1971 Greenville 200 – Greenville, SC (88 minutes)
This race was broadcast live on ABC Wide World Of Sports, and contains original commercials. This was the last
season we would see the Greenville-Pickens Raceway on the NASCAR circuit (the Greenville 200 was one of the
races eliminated for the 1972 season). This was an excellent little short track, resembling Martinsville Raceway in
Virginia. The big guns of NASCAR were all here to do battle, including Pearson, Petty, then current champion
Bobby Isaac, Bobby Allison, and many others. The field consisted of Plymouths, Dodges, Mercurys, and Fords
(there’s also a couple of 1969 Chevelles seen in the field). Extremely clear footage, with original commercials.
1976 Daytona 500 – Daytona Beach, FL (25 minutes)
An original ABC Wide World Of Sports broadcast, this is how ABC covered most NASCAR races back in the day. On
Sunday afternoons, Wide World Of Sports would air the beginning of a race, then cut to other sporting events, and
depending on time allotted, they would then join the race live for the checkered flag. In this race we see the opening
laps, a few highlights with 50 laps to go, then ABC broadcasts the last segment live. All portions of this video are
from the live telecast, these are not highlight reels. This was arguably the most exciting finish in NASCAR history,
with the legendary Richard Petty battling it out with David Pearson on the last lap, all caught live on ABC.
1979 L.A. Times 500 – Ontario, CA (25 minutes)
Another live broadcast, this one from the Ontario Motor Speedway in California. This was the final race of the 1979 season,
and the championship was almost a dead heat between a young Darrell Waltrip and seasoned pro and 6-time Champion
Richard Petty. This race was eventually won by Benny Parsons, but all eyes turned towards the points standings and where
Waltrip and Petty finished. Petty would end up 5th in the race, enough to take his 7th and final NASCAR Championship. Also
in this race was a young rookie named Dale Earnhardt, veterans Cale Yarborough, Bobby Allison, and youngsters Kyle Petty
and Terry Labonte. Nice clear footage, and a great example of how ‘old school racing’ appeared on TV in the late 70’s.
NOTE : These are NOT the “Back In The Day” programs (hosted by Dale Earnhardt Jr.) that appeared on
TV few years ago. However, some of these films ARE the actual ones used on those broadcasts. The films
contained on these DVD’s were originally aired back in mid-1990’s and do NOT have the little pop-up
balloons or trivia notes that appeared in the “Back In The Day” programs. Please understand that these
highlight reels were originally shot on film, not video. I am trying to be as honest as I can about the film
quality. These films were originally intended for the smaller TV sets of the 60’s, so they may appear grainy
on the big TV sets of today.