The 1979 Daytona 500 will always known for its final lap battle and the later drama between three-time Cup champion Cale Yarborough and the Allison brothers. The final laps of the Crown, Jewel race featured an intense last-lap battle between Donnie Alison and Yarborough. Both drivers fought for the win with over 20 seconds gap to the cars fighting for P3.
But things took a wrong turn during the fight, and the duo crashed into each other. Richard Petty, who was racing for P3 until then, held Michale Waltrip behind him and went on to win. Allison and Yarborough were furious and had heated conversations in the infield after they exited their cars. This immediately escalated into a fight.
A young Terry Labonte was making his Daytona 500 debut that day and was on the sidelines watching the race after a DNF due to a car malfunction. He recalled the chaos that involved Bobby Alison, who was also racing in the event, getting involved to help his brother, and how it became a two vs one fight between the brothers and Yarborough.
I was standing in the back of a NASCAR safety truck with a guy, and I said, ‘Well, what happened?’ And he had his radio on. And he said, ‘Well, they’re fighting down there.’ And he said, ‘It’s Bobby Allison and Cale Yarborough.’ I said, ‘No, no, that was Donnie Allison.’ He said, ‘No, they said it was Bobby Allison.’ And sure enough, it was Bobby Allison. He stopped to help Donnie in the fight down there. So that was my first Daytona 500, and it was quite one to remember. Labonte told Auto Racing Digest.
The NASCAR nation is mourning the death of Cale Yarborough
When Terry Labonte gave this interview at the start of December, he might have had zero idea that Cale Yarborough would breathe for the last time at the end of the month. The three-time champion, who was under medical treatment at Florance, died on Sunday morning.
The entire NASCAR community is mourning the death of the champion, who played a significant role in putting NASCAR on the map. His fight with the Allison brothers played a massive role in it, as the incident became one of the biggest headlines in the US.
It was the first NASCAR experience for many, and over the years, with his personality and grit, as highlighted by Dale Earnhardt Jr., he attracted many fans to the sport. Yarborough was an inspiration for many, such as Jimmie Johnson, who saw him as a childhood hero.
More must-reads: