• CBS Sports televises the Daytona 500 live flag-to-flag, the first time NASCAR's premier Winston Cup event is brought into living rooms across the nation from start-to-finish.

• Richard Petty ends a 45-race winless streak by taking first place in the final lap when Cale Yarborough and Donnie Allison crash on the backstretch.

• Television ratings for the event are remarkable despite a rain-delayed start. The Daytona 500 was the top rated show for each and every half-hour, according to Nielsen. The ratings increase each hour with a phenomenal 13.5 rating for the final half-hour.

• Overall the Daytona 500 telecast draws a 10.5 rating. CBS wins a National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Emmy for the show.

• The inaugural Busch Clash is staged at Daytona International Speedway on Feb. 11. Buddy Baker nips Darrell Waltrip by a single car length at the finish of the 50-mile race for pole winners in the previous Winston Cup season.

• Darrell Waltrip and Richard Petty swap the lead four times in the final lap with Waltrip winning the spring race at Darlington on April 8. The race receives a one-page report in Time Magazine.

• David Pearson drives his final race for the Wood Brothers at Darlington in the spring.

• Kyle Petty becomes the first third-generation driver to compete in the Winston Cup Series when he makes his debut at Talladega on Aug. 5. The 19-year-old youngster finishes ninth.

• Sentimental favorite David Pearson, who lost his ride with the Wood Brothers after the spring event at Darlington, wins the Southern 500 while substituting for the injured Dale Earnhardt. Pearson beats upstart driver Bill Elliott to score his 104th career Winston Cup victory.

• The engine blows in Darrell Waltrip's Chevrolet on lap 245 of the 500-lap Old Dominion 500 at Martinsville, Va. Waltrip's DiGard team, headed by Buddy Parrott, performs a complete engine change in 11 minutes and 36 seconds, an all-time record. Waltrip is able to salvage an 11th-place finish and keeps the Winston Cup point lead over a fast-closing Richard Petty.

• Richard Petty overcomes a 187-point deficit with just seven races remaining and edges Darrell Waltrip by 11 points to capture his record-setting seventh Winston Cup championship. Waltrip had entered the season finale at Ontario (Calif.) Motor Speedway with a two-point lead.

• Dale Earnhardt wins the Winston Cup Rookie of the Year Award, beating drivers Terry Labonte and Harry Gant.