Richard Petty's 1988 Daytona 500 Flip LIVE

[mreed91]

Where's the now-infamous call in which one of the commentators says that this crash will end the career of Richard Petty?

[TheTop1PercentOwnUs]

I know how you feel Ken Squire.. I'm always in the bathroom droppin a stank bomb when the excitement happens!

[scttrp761]

i remember this crash i was like wow

[EricEbac22]

CookProductions1--

Chris Economaki's calling of Richard Petty's crash sounds a lot like Herb Morrison's description of the Hindenberg explosion 50 years earlier.

[alden6644]

should i stay away from kannapolis?

[XenBuddhist]

This is the crash I think I saw live on TV when I was 8 in '88 living in Atlanta GA. My jaw hit the floor and I thought he was dead. It was like a heart-stopper moment!

[Oiihui]

Darn.. i thought i was gonna watch a video of an old guy telling a story at the beginning.... Then it show'd these darn flying machines flippin through the air ):

[Flaggajiggle]

@Oiihui Hahahahahaha xD

[lophatmike]

This crash took a lot of the wind out of Petty's sail. He was never really all that competitive after this wreck. It was at this point he really started to think retirement.

[ArmyRescue2]

so he is still alive?

[PhilipTheBigOne]

@ArmyRescue2: Yeah, he runs RPM.

[madisonelectronic]

@ArmyRescue2 You twit.

[The1994Gforce]

Thank God the King's still alive today. Of course, he's immortal in the world of NASCAR. Long live the King!

[bigbadbruins1]

You think they would of black flagged it.

[TUowl05]

It's amazing to see the cars pit with safety workers and wrecked cars on pit road. While the drivers showed some caution they're still going much faster than they would today. I remember watching this race live and i've seen this wreck a 100 times but i never caught on to that.

[sethcorn]

Ekonmacki said this was the end of Petty's Career

[PhilipTheBigOne]

@sethcorn: But the King retired in 1992.

[sethcorn]

@PhilipTheBigOne Yeahhhhhhhhhhhhh I know this, but listen to his comments no mine

[PhilipTheBigOne]

@sethcorn: I understand...

[maidmoira]

how quick can u stop these cars,amazing

[byron500]

I remembered how angry I was that Phil Barkdoll never seemed to let off the gas when Richard was either turned or just got a shade loose. I'm glad I wised up and learned that this is RACING and these things happen. I hope and I'm sure that all the guys throwing death threats after Dale Sr. died have learned it too.

[ThreeRiversRC]

This is by far one of the worst wrecks in Daytona history.

[gp75motorsports]

That'll buff out. :D

[BSNFabricating]

Yep... I remember they were starting that Earnhardt feature when the wreck happened (I have it on tape and have seen the race several times since). When it was live, I thought they were showing a replay of an incident earlier in the week. I remember Richard had a spin on the backstretch in one of the 125-mile qualifying races -- and Phil Barkdoll was right behind him in that incident, too, but he just wound up spinning in the mud. This incident was a right smart more serious...

[EricEbac22]

Sbrownfan--

My guess is that Ken Squier was doing the pre-race and post-race commentary. I would also guess that the network (CBS Sports) had Chris Economaki (Spelling help here, please?) doing the race commentary and Ned Jarrett doing the analysis.

[angelboy10able]

where was dale sr

[wwetherock09]

i wonder what would have happened if nascar delayed the start of restrictor plates?

[The1994Gforce]

Thank God the king is still alive today. He's the last driver this sport wants to lose. Thumbs up if you agree.

[samrockwell1]

This is pretty sweet. Richard Petty has his own Cameo Star and now you can send the King to your friends on Facebook!

[MegaLlamalord]

7 seems to be the magic number in nascar.

[BSNFabricating]

@MegaLlamalord

There seemed to be a #7 theme in that race... With this wreck, there were seven cars involved -- including #7 and 14 (a multiple of 7); Richard Petty (4+3=7), 7-time Daytona winner and 7-time champion, flipped 7 times; and there were a total of seven caution flags for 42 laps (a multiple of 7). The caution for this wreck lasted 21 laps if I remember right.

Of course I've kinda kept all that to myself all these years, 'cause it makes me sound kinda loopy pointing out that stuff.

[elkinsinbox]

bad trouble bad trouble

[C0LL1N]

they didnt have "red flag" back then?

[TrueDarkHadou]

@C0LL1N

Not that... just they didn't like 15 minute Commercial Breaks back then. It didn't take that long to sweep the track off either.

[phxracing42]

@TrueDarkHadou i wonder why that is

[SuperRobbie1976]

someone else was also riding with petty.

[Debo318]

I believe this is Steve Grabowski's cap. Old member from the original TBK.

[Radar19792008]

Mr. Squier was in the restroom.

[hooterb311]

sorry to tell you i was there i was on the saftey truck.. he had massive facial injuries and was not restrained.

[grodzickia]

Fariani you are an idiot. It was the way his belts were anchored to the car. Bill Simpson warned him of it and Dale wanted his seat and belts a certain way. Hell he made his own seats!!! Open face helmet had NOTHING TO DO with his death. Even a hans or hutchens device will not have saved him. If your belts break....you hit the steering wheel....the force of his brain hitting his skull is what killed him. Massive brain injury!!! Period...Rest in peace

[MrHartfordHockey]

the guy who stoped at the last second and slid and went into the wall

was it Alan Kulwicki?

[ROBLOXdude95]

yes.

[fwayndo1]

dale earnhardt grew up in the town of kannapolis, north carolina- bad trouble, bad trouble....

[CookProductions1]

@fwayndo1 awwh kay terrible crash Richard Petty's car has turned over 7 or 8 times.

[FrodothePuppet]

"Are we havin' fuuuuun?!"

Linda Petty to Richard in the infield care center

[nw2strokers]

Yap thats when NASCAR was racing and not just a show. They used to race to the start finish line on a yellow flag.

[RCR37]

No red flag and pit road was open for everyone to shoot down while two wrecked cars sat right there.

[allsmurfedup]

cuz petty was wearing his seatbelt

[go88in08]

how the hell does he survive that yet earnhardts crash was not even that big and he dies.

[rabidfurry2]

what he did is a whole lot better than what earnhardt did. Pettys flips brought him to a stop relatively slowly while Earnhardt went from full speed to zero in an instant by going head first into the wall.

[PYLrulz1984]

Petty's (along with a bunch of other flips), the car flipping around, and falling apart like that, all that energy is being dissipated in those flying parts, and those rolls., instead of just one big smash, like Earnhardt's.

[go88in08]

okay what about micheal waltrip's wreck at bristol why did he not die.

[PYLrulz1984]

Sheer dumb luck.

way more times than not, Michael should of been dead in that type of crash, he just hit the right spot in a way that he didnt get impailed by the wall or god knows what else.

[fatriani]

you dont know much about physics

[go88in08]

actually i know abit about physics, not much though i know more about internal parts of car's and drafting and stuff..

[fatriani]

then you should know that the reason the earnhardt died was a combination of, improper restraint, open faced helmet, and coming to a dead stop by hitting a concrete wall. dale didnt like seatbelts or closed helmets, like alot of drivers, he was more concerned about fire, and being able to get out, on top of being claustrophobic. he hits the wall at 185mph, his seatbelt are loose so his chin hits his steering wheel due to open helmet, and his jawbone went through his brain and killed him.

[kidontheblock1]

@fatriani r u mentally retarded ... oh wait let me answer that for u yes

[fatriani]

>r u

>u

what?

[fatriani]

i dont know what people are giving this negatives, its exactly what happened. its just fact

[jiminey6969]

dale hit the wall nearly head-on at 160 mph. his head came forward, while his body stayed restrained. that caused the base of his skull to break, which killed him.

had hans devices been used in nascar at that time, he would have been fine.

[go88in08]

yah. i've researched it...there's all kinds of stories.."his strap broke" "he was not wearing it" all kinds of stuff..nascar will never release the truth..

[4444racing4444]

RED FLAG a race in 1988....There wasn't such a thing in '88...It was yellow or green

[Inufan20]

Richard Petty: Just keep on slamming into me when I stop it's okay (Sarcasm)

[Hagop11]

Pilot? What the hell are you talking about?

[tsohmas]

never heard of a pilot as in driver?

[stubbyguy]

why are your videos no longer available?

[roadgeek09]

Why was the race not red flagged for this crash. They ran for over an hour under the caution . Would it not been better to have stopped where they could have cleaned it up faster.

[BSNFabricating]

@roadgeek09

It seemed like an hour, but I think it was 21 laps for this wreck. At that time they usually only red flagged a race for rain, or a wreck like Bobby Allison had at Talladega the year before that tore up the catch fence.

The only red flag I remember in '88 was for a wreck at Pocono where the turn one wall was busted open and had to be fixed.

[NintendoBoyDX]

wasnt that the crash that made him quit racing?

[Qtip43]

No Richard kept raceing years after that crash.

[BSNFabricating]

@Qtip43

He finished third at Richmond the week after this.

[rocket1231231]

@Qtip43 yes he is..

[pwned2002]

my dad was at that race. He said it wa crazy!

Weird it feels like yesterday to watch all these old races.

[Flakman129]

The dick never looked bette

[IceBreaker832]

so what happend to richard petty?? i herd he broke something. was he alright afterward??

[dashracer82]

yep, he raced more afterwards, and still ok to this day.

[robrulz23]

he just had a sore ankle, otherwise he was fine

[sjames500]

Chris Economaki is the best motorsports announcer ever.

[FrodothePuppet]

Chris Economaki already had experience as a lead announcer. He had been a track announcer in the past, and has been covering motorsport since before Richard Petty was born! Chris was approaching 70 at this time!

Phil Barkdoll sounded very concerned as his words tripped over each other. He looks and sounds like Roger Penske (if The Captain talked at 200 mph!).

[Astrofamous1]

I was at that race. I was on the backstreach and when the race was over, walk to the front side where the wreck happen and picked up and handful of bits and pieces of the cars.. Had Pettys bright orange!

[racedude82]

I wonder if any of the debris went into the crowd?

[richintalent]

You won't see crashes like this because of the roof panel safety feature

[PYLrulz1984]

Not necessarly. Cars can still flip like that, it just has to take a much quicker spin (as so the roof flaps cant catch in time), or spin around the other way around, so the weight of the car flips it.

[Daytona5001979]

you never see crashes like this anymore am i right?

[prsjoe]

The chassis is made from DOM mild steel , NOT chromoly steel .

[BSNFabricating]

@prsjoe

That's true.

[Sbrownfan]

That was my thought, I guess I didn't wanna say it. LOL!

[Sbrownfan]

Wonder where Ken Squire was? You don't hear him til about 2:14 into the video.

[freshgeek89]

In the bathroom. lol

[jbeckwith74]

@freshgeek89 - actually... he was in the press bathroom. Squire said so on Speed Network several years ago on Despain's call in show.

[racingformusic]

I had heard that the story was that they were to do a feature on Dale Earnhardt, so Ken Squier asked the producer of CBS Sports who did this race that if he could go to the bathroom which was quite a ways from the press box, then a fan told him what had happened, and so Squier ran back to the press box, and of course heard the announcers Ned Jarrett, and Chris Economacki carrying on, and then resumed coverage.

[penske369]

@racingformusic I love that story haha

[ilovetogofast88]

A restrictor plate is a device installed in the car's intake to keep it from going any faster that it should, there was a time before restrictor plates where someone's car would pretty much put almost everyone else a lap down because they were so fast. To be fair to the other competitors, NASCAR began putting restrictor plates in their cars to prevent any from going faster than usual, a lot of people have mixed emotions about restrictor plates, but oh well.

[redneck4541]

I'm surprised they let the cars pit, with wrecked caars on pit road

[SimRacin14]

Back in the day,when the caution would come out,the cars would head straight to the pits quite often,occasionally racing to the line(usually late in the race,though.) The restarts were also different then,you could pass cars to the right once the flag flew.Today,you can only pass to the left before the start/finish line. The starts were still the same.

[lpdoby]

You're absolutely right. THe rules were very different back then. Many of the rules have changed for the better, and some have changed for the worse in my opinion.

[codyy123]

whats a restrictor plate?

[e521soediv]

bad trouble bad trouble

[sethcorn]

Watching this Video you can tell how much more Nascar is Organized when a horrific crash happens... Today this would likely result in a Red Flag, and the amount of safety workers and speed of them..

[Modor20]

They were running a short piece on Earnhardt, they cut away from it when the crash happened.

[ThunderAppeal]

That is a young Brett Bodine.

[vidEvWill]

Yes it is...He drives the pace car on Sunday.

[zzzbbbccc]

look at the so called new safty features at the end of the clip such as the seat compaired to the safty features on the cars since Dale Sr's crash.

[kingofrunescapepking]

the seat wasnt safe it killed grant adcox at atlanta the folloin year

[gth804f]

I like how the drivers aren't arrogant when being interviewed. They tell what happened and they hope everyone is ok...why can't drivers today do that.

[crapstains]

I totally agree!

[vidEvWill]

Not necessarily, I have seen some do it but not as much here.

[ChevyCamaro33]

@gth804f nice, true comment. I think it's because its nothing but useless, undisciplined kids driving the cars now with money from mommy and daddy instead of working class heroes that made it to the top like these wonderful legends back in the day. its a shame.

[gjhazard]

@gth804f cause they are dicks!

[OA276]

cool yellow flag graphic at :43

[itsalleternal]

Those were the typical CBS Sports graphics from 1986-1991.

[20racingfan]

Haha look how skinny Mike Joy is!

[3fan4eva]

Do u have the finish to this race?, great father son run

[fwayndo1]

haha that was funny the guy was just talking and they cut him off like after the crash was done

[HomeDepot20TS]

Can't imagine being a fan watching this live and the camera busting out showing The King's car rolling along the fence like that.

[smmikeman]

wow is that dave despain on the interview with bodine?

[JSprague24]

Yep, that was Dave.

[carlEfan99]

Do you have Petty's crash from Darlington?

[tubularlyradical]

what was that before the crash, a commercial or something?

[Altamonteric]

Yeah sounds like there were talking about Dale Earnhardt, That was horrible crash glad Petty walked away from that

[O5fan]

I heard a story on TV about this. It was a show where they had a bunch of oldtimers, mostly drivers, but one of them was Ken Squier. He said he went to the bathroom because it just so happened they were gonna show a pretaped segment and he to go, but while he was on his way, an employee of CBS came and told him to come back because Petty crashed, and that's why you don't hear him until after 2 minutes.

[word360]

First time I have ever saw a live version of this, especially the pit lane wall view. I agree with Ran, that was violent, not many car tumble like that.

[Randildo]

the VIOLENCE. that was sick.