The 1979 edition of the DAYTONA 500® was a pinnacle in “The King,”
Richard Petty’s illustrious career. It was also the race that launched
NASCAR® stock car racing into the national spotlight,where it has
remained ever since.
The race marked the first live, flag-to-flag, broadcast of a NASCAR®
event. With a nation-wide audience tuning in to see stock car racing’s
best battle for the prestigious DAYTONA® victory, Petty seemed all but
out of contention for the win on the race’s final lap. The two leaders
battled one another for the win on the last lap, but it was almost a
half-track ahead of the third-place No. 43 car.