The Worst NASCAR Race Ever: The 1969 Talladega 500

talladega super speedway has been shrouded in controversy for longer than most race fans today have been alive you may think this all started in the late 80s with the introduction of the restrictor played in the advent of pack racing which led to the inevitable big one accidents making drivers and owners alike livid to no end some say it goes back even further to the 1800s when the native americans who lived in this place were pushed out by the us army during the trail of tears and the natives cursed this land as they left centuries-old stories notwithstanding the most well-documented story behind talladega's troubled past goes back to the very first race in september of 1969 what ensues is a tale of baptists and the united states department of defense of boycotts and opportunities lost of tire wars and tire failures of greed and deceit of workers rights and of union busting this was the very first race ever at talladega super speedway and it was the worst race in nascar history [Music] it was humongous i thought daytona was big but then you look at that track it looks like you put daytona inside [Music] it's pretty horrifying to think that a guy had been out there running on something like that we ain't going to do this our necks out there on the road this car is going to be in the race if you don't drive with somebody else will let's face it i won the race no doubt about it and when he said that to me leroy stepped from behind me and punched him from the face and knocked him down [Music] in order to tell this story we're gonna have to go back like way back like all the way to the beginning this is talladega super speedway circa 1949 at this point it isn't a speedway at all this is aniston air force base and the small town of anniston in talladega county alabama originally opened in 1942 as a training school for the united states army air corps during world war ii the post-war years for anniston air base have not been kind by the time the 1960s roll around the airfields have fallen into disrepair but the us army still needs it because the vietnam war is gearing up and the need to run ammo from the aniston army depot out to the west coast however the city of anniston and talladega county can't afford it they don't have the money and they don't have the manpower enter big bill france senior current president and ceo of nascar who is looking to build the biggest baddest track in the world in south carolina there are a few stories surrounding the original idea of the biggest baddest speedway being built some say it's supposed to be built in raleigh other people saved somewhere in south georgia but to me this one makes the most sense and it is the one that has been the most popular of the years big bill france wants to build a new track and a big market he wants it to be even bigger and better than daytona so he makes the turns just a little bit steeper the track just a little bit wider and the length just a little bit longer his target halfway between the existing tracks of charlotte motor speedway and atlanta raceway and greenville south carolina is the perfect spot it's right dead center in the middle just one hiccup with this master plan south carolina has blue laws on the books at this time if you don't know what a blue law is then good for you live in a sensible part of the country blue laws are essentially laws passed in heavily baptist areas that pertain to what kind of activities you can do and not do during the sabbath and for baptists that is every sunday of the year some of these blue laws are actually still in the books today like in some counties in south carolina you can't buy beer on sunday and to this day every liquor store in south carolina is closed on sundays but back in the 1960s they were a lot more all-encompassing in some places you couldn't open any kind of business on sunday and in most places you couldn't hold a social or a sporting event on sunday back then and that was a statewide law not just limited to counties bill france tries to petition the state legislature to change these laws but to no avail they're not budging if you're wondering then how the southern 500 at darlington raceway ever became a thing well that was because back in the day they used to run the 500 not on the weekend of labor day but on labor day itself a monday so big bill france packs up his stuff and he goes out to look elsewhere yep south carolina misses out on the biggest baddest speedway on the planet being built in their estate because of damned baptists i could have had the craziest speedway in america built in my backyard but nope that didn't happen thanks to these jerks yet another reason to hate the baptist church i just god god i just hate baptists so much they ruin everything down here oh so where does big bill france wind up well he needs his track to be near some major markets southern cities with big populations he also needs a track to be near an interstate like within 10 miles a scout of his comes through for midway between atlanta and birmingham interstate 20 is being built and right next to it aniston air force base with all that nice flat ground right around it big bill agrees with the department of defense to pave new runway so long as he can have the old ones they agree and the city of aniston sells the land to big bill france on very favorable terms everyone wins big bill france gets his land anniston doesn't have to worry about that old run down tarmac and the army can still run ammo out of the depot seems just a little too perfect doesn't it bill france hires the same contractors who built i-20 to build his track construction has very few hang-ups and gets completed on time but by design the completion date runs up dangerously close to opening weekend the executive suites for vips and corporate sponsors those are just open air rooms with tables made from pieces of plywood over saw horses the patrons of those suites have to wear earplugs on opening weekend invitational testing runs forget about it the first tests are done on wednesday week of show just five days before race day all the drivers pour into the track that wednesday and they're impressed talladega is only 0.16 miles longer than daytona and 12 feet wider but it feels way more massive than that they're in shock but excited they can't wait to race however the first guys out on the track report some handling problems okay fine no biggie they're using daytona setups and this track's a little bit different so they just need to make some adjustments they come back to the garage after just a few laps at full speed and this is what their tires look like they're shredded the track might as well have been paved with cheese graters other drivers report the same problem no matter the car no matter the tire manufacturer they all have the same issue bad tires now at that time nascar was in the midst of a full-blown tire war between goodyear and firestone chances are if you're a nascar fan watching this video you can't remember the last tire war in nascar don't even know what i'm talking about a tire war is a horrible thing for any sanctioning body to go through and i'm not even sure why they let them happen in the first place basically the sanctioning body in this case nascar decides they don't like how much money their tire manufacturer is putting up to the exclusive manufacturer in the sport so nascar goes shopping and finds firestone who put up a considerable sum to compete against goodyear in nascar nascar teams signed contracts with different tire makers so you have goodyear teams versus firestone teams and that sounds good right competition is great right well not in this instance the free market can fix most things but this is not one of them in order to get an edge over the competition the manufacturers run up against the razor's edge of safety a softer tire is more grippy and therefore faster but lacks durability and falls apart faster a harder tire lacks grip and speed but lasts longer and is safer a tire failure is one of the worst accidents a nascar driver can have and they typically look like this pretty much head-on impacts with the walls at harsh angles plenty of drivers up to this point have died in accidents that look a lot like this and injuries are commonplace in nascar in 1969. nobody wants this but when winning is on the line against safety typically winning takes priority that's just how people are the last tire war in nascar was in the early 90s with goodyear vs hoosier entire failures were rampant in those years and led to many driver injuries and hospitalizations eventually nascar learned its lesson and there has not been another tie war since but this is 1969 and those lessons are being learned in the heat of the moment here and now at opening weekend of the first race at the biggest baddest speedway on the planet the two tire makers fly in harder compounds overnight from their various warehouses across the country thursday comes around there's still no progress the tires aren't getting any better they're still getting shredded to ribbons finally friday morning comes around and the drivers have had it neither manufacturer can come up with a tire that can handle the stress of two ton stock car bodies traveling at 190 miles per hour in the 33 degree banks and that day firestone backs out no driver will get injured or die on their tires they cancel their contracts and allow teams to run whatever tire they want goodyear however stands firm if they can weather this storm they will win the tire war and be the undisputed tire maker for nascar for years to come they figure the hitting pr from potential accidents is worth it to be the top dog in nascar's top series as the day goes on the goodyear tires aren't faring any better and wear than the firestones and soon the drivers start looking to the newly formed professional drivers association to help them out formed just mere weeks before the events of this race the professional drivers association or pda for short is a cooperative of drivers who want a cut of broadcasting rights money a pension program and health care benefits now that sounds a bit like a union but it's totally totally totally not the pda makes sure of this as they never call themselves a union at any point besides they're not a union at all anyway a normal union of professional athletes like the nfl players association or the nflpa uses collective bargaining to fight for things like salary increases healthcare benefits pension programs and organized strikes if need be the pda on the other hand vows to fight for salary increases health care benefits pension programs and organize strikes if need be okay okay okay it might be a union but still the pda never refers to itself as such due to two reasons one union culture is pretty much unheard of in the south at this time and even if the drivers were on board with unionization there's no guarantee that nascar fans would have supported them and second nascar is very harsh on drivers who talk openly of unionization the pda isn't even the first attempt at nascar unionization in 1961 nascar's two most popular drivers curtis turner and tim flock worked with the teamsters to get nascar's first union off the ground the federation of professional athletes big bill france responds by vowing that any member of the fpa will not be allowed to race in nascar curtis turner quickly loses support but he holds out for as long as he thinks he can eventually big bill france uses the nuclear option as he said he would and he bans curtis turner from the sport for life [Music] [Music] this is not a punitive measure this is to send a message there will be no talk of unionization in nascar no matter who it is big bill france bans his most popular driver at the height of his career just to make a point there will be no union in nascar ever so why does nascar have this seek and destroy policy when it comes to unions well it has everything to do with how union works leverage let's take a look at how a normal player strike would usually work in most sport sanctioning bodies typically you have the sanctioning body let's say the nfl in this case aligned with team owners the nfl sets salary caps and determines who can and cannot own an nfl team if you own a team let's just say for instance the buffalo bills and try to sell them you can't just sell them to any random yahoo off the street who throws enough money at you the nfl has to approve the new owner there are only so many teams allowed to compete in the nfl and the nfl decides who gets to own what team and where that team is located even if you own that team you can't move it to a different city without the nfl giving you the green light the nfl and the team owners are for all intents and purposes basically one in the same on the other side you have the players who work for the teams basically as contractors rendering their services if the players don't like their salary or benefits packages they can collectively get together in a union and threaten a strike to leverage the owners in the nfl to give them what they want if that doesn't work then the nfl and its owners can just hire a whole bunch of replacements to play the game if they don't want to budge nascar on the other hand is completely different in 1969 most drivers are owner drivers which is exactly what it sounds like not only does the guy drive the car he owns but he also owns the team as well he decides which of his crew to hire in fire nails down sponsorship deals and what races he wants to run it would be like if tom brady was not only the quarterback for the new england patriots but was also the team owner and the gm and got to pick who his coach would be the board is totally lopsided the players and the owners are now one in the same and nascar teams can come and go as they please right now today if you own enough money you can go start a nascar team and run races so long as your cars pass tech inspection and post a qualifying time fast enough to get into the show nascar basically just has to let you compete and nascar can't hire replacements either a nascar stock car is a proprietary car it can't run anywhere else is purpose built to run according to a nascar rules package only you can't just go buy one off the street and have some yahoo drive it however in 1969 the pda is allowed to coalesce because nascar has way more eyes on it they have a much bigger fan base than they did earlier in the decade and as a direct result they have bigger stars too and literally every single star driver is part of the pda david pearson the allison brothers kale yarbrough and basically every driver worth talking about say for bobby isaac who is a bit of a loner who has a record of flying his own colors and who might the president be of the pda well none other than the king himself richard petty france can't bring himself to do anything about the pda because they got way too many cards in their hand too quickly they got the drop on him and he can't do anything so he does exactly that nothing he never acknowledges that the pda even exists journalists ask him about the association and he feigns ignorance just like it's some fairy tale if he can't punish the drivers in the pda then he'll just act like it doesn't exist to eat away at their credibility however the pda is just as ill-prepared as goodyear and firestone to deal with this situation they hold all the cards but they don't know how to play them so the drivers take matters into their own hands they approach big bill france and voice their concerns it's not about payer benefits it's about safety and safety only they want to postpone the race until a tire compound can be made that can withstand the brutal loads of talladega bill france says no way they have to race on the original date he won't admit it to the drivers but he's in debt up to his eyeballs from having to build this place those bare bones sweets we talked about earlier bill france doesn't even have the money to complete those they were built at cost by the contractor on the agreement that the contractor could make a suite for himself a suite that he still owns to this day except it's a lot nicer these days of course the race has to go off on race day because of postponement means not making his money back as soon as possible which is why the completion date ran so close up to race day in the first place he has to have his money back now big bill friends isn't budging but neither are the drivers little clicks start getting formed all over the garage they're trying to discuss amongst themselves what they think they should do do they stay and hope goodyear can bring in good tires or do they continue with the protests and say they're not gonna run some drivers even talk openly about a potential walkout bill france tries to ease tensions by buying an old race car and taking it out for a few laps just to show that there's nothing wrong with the track instead of easing everybody's tensions he only makes things worse drivers point out that he was only puttering around at about 160 miles an hour well short of what they were doing out there bill says well why don't you guys just race at that speed then but that's just a slap in the face to say something like that to a racer it's an affront to everything racing stands for even if they tried that out there somebody would push the envelope and somebody else would respond and they'd all wind up racing at 190 miles an hour anyway at some point during these group powwows on friday bill france is talking it out with bobby allison and leroy yarbrough when big bill france says to bobby allison 15-time winner in the nascar grand national division at this point and the winner of the last race just a week prior quote i think you're just afraid to race at this point according to bobby allison to this day he says that leroy yarbrough stepped out from behind him and swung and hit bill france in the face putting him on the ground leroy then turns around and says to his group boys pack up your stuff we're leaving that was the trigger the pda needed all at once every single pda driver packs up their stuff and leaves talladega super speedway they will not die for big bill france's big dumb stupid track there are only three holdouts one the aforementioned bobby isaac who sees an opportunity to make a run at the championship points lead now that all of his competition is left two a non-pda driver named jim vandiver driving for a team owned by ray fox and three a pda driver turns scab who will race anyway his name is richard brickhouse he races for the same team as bobby isaac a factory-owned team financed by the chrysler corporation and chrysler corp wants to debut their brand new car the dodge charger daytona a car supposedly capable of speeds exceeding miles an hour but this week that won't happen the tires just won't allow it next year it will dominate the schedule and win the championship in 1971 nascar will ban its use entirely but here in 1969 chrysler just wants someone to drive their car for their flagship team the car owner of the number 99 dodge approaches richard as soon as the walkout happens and tells him if you don't drive this car on sunday somebody else will thus that is his reason for turning scab and not participating in the walkout honestly if you were in his shoes you'd find it hard to say no too you have a chance to win your first race and show off in this brand new dodge daytona it's an opportunity that only comes once in a young racer's career and that's if you're extremely lucky richard knows this and vows to race on sunday had nascar been say a midwestern or northeastern sport instead of a southern sport somewhere where union culture existed then there wouldn't have just been a walkout there would have been a picket line and appeals to the fans to boycott the race but this is alabama in the 1960s and organizing something like that is all but unheard of the drivers in the pda never try to pick it as a matter of fact the topic is never even brought up the drivers never even think to make a picket line they just pack up and head home nascar fans aren't too sure what to make of it so big bill friends makes sure to tell them what to think about it he offers up an unbeatable deal if you buy a ticket to the talladega 500 then you can use that stub to get in the daytona 500 next year fans jump on it they come in droves to watch the [ __ ] show in talladega county in september and get free tickets to daytona in february to boot but what about the race itself you can't just put three cars on a 2.66 mile speedway for 500 miles right you're exactly right bill france says to himself so he goes and raids the field from the 400 mile preliminary race on saturday a race from a completely different series they race sports cars in that division not stock cars instead of chevelles torinos and road runners they race camaros mustangs and even one amc javelin they can barely do 160 with the wind at their backs let alone pass tech inspection so what does france do he just changes the rules that's it he just does it like it's totally normal just declares all the cars legal and that's that so there it is three actually competitive cars being driven by two young guys no one's ever heard of and bobby isaac nascar's biggest loner and a field full of cars well off the pace the stage is all but set for a disaster to occur and it does but not in the way you'd expect that tire problem we've been talking about at the last second that morning before race day goodyear flies in some new tires and they held up surprisingly well there wasn't a single tire failure that day and the lower division cars filling in the field they're running the same tires they ran the day before without a single issue and i don't mean the same sets like they had several sets of tires they would change out during the race no they pitted for fuel in that division only these guys ran an entire race for 400 miles on a single set of tires and then turned around and did another 500 mile race the next day with no issues just just what did they make tires out of back then in 1969. anyway as the race starts bobby isaac's riding easy because he's making a run at this championship and just wants to grab some easy points he finishes fourth that day which means one of those underpowered pony cars ran him down that day because he was just so laid back out there huh shouts out to ramos stott then richard brickhouse and jim vandiver are running one two all day long and according to the radio call which someone bothered to record they voiced some confusion in the running order and then announced that jim vandiver was the leader jim vader in the lead here's uh bridgette brickhouse getting around jim vandenberg as he goes around so that gives him uh advantages made up one of those laps ned that should put him back in the same lap with the leaders bob that's right we have a potential scoring error even though there are only two competitive cars out there on the track later when the checkered flag flies nascar announces richard brickhouse is the winner vandiver and his car owner ray fox are livid they contend to this day that they won that race that day and that the scoring error wasn't an accident i can't confirm this but it really wouldn't surprise me if it turned out to be true but the rumor persists that it was chrysler corp that sweet talked bill france into inventing the scoring error because they wanted their new model of dodge to win over jim vandiver who was driving the older model it probably would have looked bad if the brand new 1970 dodge charger daytona had lost to the old 1969 dodge charger despite the protest richard brickhouse has declared the winner and jim vandiver is placed in second richard brickhouse would enjoy his win about as much as you would imagine but all three of these drivers who did not participate in the walkout would wind up being cursed in some way bobby isaac would go on to win the 1970 championship in the winged charger daytona but in 1977 he would park his car in the middle of a 200 lap event at hickory motor speedway and collapse he was resuscitated and taken to the hospital where it seemed as though he had made a full recovery but later that night he would die of a heart attack caused by complications from heat exhaustion richard brickhouse and jim vandiver would never go on to win another race or even be competitive as a matter of fact in the very next race richard was spun out by a pda driver who had walked out of talladega and this picture depicting the incident was taken so clearly because a pda driver had told the photographer where to stand in order to get the best shot the pda disbanded just a few weeks later their best shot at getting some leverage now long passed no talks of unionization ever came up after that race there was no need to have them it was their best shot and they had failed not to mention the owner driver has gone the way of the dodo bird the chances of a nascar union getting off the ground these days are slim to none so that was all there was to it the worst race in nascar history a brand new car no one got to see the full potential of that day only three competitive drivers two of the three of which nobody knew about a field full of filler cars a tire scandal that was resolved at the 11th hour and of those two unknown drivers who were competitive no one knows which one actually won the race to this day this was truly the worst race in nascar history bar none thanks for watching

Channel: S1apSh0es

Views: 1,974,097

Keywords: Talladega, the worst, nascar, bill france, race, first race, richard petty, Richard Brickhouse, Jim Vandiver, Bobby Isaac, 1969, 500, Dodge Daytona, tire war, goodyear, firestone, Bobby Allison, Alabama Gang, Alabama, the first race at Talladega, NASCAR debut, dodge daytona 1969, dodge daytona, Talladega 500, 1969 talladega 500 full race, 1969 talladega 500, NASCAR driver's union, NASCAR union, Big bill france, NASCAR tires, Talladega history, talladega superspeedway, sports

Id: t5p6TajVQI8

Length: 22min 15sec (1335 seconds)

Published: Sat Oct 13 2018