Fights have long been a part of NASCAR, and it was a post-race brawl that helped propel NASCAR into the national spotlight for the first time. The 1979 Daytona 500 was the first 500-mile NASCAR race to be broadcast live, flag-to-flag, on national television (courtesy of CBS). Much of the east coast was also completely snowed in on that day, so a lot of people were watching the big race.
Well, it ended with Cale Yarborough and Donnie Allison crashing in a last-lap wreck while battling for the win, handing the victory to Richard Petty. At the site of the crash, the two drivers started throwing punches with Donnie's brother Bobby Allison stopping to join the brawl. Ken Squier’s call of the ensuing fight is still remembered today:
