Grand National Title in NASCAR in 1977 no one has ever won three in a row that's one of his aims for this year but also his aim would be to win in his third Daytona 500 only one man has won more of these races than K Aro has and that was Richard Petty who's won five kale is won two and is aiming for three Buddy Baker has never won this race never never at all and he's never made any Secret in which he is very similar to most of the NASCAR drivers never metant any secret of the fact that this is it this is his goal for a lifetime Allison is second now remember yor you saw coming out after a pit stop and yor is third huton fourth is a lap down Benny Parsons fifth is also a lap down in the race standing by for the scheduled pit stop coming up of Buddy Baker the leader what do you foresee is there anything you can foresee that could change this situation aside from something unexpected Jackie right now I don't anticipate any big change but of course in stock car racing or in any kind of motor racing as being a driver I've always be prepared that anything can happen the smileing Buddy Baker's face right now as you see him going around this High banked overal here is fine but that smile could be wiped off very quickly just in a split second remember of all the thousands almost millions of moving parts that's going on inside the shell of that racing car right now every one of them they're the things that buddy Baker's depending on not only the men who are down there waiting for them to come in for fuel and tires but all these little Parts ball races and everything else and that's buddy Baker's dependence he's got to wait for all of those things to last 500 miles is a long way particularly when you're getting the stresses and strains that these mechanical parts are going through right now lapping at incredible speeds well over 177 mph getting up to speeds of 190 down the street okay let's take a look at uh k y out there see how he's doing kale still in good shape except for himself he's not in the lead he's in third place now after that pit stop car yro last year as we said won the Nascar Nascar national champion chionship we might take a look at the finish of last year's Daytona 500 in which Carol yber Of course was very intimately involved let's go back on videotape all right they're the only two cars on the same lap remember yarboro and Barson in third place is Buddy Baker one lap down cuckoo Marlin in fourth place two laps down and Dick Brooks in fifth place two laps down coming for the White Flag which means one lap to go it's being held furled and now it's out there it is one lap to go and it's certainly doesn't look as if Benny Farson is close enough unless he's got some extra RPMs he hasn't used he can't do it he can't do it I don't believe he can do it unless something happens to to kale yra I don't believe there's any opportunity for him to get there at all there's the relationship you can see it's wide open there it's of course just fractions of seconds and away but it's too far on the racetrack this is a a big racetrack to cover but I'm afraid they can't do it it's 2 and 1/2 miles long but they're now going into turn three he's already in it kale yra is high in the banking there there's no way that Benny passons can catch him now well what a beginning for the year 1977 it will be for William Caleb yarber of Timmonsville South Carolina he won the Nascar season long championship last year and now he wins the Daytona 500 at age 37 for the second time 9 years after his initial Victory here well that was last year when Carol y won his second Daytona 500 the personable race driver from Timmonsville South Carolina his first 500 Victory had come more than a decade before now he's in third place and also on that last Pit Stop he lost a lap and that's vitally important to him he is now one lap down to the two leaders Buddy Baker and Bobby Allison so it's the two men who started in 31st and 33rd position on the starting grid who are now the only people in the same lap in the race the race goes on we'll be back live we're back live at Daytona and we have a new leader in the race Bobby Allison has just has taken the lead from uh from Buddy Baker but remember this and this is a big if Bobby Allison has not yet made his last Pit Stop he must make another one Buddy Baker just came out of his last Pit Stop under the green flag and that is why he lost the lead however we would expect that to be temporary let's take a look on videotape at the pit stop just made by Buddy Baker remember he had a comfortable lead in this race and then in he came Jackie he comes into the pit Lane here he's coming in fast because he's pit is in fact quite a long way down pit Lane oh two3 way down pit Lane so his entry speed is very high but he's got to be very careful that he doesn't overrun his pit a lot of nervousness he's got to do it very accurately they're putting in fuel and at this time they're also changing inside rubber that's to say they're changing two tires on one side of the car the left hand side of the car you can see the clock at the bottom of the screen timing this very important pit stop for Buddy Baker one of those mechanics makes an error now it could mean the end of this Victory race for him as he stands to win the dayona 500 he leaves in 18.9 seconds as he goes back onto the racetrack and we're back live here at Daytona so it is Bobby Allison the leader in the rage with Buddy Baker second as no now buddy Baker excuse me has just moved back in front of Allison again that is very important uh but that is the way they stand there's no laps between them they stand exactly that way now should there be a yellow flag for any reason Allison would be able to make his Pit Stop get back out close up on Buddy Baker and the Finish could be extremely close certainly a yellow flag would be a great help right now of course to Allison but it would also be a help to Buddy Baker now I think Allison could pick up perhaps about three seconds in this pit stop because an 18.9 second spit stop is not a particularly fast one we can certainly see them getting out in 15 seconds which would certainly help him a great deal it's not going to help him as much as he would like but of course one yellow flag here at Kona could change the whole face of this competition and remember but Bobby Allison hasn't had the best best of luck over the last few years also you're looking at two men right now who have been faced with a great deal of luck in a way good fortune today by virtue that some of the really Front Runners have been eliminated by accidents and problems and therefore those two now find themselves in a one-w position so it'll be interesting to see if these two sort of hard luck drivers of the last few seasons can regain some of their confidence by the success that they might achieve today okay but the situation is remember that Baker is the leader in the race but by a very narrow Mark still Allison must make the pit stop even if it is a fast one under the green it will cost him a lot of seconds and Baker will have his comfortable lead back again if the yellow flag should come out Allison would be able to almost maintain position with Buddy K yor by the way is back on the same lap and that's important the action continues live at Daytona Buddy Baker still leaves the Daytona 500 with not too many left to go less than 70 miles to go in the race now Bobby Allison is second k y is third all those cars on the same lap one lap down Benny Parsons and Ron huderson we continue to try to get reports on the condition of AJ voy who was injured in an accident here earlier today he's been taken to Halifax Hospital the last word we had was that this man four-time winner of Indianapolis was in the concentrated care unit still undergoing X-rays and conscious but in a confused State we have a videotape report now from the ambulance director of the speedway bill Honeycut here then is our ABC sports report on that he was brought into the uh NFL Care Center he was conscious uh we did stabilize him at the Care Center transported to Halifax Hospital in Daytona Beach he was conscious he talked to us all the way over he is in real good condition they are going to keep him overnight for observation okay the words are Bill Honeycut about AJ Foy here remember once again since that was videotaped our report from the hospital is x-rays being taken concentrated Care Unit that's the only official word that we have it truly is a remarkable thing television when you consider that was a live report from the hospital by ABC Sports this hospital is some distance from the racetrack itself but it really is amazing what the new electronic age can do okay not exactly live video tape just a little while ago on our unit however we now have Buddy Baker we have the into the pits buddy Bak we have the leader into the pits he's already pitted this is an unscheduled pit stop and it's under the green and he's changing inside rubber again there's something very strange Happening Here with Buddy Baker has Lady Luck deserted him again Bobby Allison is the leader in the race that stop took 18.8 seconds just suddenly out of nowhere the way things have happened all day today you've never seen anything develop you've never seen the problem begin it just has happened suddenly what do you think is the story Tire problems I guess it could be another tire problem for him you never know it could be that he wasn't comfortable that he felt a change in the car that he wasn't handling quite as well as he had been before and if of course with the sort of incidents that have been happening today the confidence of a driver is very important it could be where that he came in and said let's change them once again but one never knows all right the leader of the race then at age 41 is Bobby Allison of the racing Allison Brothers of Hui toown Alabama his brother Donnie was much better positioned on the starting grid than he was today but Donnie dropped out in the early going Bobby who started in 33rd position of the 41 cars that started the race is now the leader all by himself ironically driving the car that Buddy Baker drove last year at least for that team and there he is high in this banking here as he comes off the banking and turn four heading for this dog leg this amazing RAC trck in detona and this must be amazing to Bobby Allison right now he passes the wounded car of Dar Walter was involved in the accident earlier along with Richard Petty and of course the car of David Pearson but there you see the leader very low in the race track as he goes into the this 31° banking then he goes right up to the wall and starts to come down again using a peculiar Line Round Here as he gets into this long 30 well 3,000 ft backstretch could he possibly be running out of fuel he still has a pit stop to make no he certainly uh has a fuel stop to make perhaps he's coing it on hoping for a yellow flag but right now he's driving in a peculiar Line Round Here I haven't seen a car Diamond a banked Corner as they call it technically in this sport where you come from the bottom of the racetrack you go to the top of it and then you come back down again it is normal because of the banking and it's 18° of banking and this this dog leg in the tri over when he's on right now generally they use that banking to go consistently around the race track at the same item from the wall but that is not what Bobby Allison is doing as you can see all right well Bobby uh Jackie we have another report from the baker pits that his Pit Stop was due to a cut left rear tire and that's at least the third confirmed report today of cut tires where are these bits of debris coming from I'm sure they're coming from the fact that they have had torrential rain on this racetrack there's been a lot of movement around the racetrack from the infield onto the racetrack and I'm sure that could be it and there is kale y low on your your race screen there as we can see these two cars coming around here side by side they are racing for position in the race as we have it now kale got back on the same lap so he should be just that far behind buddy as of the moment this could be a real three carar finish uh no now we get the word that kale has just been lapped Again by by Buddy passing him he is now one lap behind however presuming that Bobby Allison has to make this final pit stop the time he loses in the pits could just about make up the difference by which he leads Buddy Baker now it's going to be a close finish whatever happens and remember this we are anticipating that there may be no more yellows if there were to be another yellow of course this would change the whole thing again and that is why it's enormously important for car number 11 K yabra to get ahead once more of Buddy Baker enormously important for him at this time okay the lead at the moment is 38 seconds but by the time a guard decelerates into the pits has the pit stop then accelerates again again that could be made up we'll be right back after this commercial message and a word from your local stations well Bobby Allison just made just made his l all right Bobby Allison has made a pit stop and the question is can Buddy Baker catch him before he gets back up to speed again there is Allison out on the racetrack and Buddy Baker is in Pursuit but still a matter of a couple hundred yards behind and there is there is Baker let's follow Buddy Baker as he tries to catch Bobby Allison this is real automobile racing in the closing phases live of the Daytona 500 the 20th annual all right he still has a way to go before he catches Bobby Allison but we'll keep an eye on him here was the pit stop just a few seconds ago on videotape and it was a good [Music] one all right Jackie there this was it well he really locked up coming in he nearly got tangled with another car there you can see the clock is running now he really did get tangled with that car he locked the rear brakes as he came in slid it into the pit Lane itself very accurately and off he did 12.5 seconds very fast as you can see and no down at Chris aonor macki in the pits well Bobby Allison was just in he made a pit stop and it was an exact duplicate of the one Buddy Baker made the routine one they got inside tires Fuel and a windshield C but the butt Mo Crow was much faster than the David if Crow and this is what sets up this great finish we're about to see back to you Jim all right Chris there are 18 laps to go in this race around this 2 and 1 Half Mile racetrack not very much out of 500 mil 500 mil of always exciting often spectacular and sometimes very dangerous and scary racing however as of now it appears that no one is seriously injured although AJ Foy is still undergoing X-rays and they are very close together Buddy Baker has just one car between him and Bobby Allison right now it looks like that they both completed their pit stops they could race this way to the end there is Allison in the lead number 15 and one car in between and then Buddy Baker well this is very close indeed this is going to be One Wing dang finish I can be sure of that you're going to see a typic difficult dayt to a finish this is the kind of finish that we're expecting here always of course car number 72 there trying to unlap himself is Benny Parsons a man who knows how to finish here in Daytona and you know Benny Parsons I believe has just gotten himself back on the same lap with the leader scoreboard still showing a one behind but I think perhaps he's on the same lap that could prove to be important should there be a yellow flag but the big battle is right here it is Bobby Allison and Buddy Baker two hard luck Racers for the last couple years two men who have come close before in this race but have never won it apparently going to fight it out to the Finish lurking some distance behind them but definitely on the same lap Carol yor in car number 11 the defending champion and all it will take right now is one yellow flag for someone to drop a little bit of oil for another car to spin any kind of incident that would bring out a yellow flag or the pace car could bring that man Benny Parsons right up behind the field and certainly allow kale yarra to come right up behind the two cars that you're looking at number two and three on the screen right now and now Jackie the scoreboard agrees with us they have now put Benny Parsons on the same lap with the leaders so that's significant we now have four cars on the same lap we have Bobby Allison and Buddy Baker fighting for the lead some distance back kale yoro and a lot further back in fact just ahead of the leader Bobby Allison we have Benny Parsons but he's on the same lap and the yellow Pike could help him close up and of course that's the strategy that he's working right now there is an ascar rule that's quite interesting to look at if a yellow flag comes on they have to go right around the racetrack and they can pass until they get to the start Finishing Line so right now the big thing for him to do is if a yellow flag were to come out he would have to one way or another keep Bobby Allison and Buddy Baker behind him come hang or high water all right hang or high water all right Benny Parsons is the lead car that you see but remember he is almost one lap behind the leaders drafting on him is the race leader Bobby Allison and in back of him the second place car of Buddy Baker Bobby Allison has been around a long time the first time he came out on the circuit was in 1961 17 years ago and there you see a lot of movement in there look at the movement that you've just seen among stat traffic what a way buddy Baker charged up in he's taking the lead yes he just charged up in that traffic there Jim got past Bobby Allison it was a question of reading the traffic lanes and really taking full ADV advantage of them and there you see he's going to try and make a move on Benny pass now he's using traffic he's got Ty Scott and he unlap he puts Benny passers back again a lap behind him he really has wed that traffic well a virtal alsoo bit of driving by a man who many people have accused of being a charger and nothing more that certainly was not just a charger well it was a charge with a little bit of intelligence mixed into it right now it was a man of great uh determination that was wanting to do that but certainly he did it with caution 13 laps to go 13 laps left to the Daytona 500 and Buddy Baker determinedly and skillfully has again taken the lead this is all live there are less than 12 laps to go as we come to you live from the Daytona International Speedway Jim McKay with Jackie Stewart and Chris aaki and look at this a battle for the lead between Buddy Baker and car number 27 and Bobby Allison in car number 15 Baker retook the lead just a couple of minutes ago if you were with us by skillful Maneuvers in in traffic after he had trailed Allison after their final pit stops it's been an incredible day of racing here the first 60 laps were totally accident or incident free uh the longest period that had ever been experienced here without a yellow flag then suddenly things began to happen with Richard Petty leaving the race he was involved in a crash with the second and third place cars of Daryl Waltrip and David Pearson later there was an accident involving AJ point now we've got a yellow we've got a yellow and that's going to enable the other two cars of car and Benny Parsons to close up here although again the scoreboard is showing Parsons one lap down I think he was just past again tough luck for Benny because being a lap down will make all the difference but kale yoro is now on the same lap and here's that racing to the Finish Line under the NASCAR under the NASCAR Rule and it's Bobby Allison getting in front of Buddy Baker remember they've got to come back to the Finishing Line before they can get that yellow officially and I'm not allowed to pass and look at that it was so close as they came to that I think at that time ahead was still Bobby Allison was ahead as he got there but this was the race to the and here you see in slow motion bottom side of the screen there is Bobby Allison and the high side of the screen is Buddy Baker and he just gets across Bobby Allison before that yellow flag became official because even though the yellow flag came out even though the yellow lights were flashing and you those yellow lights now they flash all around the racetrack even though the drivers see those they have to get back to the start Finishing Line before that yellow becomes operative and the rule of the yellow flag is that you're not allowed to overtake another car during that yellow flag being out but of course it only becomes operative after the start Finishing Line in other words the difference between Bobby Allison and Buddy Baker as they went across the start Finish Line there a matter of a couple of feet could be the determin winning factor in this race because should the race finish under the yellow and there are less than 10 laps to go obviously Bobby Allison would be the leader because he's in the lead but only by the amount by which he led Buddy Baker when they came across the start Finish Line uh now kale yoro will be closing up under the yellow in carnival 11 so his hopes of winning this race increase of course the green must come out for him to do that the reason for the yellow is not apparent except that there's a car down in the dirt uh up on turn one or two is it turn turn one yeah but remember of course that K yabra in third place is now being able to close right up in the leading dual and that means that he can catch all the race strike right up so therefore he can achieve that and this is a great break for K yabra excuse me Jackie they say we're going to get yes one finger they're going to get the green flag in one lap the debris is cleared from the track kale yo probably will not be able to get close enough although we'll keep an eye on him but it's going to be a Sprint to the Finish with nine laps to go what a finish this is going to be typical Daytona 500 we've seen it before we've seen it for years now and this is what's going to happen you're going to see these two young well two experienced drivers but luckless drivers over the last two years you've got the lead car there car number 15 Bobby Allison car number 27 is in second place Big Buddy Baker and now you're going to see closing up on them hopefully you're going to see K yarra in car number 11 that well could be a really strong three-way fight to the Finish here there's been a suggestion that kale yarra's car has lost a little bit of its power there lost the edge of its performance but let's wait and see if you're wondering where drivers Like Richard Petty and David Pearson and Daryl walri and AJ Foy are all of them were involved in crashes earlier in the day AJ is still undergoing x-rays in Halifax Hospital three cars on the same lap Bobby Allison and Buddy Baker and Carol yber those are the only ones with an apparent chance to win the race the pace car off the track the green flag is out they're racing again at Daytona and it is Bobby Allison and Buddy Baker on the front Carol yo is too far back it appears at this point to make it he's got about a half a dozen cars between him and Allison and Baker but it's Allison and Baker with less than eight laps to go in the race now it's going to be a trophy Dash now you're going to see the tactics now you're going to see how these drivers are going to think and you're going to see these cars using different lines trying to find the right place to be in with a with a Lap or the last lap to go buddy baker has gotten the lead again now he got pass Bobby Allison on the restart so it is bigger in the lead now and Allison second and of course now you're going to see what drafting is all about what slipstreaming is all about right now they're not slipstreaming and there you see Dave Marcus car number two there he's not in this race right now as far as the lead is concerned but he's taken the lead on the racetrack and he's certainly a factor in what could happen in the race and now we have seven laps to go seven laps to go to the finish line it's the two blue and white cars of Buddy Baker number 27 and down low Bobby Allison going for the lead again and he picked up the draft in fact of Dave Marcus who's in front of him that's why you saw that sudden it seemed acceleration that car of Dave Marcus was breaking the air and therefore Bobby Allison the car number 15 took advantage of that and slipped past without any trouble now there he goes out in the racetrack on his own you've got the leader there car number 15 Bobby Allison leading the donon 500 and he's taken a little bit of a lead over Buddy Baker now Baker is he still in the draft do you think oh it looks like he's close enough to be in it now oh he's strong in the draft you'll see in fact he'll close up quite markably down this dog leg this 18° Bing that they're going down now heading for turn one in the 31° banking of this turn one and turn two he's really tight in already look how much time he's grow six less than six laps to go we were scheduled for a commercial here we'll tell our people in control we're not going to take it right now the racing is too important too exciting this is the reason we came here today we've been here for going on 3 and 1/2 hours since the start of this race it's been uh well well over an hour now since we came on the air live and of course earlier than that during Superstars or most of these stations we were on with live reports and there is Marcus again getting in between I thought I saw Buddy Baker shaking his fist there at at and Buddy Baker slowed down yeah he's up high in the banking Buddy Baker may be in trouble there and look at him in traffic he could easily be involved in it seemed to be very strange Buddy Baker seemed to raise his hand he's blown an engine SM out of he's a what a bad bit of luck buddy Baker's engine has blown right in the front stretch here a lot of smoke coming out of the car there BU as has happened to buddy so many times in the past Lady Lo simpley has not been with him on this racetrack ever since he came here the early 1960s here he has been leading much of the way for the last 200 miles and now it's all all going to be over again where he's placed in the race makes no difference to him as long as it isn't first and it isn't going to be first today Bobby Allison has retaken the lead and is the apparent winner one car still in the same lap with Allison however is kale yarro but he is not close to him there will be four laps to go when they get to the start Finish Line the next time well that incident for me started to happen on the back straight I saw the hand of Buddy Baker going in the air the frustration he almost slammed it down on the steering wheel and he knew then that that was the end of his day well perhaps it was simply fate that he was shaking his fist at not another driver then no I'm sure it was fate I'm sure it was annoyance that he knew his engine had blown I thought he was shaking and making motions towards that other driver in car number two but that was not the case there you have the race leader Bobby Allison simply drafting on a car that is not in contention number two of Dave Marcus but a fast car a good race car one that can go at the speeds that Allison would still like to to keep up and in fact an advantage to Bobby Allison at this time to have a car to draft to be able to slip stream to be able to still get round this RAC trck quickly and of course it helps both cars when there is a draft taking place like that ironically Jim Bobby Allison is driving the car the Buddy Becker just left the team that buddy Beaker left at the end of last season the car that is now winning that this race right now is that very same team okay Carol yoro is in second place he's not in your picture that isn't what the superimposition means it simply means he's second in the race Bobby Allison number 15 is the leader Dave Marcus is one of the back markers in the race but he is being used by the leader there is K yo uh a good distance behind here you can see the relationship between kale there all the way across the racetrack here coming up to the race leader uh Bobby Allison when we say a long way again uh the problem with the tire problem with an engine still could make the difference with a little more than two laps to go he's about 2,500 fet in fact almost the length of the back stretch behind the lead car anything of course can happen as we've seen here at Daytona but that certainly is becoming less true and in fact fonly into the pit Lane now comes Buddy Baker driving very slowly as we from our commentary position can see this and what must be going through this poor man's head right now when Bobby Allison comes to the start Finish Line the next time he will get the white flag he has never seen that before for himself as the race leader in the Daytona 500 one more lap after the white flag and he will after such a long and often times a frustrating career have won the greatest of all stock car races the Daytona 500 the skies are cloudy here today overcast we've had rain rain and more rain all through the week and yet all of the races have been gotten in one way or another and you can be sure that the sun will appear to shine for Bobby Allison if he gets in that well a little more than one more lap now coming to the start finish line there's the white flag one more time around and Bobby Allison will have won the race his brother Don run somewhere in the pitch you can be sure is exulting with him Buddy Baker nothing but heartbreak for him as his car is in the pits and for so many others today for Richard Petty who was after his six but after leading the race was involved in an accident in the fairly early going at the 150 mile Mark heartbreak for David Pearson here today and for Daryl Waltrip all of whom were up there for the lead for AJ F who is still in the hospital back on the lead it is Bobby Allison readying himself for the checkered flag you saw kale yro number 11 in second place a full length of the straight away behind Allison in third place now is Ron huderson a lap down in fourth place Benny Parson also a lap down in fifth place dick Brooks two laps Down The Checkered Flag will be coming out for Allison before a crowd of more than a 100,000 people and that's it it's all over after an exhausting traumatic day of motor racing here at Daytona Bobby Allison has won the Daytona 500 here is kale yabo the defending champion and the current NASCAR National season long Champion coming in for second place those are the only two cars to finish on the same lap again third place one lap down Ron Hutcherson the teammate of AJ point then Benny Parsons in 72 dick Brooks number 90 there's more to come here so stay with us and we'll be back 500 and incidentally for the first time since 1959 that is a Ford Thunderbird which surrounds him at this moment not since 59 has a Thunderbird won a NASCAR race they won six in that year that was the only year that they won any races on the circuit a thund Thunderbird has never before won the Daytona 500 so again the winner Allison second place Carol yro for third place that was virtually a photo finish in fact that's what they're calling it right now they haven't really decided to between two cars that were a lap down Ron huderson and Benny Parsons another former winner of this race Allison however is not a former winner it's the first time for him in the climax of his racing career absolutely incredible race what a finish we always seem to get in these stock car racings there's no other kind of racing in the world that I think blows in the excitement and the presence of this and look at this car here soiled by the oil of others as it comes towards Victory Circle it must be a happy man who's ended luck okay Chris are you down there can you get through Victory Lane let's just bend down a little bit take a look at the front of Allison's car before he gets out he's this is a kind of uh Dam it's done to these machines the paint is all pitted oil streak look at his windshield I don't know how anybody could see out of that windshield to drive a car let alone win a 500 mile race in it and Bobby Allison is getting a drink he's totally exhausted he'll be out getting out of that car in a matter of minutes down here and ironic is the fact that this Nars Ford was Buddy Baker's ride through the end of last season a change of teams for Baker he wanted what he said was a better ride for 1978 and he switched to the MC Anderson mobile Bobby Allison moved out of his own car to this ride and now it's a winning combination here at the Dayton International Speedway Allison has been trying to win this race for a great number of years and here he comes out of the car we're going to try and get a get a word with him now hey W that's a way to smile Bobby how long's it been youve been trying here boy I'll tell you I've come here before I ever went to any other NASCAR track and I've never won a major race till now and I'm just so tickled that Mr Nars gave me the opportunity to do this and of course budmore we had all kinds of trouble all day and I when I got in the wall over there with Ron Hutchinson I thought the day was over but uh things turned around and really went right for us soing wet I got my hand on your back you're dripping wet what was it like in the car well it really wasn't bad the car just drove perfectly all day and uh you know I would just tickle with a Nars Thunderbird out in California and we had engine trouble uh early so we couldn't show how good the car drove it drove like like a million dollars today I when the track started to tear up in three and four I could go below the hole or above it I didn't have to hit the hole and that's what was given the other guys a lot of trouble Bobby you and buddy had your troubles in the qualifying race and here it came down to two cars that were badly banged up a few days ago to come down for the lead did you see uh buddy blow no I didn't see him blow I saw that Marcus was really running good in the bottom and I just made the choice to draft him and I couldn't tell who was who behind me but but I could see that whoever was back there was losing ground as long as I stayed with Dave and I got to tell him thanks a lot for helping the Nars Thunderbird win this race what' you think uh when you went by Baker there well I knew that he is having his hands full in the corners anyway I didn't know that he was having engine trouble but uh I knew that he was having handling troubles and I thought that uh maybe that would be our strong suit the car did run perfectly all day I got to give a just a tremendous amount of credit to budmore and all the crew I wrecked the car on Thursday as you know and uh they've rebuilt it and uh we suffered through a lot of problems today and they just kept right on going and here we are well Bobby if you weren't out of breath from winning the 500 you're out of breath from a Victory Lane interview winner Bobby Allison here and it's for the for Allison the thrill of victory and for Buddy Baker the agony of defeat back to you Jim no question about that Chris and mentioning that Wide World of Sports will be following this race over most of these ABC stations Bobby Allison is 41 years old as we said he first came out on the circuit in 1961 he didn't have a win for his first three years on the circuit and after that it has come very very slowly to him his best year 1971 he won 10 races did the same thing in 72 then dropped off then had good years in 75 and 76 uh but not again last year he didn't win a race now uh again if you joined us late remember that Richard Petty led the race for a while was involved in an accident with Daryl Waltrip and U with David Pearson all them out of the race AJ fo is in the H hospital at an accident is there if there's any further report on AJ's condition we will be bringing it to you during ABC's Wide World of Sports which as I said follows immediately over most of these stations our assistants in the booth and very capable ones today were Jay Milligan and old friend and colleague dick kirner we're going to take a commercial and then we will be right back again at Daytona franker back in our studio in New York a very exciting Daytona 500 we'll be going back down to Daytona in just a few moments we like to keep you up to date on what's going on in pro basketball this afternoon Washington playing without Phil chener and Mitch cjack beat New Orleans minus Pete marovich 130 to 111 High man for Washington was Elvin Hayes he had 31 points Bobby Dandridge had 22 for the winners and out in Denver the Nuggets high-scoring Trio of David Thompson Dan Isel and Bobby Jones combined for 80 points as Denver beat Boston 118 to 115 John havich at 23 points for Boston but he fouled out in the final quarter Boston also in trouble playing with that Dave cowens JoJo white and Curtis row they're all hurt elsewhere in the NBA at Philadelphia the 76ers outscored New Jersey 120 to 110 and it was D to over Kansas City 110 to 107 while Seattle beat Milwaukee 108 to 103 well coming up at 5:30 Eastern 4:30 Central except on the west coast it'll be the Glenn Campbell La Open golf championship and a very tightly bunched field after three rounds but one of the great names was not there Arnold Palmer was playing down in Australia this afternoon he was beaten in the $55,000 Victorian open in Melbourne but the winner guy Walston home needed three extra holes before he could put Arie away the Englishman who lives in Australia tied Palmer with a 25ft birdie on the final regulation hole and then one when Palmer bogey the third extra hole Walston home paring it this of course the second time wolston Hol has won this event in sudden death he beat Australian grah Marsh two years ago on the second extra hole well as we said before the Daytona 500 a thriller all the way a lot of Twisted machinery and a very happy Bobby Allison okay let's go back to Jim McKay Bobby Allison started the Daytona 500 today in 33rd position on the starting grid out of a field of 41 cars he had to pass one car after another danger in every pass going through traffic all the way he worked his way up to the top 10 then saw attrition begin to set in on the leaders on people like Richard PTY and Daryl Waltrip and David Pearson he saw AJ F flip on the roof of his car and be taken to the hospital he saw many incidents out there today and finally he saw Buddy Baker tantalizingly in front of him with victory in sight and suddenly the break that that never come to Bobby Allison on this racetrack in his lifetime came buddy Baker's engine blue Allison passed him and went on to Victory kale yro the defending Champion finished second there's still that photo finish for third between Ron Hutcherson and Benny Parson 24 cars of the original 41 finished the race the average speed was 159.3max: 3 hours 7 minutes and 8 seconds and can you imagine Jack he hasn't started hasn't happened many times I'm sure in any field of racing where a man started in 33rd position and won the race certainly a record here at Daytona it has never happened before and I don't expect it'll happen for a very long time to be able to come from that far back in the grid to come through the sort of traffic and the incidents as you've pointed out takes of course a great deal of experience and this is what Bobby Allison has a great deal of knowledge and experience the sort of person who you would expect to be able to thread the the needle so to speak won't be too long Jackie to we'll be picking up the usack the US Auto Club trail out in Ontario California to see their season begin boys it's going to be quite a year look at that still a photo finish for third we'll be back Captain Mike Fitzpatrick is piloting the Goodyear blimp Mayflower High over the Daytona International Speedway and there you get a very good idea of how many people came here today in the infield surrounding that Lake there are thousands of campers and vans and Automobiles tens of thousands of people in the grand stand itself more than 70,000 people they added 5,000 new seats on turn three last year those were all occupied again today as we said no offici official attendance has given out now not even a semi-official estimate has come to us so far today but it's believed to be well over 100,000 could be as much as 120 or 130,000 people the story once again Bobby Allison coming from 33rd position to win the 20th Daytona 500 and Bobby or Jack Bobby isn't here but Jackie is still here and I'm getting pretty tired how about you well it's been a long day and for those people also in this enormous racetrack 450 acres of it we're looking right now that that carries this great dayona racetrack it has been a tiring day but for the drivers it must be tiring too and I from a racing driver's point of view would wish to send every luck to AJ F send them best wishes from all of us here in ABC Sports from I'm sure all of the fans that know him around the world and I'm sure he's in good hands and we're going to see AJ F in very short time there is AJ F the four-time winner of the Indianapolis 500 should there be a further report on his condition in the next hour or two we will give that to you on ABC's Wide World of Sports over most of these stations the executive producer of ABC Sports is run arage today's coverage of the Daytona 500 was produced by Chet 40 and directed by Larry cam our technical director Bill moris and our associate producer Rick levita our associate directors norm samit and Jeff Kohan for now this is Jim McKay along with Jackie Stewart and Chrissy Kaki saying soong from Daytona International Speedway coming up next ABC's Wide World of Sports featuring National Ice dancing championship the Mr Olympia contest and the world 30 km cross country skiing Championship the Daytona 500 has been brought to you by FRAM makers of oil air and fuel filters when Shield wipers and auto light spark plugs and tuneup kits by Yamaha motorcycles featuring The Ultimate in Yamaha fourstroke technology the remarkable new xs1 Yamaha when you know how they're built the blimp was provided to us by the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company travel arrangements made through and a promotional fee paid by United Airlines united built the largest airline in the Free World around you this has been a presentation of ABC Sports recognized around the world world as the leader in sports television again the winner Bobby Allison

Channel: NASCAR Classics

Views: 7,743

Keywords: nascar, classic nascar races, nascar cup series, retro nascar, vintage, vintage nascar, vintage racing, Richard petty, dale Earnhardt, dale Earnhardt sr., Jeff gordon

Id: vcGZB9ldNw4

Length: 72min 32sec (4352 seconds)

Published: Fri Dec 15 2023