Dale vs. Daytona: The Intimidator's Quest to Win the Great American Race

By Risk Houston

Dale Earnhardt and Daytona International Speedway remain two of the most iconic names in the history of NASCAR, and are inevitably connected when either name is mentioned. Earnhardt's failed attempts to win the race have become folklore; each year brought its own unique set of circumstances for why he hadn't yet raised the Harley J. Earl Trophy.

Dale Earnhardt’s résumé heading into the 1998 Daytona 500 read as follows: 7 NASCAR Championships, 70 Winston Cup wins, and 30 wins at Daytona International Speedway. So what was left for Dale to accomplish at Daytona? Win the Daytona 500! Author Rick Houston examines every Daytona 500 in which Dale competed from 1979 to 2001 with fresh interviews from crew chiefs Doug Richert, Kirk Shelmerdine, Andy Petree, Bobby Hutchens, Larry McReynolds, and Kevin Hamlin. Competitors, rivals, crewmembers, and friends (including Bill Elliott, Sterling Marlin, Ken Schrader, Geoff Bodine, Darrell Waltrip, Danny "Chocolate" Myers, Greg Moore, Derrike Cope, and Junior Johnson) also offer their thoughts and recollections in this thrilling year-by-year recap of the Intimidator’s efforts to win the Great American Race.

Never before have Dale's attempts to win the Daytona 500 been chronicled in one publication with this amount of detail and under such intense scrutiny. From the Dale and Dale show, to the seagull, to the last-lap heartaches, you ride shotgun with Rick Houston as he takes you around-and-around in Dale vs. Daytona: The Intimidator's Quest to Conquer the Great American Race!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Car Tech
• Release date: Aug 15, 2017
• ISBN: 9781613254196

Risk Houston

Rick Houston has covered NASCAR since 1991 and was the Busch Series editor for NASCAR Winston Cup Scene. Houston has authored numerous books on NASCAR including NASCAR’s Greatest Race: The 1992 Hooters 500.

Book preview

Chapter 1

1979: The Rookie

For the last time in his career, Dale Earnhardt settled into his car for the start of a Daytona 500 with few people expecting him to win.

The months leading up to the 1979 Daytona 500 had been a whirlwind of exciting possibilities turned reality, from a one-off tryout for team owner Rod Osterlund at Charlotte in October to the offer of his first full-time Winston Cup ride. No longer did Earnhardt have to wonder when (or even if) he might get another chance at the big time.

This was his biggest and best opportunity yet, and he was going to make the most of it. But actually win the Daytona 500 his very first time out of the box? Impossible. Or was it?

Earnhardt had already shown promise on Daytona’s 2½-mile layout a handful of times. Driving car owner Will Cronkite’s Ford, Earnhardt claimed a seventh-place finish in his first Winston Cup start there the July before. It was the first top-10 of his career and a full 10 positions better than his previous best showing.

This week, Earnhardt finished fourth in the second of two 125-mile qualifying events held on Thursday, February 15. He was frustrated because he thought he could’ve had more in a last-lap scramble with eventual winner Darrell Waltrip and open-wheel star A. J. Foyt.

I should have had second, he said in the February 16, 1979, issue of the Daytona Beach Morning Journal. "It was just a miscalculation on my part. I went low and got on the inside of A. J., right behind Darrell. I thought I was in great shape to grab Darrell and hold on for a race to the flag.

But Darrell moved up on the bank directly in front of A. J. That left me out in the cold. Darrell, A. J., and then Dick Brooks sucked on past me.

Finally, Earnhardt had not only competed in Daytona’s NASCAR Late Model Sportsman event the day before his 500 debut, but he darn near won it. The youngster was leading on lap 67 when the passenger-side rear tire on his Chevrolet blew, and while he skidded sideways for several hundred feet, he was able to keep the car out of the wall.

The race was halted due to a rain shower just two laps later.

In all, just 29 of its 69 laps were run under green-flag conditions. Earnhardt was credited with a seventh-place finish in the race, the last car on the lead circuit behind winner Darrell Waltrip.

Then again, his very first Daytona start a full three years earlier hadn’t exactly been spectacular. It came on February 14, 1976, in a Late Model Sportsman event, a division that was later consolidated into what is now known as the Xfinity Series. He started 22nd and finished 13th in a Pontiac with his father’s number 8 on the sides and roof.

500 Miles Live, Flag to Flag

The 1979 Daytona 500 would go down as one of NASCAR’s most important races, but the fact that Earnhardt was making his debut in the event was a mere footnote. Decades before billion-dollar television contracts became the norm in the sport, this was the sanctioning body’s very first 500-mile race shown live from start to finish.

Eight years earlier, a quick 200-lapper on the half-mile Greenville-Pickens Speedway in South Carolina had been shown in its entirety on ABC. Bobby Isaac won by two laps over David Pearson in an event that featured just one early caution for a lazy spin between turns three and four. It was a relatively inauspicious opening act.

The Daytona 500 was an entirely different beast. The Greenville-Pickens race had lasted barely 1 hour and 16 minutes, while the 500 took nearly three times as long to complete. Would people sit in front of their televisions that long? What if it turned out to be another boring race?

What if it rained?

Weather shortened the previous day’s Late Model Sportsman race, and the skies were low and drizzly on the morning of the 500. There was a lot riding on this race for NASCAR. After calling roll during the driver’s meeting, chief starter Chip Warren gave way to NASCAR Founder Bill France Sr. Warren never forgot the great man’s words.

I need your help. We’ve got one shot at this. If we don’t get the race in today, CBS is pulling out, and you’ll be racing for half the purse tomorrow.

Rookie Driver, Rookie Tire Changer

Mechanic and tire changer Doug Richert turned 17 years old somewhere in Texas, as the team moved from its home in California to NASCAR-rich North Carolina. Less than two years later, he found himself on pit road minutes before the start of the Daytona 500.

It was big, Richert said. As with a lot of stuff, I think at the time I really probably didn’t realize how big it was. I just did it and did the best I could. We had good results, so that made it even more like, ‘Wow. Can you believe you just did that?’ But it probably didn’t sink in at the time.

Before the race started, the Motor Racing Network (MRN) broadcast crew was already singing Earnhardt’s praises. As he gave the starting lineup, anchor and future legend Barney Hall paused as he got to Earnhardt in 10th place. The legendary David Pearson was just to his inside in the fifth row.

You can’t say enough about this young driver. He has run up front all week in both the Sportsman race and in the 125-mile qualifier the other day. He made the veterans sit up and take notice of his driving style.

Veterans and rookies alike would be sitting up and taking notice of Earnhardt’s driving style for years to come.

Green Flag

After the 500 got started, CBS’ first mention of Earnhardt did not come until the 42nd lap, as he began to get a whiff of the leaders on the backstretch. Announcer David Hobbs was unsure of what he was actually seeing. The race might have been on live television, but computerized timing and scoring was still a thing of the distant future.

Dale Earnhardt, the rookie, coming up on the inside of [A. J. Foyt] now. Well, I think Dale Earnhardt might be a lap down. Blue-and-yellow car, number 2.

A minute later, the other CBS announcer, Ken Squier, had the call as Earnhardt followed Bobby Allison’s lapped machine past Neil Bonnett for the lead in turn three on lap 44.

Earnhardt, now there’s the kid to watch. This kid Earnhardt in the Osterlund number 2, the car out of California, the driver from North Carolina, second-generation driver. His father, one of the most famous short-track drivers in American racing history, the well-known Ralph Earnhardt. His kid looks good today.

Hobbs still wasn’t buying it. Not yet, at least.

Dale’s had a fantastic week here, he really has. But, as I say, I think he’s a lap down. But I’m not sure at the moment.

For a moment, Squier seemed as unsure as Hobbs.

Car number 5 [Bonnett] is your leader. Number 2 is one lap down. We’re waiting for, again. At first, we were told he was a lap down. Now, they’re rechecking in scoring.

He added one more thought, this one far more accurate.

I’ll tell you, he sure runs like a champ today.

Finally, Squier had his confirmation.

Earnhardt blazes back into the front of this group. Earnhardt is the leader. Earnhardt reported as the leader.

Squier had long been on the NASCAR scene, but the CBS production team had not, and it was showing. Over in the MRN booth, there were no such rookie jitters at the moment. Hall tossed the broadcast down to up-and-coming NASCAR announcer Mike Joy, who was stationed between turns one and two.

Surprise for second spot, young Tighe Scott, dirt-track ace turned Grand National driver, has the challenge from another great rookie, Dale Earnhardt, moves to the inside in the backstretch.

Gary Gerould handled the announcing action as it headed down the backstretch. As he worked lap 44, Earnhardt was about to lead the Daytona 500 for the first time in his young career.

Bobby Allison, trying to get one of those laps back, looks like he may be doing it right now. Because he’s moved to the head of the pack, Earnhardt behind him, bidding for the lead along with Bonnett. Earnhardt and Bonnett, chasing Bobby Allison who is down a lap. They’re side by side.

Between turns three and four, it was Eli Gold’s turn.

Dale Earnhardt, who had quite the afternoon here yesterday, bothered only by a cut tire late in the race. He takes the low ride, door handle to door handle, with Neil Bonnett. Earnhardt stays glued down to the low side of the racetrack. Handling well, they go to the start-finish line.

From his perch overlooking the track, Hall again took over.

Bobby Allison tries to pull away, and he will do it as Earnhardt and Tighe Scott run door to door. That will slow you down. The two young drivers hammering away at each other as they get back into turn one.

Jack Arute Jr., who called the race on the radio, and Gold had both now mentioned the frustration Earnhardt experienced at Daytona the day before, while Hall came up with the two young drivers hammering away at each other line. It was almost as if they could see into the future, straight to the disappointment and close duels that Earnhardt would experience at Daytona in the coming years.

After a commercial break, Hall returned with excitement in his voice.

A scramble for the lead, traffic is heavy in turn three.

The lead pack hurtled past Gerould.

Bonnett and Earnhardt. Earnhardt takes the lead. Tighe Scott’s right there with him.

Gold described what he was seeing before giving way to Hall.

The sensational driver from Kannapolis, North Carolina, pulls in front of the field and across the stripe, Dale Earnhardt. Neil Bonnett is still second.

This time, Earnhardt led four laps, circuits 46 through 49, before Benny Parsons wrestled it away. Parsons, the 1973 Winston Cup champion, was shooting for his second Daytona 500 victory four years after his first. Riding with Parsons was an in-car camera, a newfangled contraption that allowed viewers to get a feel for the speed and close competition he was facing.

Parsons paced the field for the next 10 laps, while Richard Petty took over for the following 10. After freshman driver Joe Millikan was involved in a multicar accident that brought out the caution on lap 55, Hobbs had a thought as he and Squier tried to figure out which drivers were involved in the accident.

It must be Joe Millikan, which is very unfortunate. If I were asked to pick an outsider, it would’ve been Dale Earnhardt or Joe Millikan, both rookies who showed tremendous form this week.

Earnhardt wasn’t finished, and he regained the top spot on lap 70 before handing it right back over to Petty the next time around. The fastest cars then were the Oldsmobile 442s, remembered Lou LaRosa, Osterlund Racing’s exclusive builder. After that, they had a fastback Buick. We had a squareback Buick, and it was by far the slowest of them all. But in a draft, he could pull up and run with anybody.

Pit Road Interview

Not long after the scramble between Earnhardt and Petty, CBS’ broadcast went to former NASCAR champion-turned-pit-reporter Ned Jarrett. He was with Earnhardt’s car owner, Rod Osterlund.

What followed was not the most revealing of interviews from the tight-lipped Osterlund, who all but stonewalled the gracious Jarrett.

Ken, I’m standing by with Rod Osterlund, who owns the car that Dale Earnhardt is driving. Rod, did you really expect this rookie to be up there fighting with those veterans in the Daytona 500 this early?

We sure did.

Why?

Oh, he’s a very gutsy guy. He’s very dedicated. And he’s got the little natural instinct that you know about, Ned.

He looks like a professional out there.

Well, right now, I think he feels like one, too.

Well, he’s doing a fine job. Did you give him any special instructions, or is he doing it on his own?

I think it’s pretty much a team effort right now.

And that was that.

Strategy?

Just past the halfway mark, Joy made an observation about the driver of the blue-and-yellow Buick.

Dale Earnhardt seems to have a bit of a different strategy in this second half of the race. In the first 250 miles, he was challenged for the lead, battling. But he’s been content to stay behind Donnie Allison. If he gets out of the draft now, five cars right behind him could overtake him within a lap.

No. Earnhardt being Earnhardt, he was not content to ride in the leader’s slipstream. Within moments, Earnhardt slipped past Allison to lead lap 115. He again was at the top of the leaderboard for just a single lap, before Allison reassumed the point.

Earnhardt led his final stretch of the afternoon, on laps 140–142, during the seventh and final caution. The yellow flag came out for a blown engine in the Oldsmobile driven by Paul Fess, who, like Earnhardt, was making his first Daytona 500 start. The two freshman drivers were headed in drastically different directions in big-time automobile racing.

Earnhardt became, well, Earnhardt. Fess’ outing was one of only three starts he would make at the sport’s highest level.

Bad News

Still, it wasn’t long after the restart that disaster struck for Earnhardt. Gold was the first to report it.

Dale Earnhardt goes down on the racetrack, Barney. Dale Earnhardt, heading to the pits.

Joe Alloy was standing by on pit road to report on what was taking place with Earnhardt’s stop.

Earnhardt is really coming in on the throttle, and he had some difficulty stopping. The mechanics are going over to the right-hand side of the car. They are changing the tires. Now, this is an unscheduled pit stop. We are not under caution. [They are] cleaning the windshield and putting in the gasoline.

Alloy was taking it all in, wondering, along with his listening audience, what might happen next.

We’ll watch for a moment and see if they go over to the other side of the car. But, as we said, he came in very hot, very fast, onto pit road. And it appears that he’s going to change only the right-side rubber.

Just then, the issues snowballed.

Wow! They had a problem with the jack. The jack got hung underneath the car, and he had a problem getting started. But he is going back out on the track now.

Coulda, woulda, shoulda. I think we could’ve won the race, but he got excited, left the pits, and way over-revved it, LaRosa said. That broke a rocker arm. He ran like a bullet and could’ve won it.

The team’s shot at victory was all but gone, and for the first and only time in his Winston Cup career, it would’ve been the upset of all upsets. Still, crew chief Jake Elder wasn’t giving up all hope. As the final round of green-flag pit stops began, Alloy was back with another report about Earnhardt.

Just checking with the pit crew of Dale Earnhardt; we understand that he will not make another pit stop. They’re going to chance it. It was a scheduled pit stop early, so they’re going to try and make the rest of the race on that tank of gasoline.

Hall’s reply to the team’s strategy was tactful.

Well, that could be a good gamble for Dale Earnhardt. It could be a bad one. But we’ll have to wait and see.

Famous Finish

With the young Earnhardt out of the picture, the race was decided on the last lap in one of the most infamous finishes in the annals of NASCAR. Cale Yarborough and Donnie Allison were involved in a mishap (along with Donnie’s brother, Bobby) that brought out the first caution back on lap 31. Donnie Allison and Yarborough had both fought back from laps down to run 1-2 coming off the second corner of the final 2½ miles.

Yarborough dove low on the backstretch, then lower still as Allison attempted to block the move. There was no giving between the two, only taking. Contact was made and they crashed in turn three, ending their shot at the victory. Richard Petty, running a distant third, inherited the victory.

As the two crumpled cars sat smoking on the apron between turns three and four, the Allison brothers and Yarborough duked it out for a few brief and glorious seconds. Although fines were coming, Bill France Sr. couldn’t possibly have scripted the conclusion of his big gamble any better.

Earnhardt finished eighth, the best of any rookie and one lap down to Petty. I fell off the draft and I couldn’t run by myself, Earnhardt said in the next day’s Daytona Beach Morning Journal. I wanted to stay with Donnie and Cale until the end of the race, but I lost them when we pitted under green.

Writer Joe Biddle added a parting thought.

Considering the circumstances, Earnhardt should count his blessings. Richard Petty is.

For Earnhardt, there would be plenty of blessings in the years to come at Daytona.

And as many, if not more, curses.

Chapter 2

1980: Second-Year Sensation

There was nothing Darrell Waltrip could do on the last lap of the 1980 Busch Clash except sit back and watch the scramble unfold around him.

Waltrip led a pack of eight cars to the white flag, with Dale Earnhardt right behind him in second place. Waltrip was dead in the water, and he knew it. This kid Earnhardt was that good.

Already adept at the Daytona draft, Earnhardt momentarily backed off the throttle as he approached the first corner. I slowed down going into turn one, and it gave him a four- or five-car-length lead, Earnhardt said in the February 11, 1980, issue of the Daytona Beach Morning Journal. Coming out of [turn] two, I got back on it and picked up momentum heading down the backstretch.

Waltrip knew what was coming. He eased his DiGard Racing Oldsmobile to the inside of the racetrack and hoped it would block the sophomore sensation. It did, but Earnhardt saw something else open up. I got a good break, Earnhardt continued. Darrell wanted to shut me off, so he went low to the inside. When he did that, I went outside and got into the corner in turn three ahead of him.

At that point, Waltrip was in the process of losing more than just the race victory. Neil Bonnett took second, Cale Yarborough third, and Bobby Allison nipped him at the line for fourth. Bobby went to the outside of Darrell, and Neil went inside, Earnhardt said. "That put the