The 1981 Daytona 500 has loads of causes to go down in historical past. It was Richard Petty’s final of seven Daytona 500 wins, marking a profitable finish to a profession that had began to wane. It was the primary outing for the “downsized” Cup Series vehicles. It additionally resulted in one of many wildest crashes the game has ever seen when Geoff Bodine spun out into the infield and took out somebody’s poor station wagon.
My YouTube algorithm is nearly completely made up of movies of cats, historic recipes, and previous motorsport clips; I actually solely use the positioning once I’m hoping to unwind. But once I checked on this morning, the algorithm had unearthed one thing distinctive: A clip of Bodine’s absurd crash from channel NASCARWrecks.
During the race, Terry Labonte leaked oil on the monitor, and Geoff Bodine’s No. 23 merely couldn’t keep away from it. He misplaced management of his automotive and careened into the infield. Photographers and spectators scattered, and Bodine’s automotive lastly got here to relaxation — because of some assist from a station wagon.
At the time, Bodine had solely competed in a handful of Cup Series occasions, although he hadn’t had a lot success; within the 1981 Daytona 500, he retired however was nonetheless categorized in twenty second place, which matched his finest end from the earlier 12 months at Rockingham. After nabbing a formidable seventh-place end in Charlotte on the tail finish of the 1981 season, Bodine signed on for a near-full season the next 12 months. He nabbed Rookie of the Year accolades and managed his first pole place in 1982.
If you need to take a look at the total broadcast of the race, it’s out there on NASCAR Classics, and a few of the clips in it are simply pleasant. It’s a beautiful little flashback to a a lot completely different period, and I’m fairly assured I’ll be sitting down to observe the total video this weekend.
Source: jalopnik.com