Dale Earnhardt Jr. makes time to speak candidly about his thoughts and shares snippets from his personal life, past and present, with his wife Amy by his side. At times, however, he reveals things that even Amy, who has been married to him for nearly a decade, did not know beforehand.
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Dale Jr. often shares these tidbits on the Bless Your Hardt podcast, venturing into territory he rarely explored on his own show, The Dale Jr. Download. In that same candid spirit, a recent episode delivered another revealing moment when Amy posed a hypothetical question about time travel and asked where her husband would choose to go.
Without hesitation, Dale Jr. answered, “I’m going to the 1979 Daytona 500.” Amy, well aware of the significance of that race but clearly expecting a more imaginative response, reacted with playful disbelief, replying, “Really? That’s it?”
When Amy pressed further, asking whether he would rather witness something he had never seen before, given that he had already watched the race countless times on television, Junior made it clear that the appeal lay in being there in person, absorbing the moment firsthand rather than through a screen.
The 1979 Daytona 500 already carried historic weight as the first NASCAR race broadcast live in its entirety, but its legacy was cemented by the explosive showdown between Donnie Allison and Cale Yarborough.
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Over the closing laps, Allison and Yarborough battled, swapping positions and trading paint before tangling in Turns 3 and 4 and sliding together into the infield. For more than 20 laps, they ran first and second, holding a 17-second advantage over a chasing trio that included Richard Petty, Darrell Waltrip, and A.J. Foyt.
Yarborough waited until the final lap to make his move, diving low off Turn 2 in an attempt to pass Allison. Allison blocked, forcing Yarborough onto the backstretch grass. The No. 11 car snapped sideways, climbed back onto the racing surface, and collided with Allison’s No. 1. Both cars lost control, slammed together again, struck the outside wall, and slid to a stop in the muddy infield. That chaos handed Petty the opportunity to cruise to victory.
What followed only amplified the spectacle. Yarborough immediately insisted the crash was Bobby Allison’s fault, a claim that left Bobby bewildered. When Bobby stopped his car near the wreck to check on Donnie, Yarborough stormed over and confronted him through the window.
Bobby later recalled that Yarborough struck him in the face with his helmet, cutting his nose and lips despite the protection of his own helmet and seatbelts, leaving blood dripping into his lap. Bobby climbed out and retaliated, swinging back as the two tangled in the mud.
The scuffle escalated with fists, helmets, and boots flying. Allison eventually arrived but never threw a punch, later admitting that although he refrained, he felt tempted and acknowledged it could have become a full-blown fight. The after-effects drew an estimated 15.1 million viewers, making it the highest-rated NASCAR broadcast until 2001.
By then, the sport had transformed significantly, with booming sponsorships, drivers becoming household names, and NASCAR evolving from a regional pastime into a national enterprise.
That cultural turning point explains why Dale Jr. remains fascinated by that afternoon. Still, Amy countered with a time-travel destination of her own, one that caught Junior’s attention as well. She said that if she had the chance, she would go back to the 1969 comeback to watch Elvis perform. Junior admitted that he, too, would love to see Elvis live in Las Vegas.
