# NASCAR on television in the 1970s

One of the earliest telecasts of a NASCAR race was the 1960 Daytona 500, parts of which was presented as part of CBS Sports Spectacular, with announcer Bud Palmer.
In the ensuing years, but before 1979, there were three main sources of NASCAR telecasts:
* ABC's Wide World of Sports, the sports anthology program, provided coverage of select NASCAR Winston Cup races in the 1970s. In 1971, it presented a 200-lap race at Greenville-Pickens Speedway in its entirety, the first such broadcast of a NASCAR race. Throughout the 1970s, ABC presented portions of the Daytona 500, Southern 500, and other important races.
* In the late 1970s, CBS Sports Spectacular aired some races; like Wide World of Sports, they were taped and edited.
* Car and Track, a weekly auto racing show hosted by Bud Lindemann, recapped all of NASCAR's top-series races in the 1960s and 1970s in a weekly 30-minute syndicated show.
CBS Sports President Neal Pilson and motor-sports editor Ken Squier believed that America would watch an entire stock car race live on television. On February 18, 1979, CBS presented the first flag-to-flag coverage of the Daytona 500. Richard Petty won NASCAR's crown-jewel race for the sixth time, but the big story was the post-race fight on the track's infield between Cale Yarborough and Donnie Allison, who crashed together on the final lap while leading. The race drew incredible ratings, in part due to the compelling action both on and off the track, and in part because a major snowstorm on the East Coast kept millions of viewers indoors.

## List of races televised
### 1970-1971

| Year | Date | Event | Track | Network | Coverage | Lap-by-lap | Color commentator(s) | Reporters |
| 1970 | February 22 | Daytona 500 | Daytona | ABC | Highlights | Keith Jackson | Chris Economaki | |
| 1970 | April 22 | Alabama 500 | Talladega | ABC | Live | Bill Flemming | Keith Jackson | Bob Montgomery |
| 1970 | April 18 | Gwyn Staley 400 | North Wilkesboro | ABC | Live | Jim McKay | Chris Economaki | Bob Montgomery |
| 1970 | May 9 | Rebel 400 | Darlington | ABC | Live | Jim McKay | Ned Jarrett | Bob Montgomery |
| 1970 | May 24 | World 600 | Charlotte | ABC | Live | Keith Jackson | Chris Economaki | Bob Montgomery |
| 1970 | July 4 | Firecracker 400 | Daytona | ABC | Highlights | Jim McKay | Chris Economaki | Bob Montgomery |
| 1970 | July 25 | Nashville 420 | Fairgrounds | ABC | Live | Jim McKay | Chris Economaki | Bob Montgomery |
| 1970 | September 7 | Southern 500 | Darlington | ABC | Highlights | Bill Flemming | Chris Economaki | |
| 1970 | October 4 | Wilkes 400 | North Wilkesboro | ABC | Highlights | Jim McKay | Chris Economaki | |
| 1970 | October 11 | National 500 | Charlotte | ABC | Highlights | Jim McKay | Chris Economaki | |
| 1971 | February 11 | Twin 125's | Daytona | ABC | Highlights | Keith Jackson | Chris Economaki | |
| 1971 | February 14 | Daytona 500 | Daytona | ABC | Highlights | Keith Jackson | Chris Economaki | |
| 1971 | April 4 | Atlanta 500 | Atlanta | ABC | Live | Bill Flemming | Chris Economaki | |
| 1971 | April 10 | Greenville 200 | Greenville-Pickens | ABC | Live | Jim McKay | Chris Economaki | Ken Squier |
| 1971 | May 2 | Rebel 400 | Darlington | ABC | Highlights | Keith Jackson | Chris Economaki | |
| 1971 | May 16 | Winston 500 | Talladega | ABC | Highlights | Bill Flemming | Chris Economaki | |
| 1971 | July 4 | Firecracker 400 | Daytona | ABC | Highlights | Keith Jackson | Chris Economaki | |
| 1971 | August 6 | Myers Brothers 250 | Bowman Gray | ABC | Highlights | Jim McKay | Chris Economaki | |
| 1971 | September 6 | Southern 500 | Darlington | ABC | Highlights | Bill Flemming | Chris Economaki | |
| 1971 | October 10 | National 500 | Charlotte | ABC | Highlights | Keith Jackson | Chris Economaki | |
From 1962 to 1978, the Daytona 500 was shown on ABC's Wide World of Sports. During the 1960s and early 1970s, the race was filmed and an edited highlight package aired the following weekend.
During the period on Wide World of Sports, the booth announcers typically served as roving pit reporters during the running of the race, as well as interviewing in victory lane. In the event of a three person team only the pit reporter would be reporting while commentary was separately recording. The booth commentary was recorded in post-production.

### 1972

| Date | Event | Network | Lap-by-lap | Color commentator(s) | Reporters |
| 2/17 | Daytona 125 | ABC | Keith Jackson | Chris Economaki | |
| 2/20 | Daytona 500 | ABC | Keith Jackson | Chris Economaki | |
| 3/5 | Miller High Life 500 (Ontario) | ABC | Jim McKay | Jackie Stewart | Chris Economaki |
| 3/12 | Carolina 500 (Rockingham) | ABC | Keith Jackson | Donnie Allison | Gary Campbell |
| 3/26 | Atlanta 500 | ABC | Keith Jackson | Chris Economaki | Gary Campbell |
| 4/16 | Rebel 400 (Darlington) | ABC | Bill Flemming | Donnie Allison | |
| 7/4 | Firecracker 400 (Daytona) | ABC | Keith Jackson | Chris Economaki | |
| 9/4 | Southern 500 (Darlington) | ABC | Chris Economaki | | |
| 10/8 | National 500 (Charlotte) | ABC | Keith Jackson | Roger Penske | Chris Economaki |

### 1973

| Date | Event | Network | Lap-by-lap | Color commentator(s) | Reporters |
| 2/15 | Twin 125's (Daytona) | ABC | Jim McKay | Jackie Stewart | Chris Economaki |
| 2/18 | Daytona 500 | ABC | Jim McKay | Jackie Stewart | Chris Economaki |
| 4/1 | Atlanta 500 | ABC | Keith Jackson | Jackie Stewart | Chris Economaki |
| 4/15 | Rebel 500 (Darlington) | ABC | Bill Flemming | Jackie Stewart | |
| 7/4 | Firecracker 400 (Daytona) | ABC | Keith Jackson | Jackie Stewart | Chris Economaki |
| 8/12 | Talladega 500 (Talladega) | ABC | Bill Flemming | Jackie Stewart | |
| 9/3 | Southern 500 (Darlington) | ABC | Bill Flemming | Chris Economaki | |
| 10/7 | National 500 (Charlotte) | ABC | Keith Jackson | Roger Penske | |

### 1974

| Date | Event | Network | Lap-by-lap | Color commentator(s) | Reporters |
| 2/14 | Twin 125's | ABC | Keith Jackson | Jackie Stewart | Chris Economaki |
| 2/17 | Daytona 500 | ABC | Keith Jackson | Jackie Stewart | Chris Economaki |
| 3/24 | Atlanta 500 (Atlanta) | ABC | Keith Jackson | Jackie Stewart | Chris Economaki |
| 5/19 | Mason Dixon 500 (Dover) | ABC | Bill Flemming | Chris Economaki | |
| 7/4 | Firecracker 400 (Daytona) | ABC | Keith Jackson | Jackie Stewart | Chris Economaki |
| 8/11 | Talladega 500 (Talladega) | ABC | Bill Flemming | Jackie Stewart | |
| 9/2 | Southern 500 (Darlington) | ABC | Chris Economaki | Jackie Stewart | |
| 10/6 | National 500 (Charlotte) | ABC | Jim McKay | Chris Economaki | |
In 1974, ABC began the first semi-live coverage (joined-in-progress) of the Daytona 500. Coverage was normally timed to begin when the race was halfway over. Brief taped highlights of the start and early segments were shown, then ABC joined the race live already in progress, picking up approximately the last 90 minutes of the race. This format continued through 1978.

### 1975

| Date | Event | Network | Lap-by-lap | Color commentator(s) | Reporters |
| 2/13 | Twin 125's (Daytona) | ABC | Chris Economaki | Jackie Stewart | |
| 2/16 | Daytona 500 | ABC | Bill Flemming | Jackie Stewart | Chris Economaki |
| 3/23 | Atlanta 500 (Atlanta) | ABC | Jim McKay | Jackie Stewart | Chris Economaki |
| 4/19 | Rebel 500 (Darlington) | ABC | Keith Jackson | | |
| 5/4 | Winston 500 (Talladega) | CBS | Ken Squier | | |
| 5/25 | World 600 (Charlotte) | CBS | Ken Squier | | |
| 7/4 | Firecracker 400 (Daytona) | ABC | Keith Jackson | Jackie Stewart | Chris Economaki |
| 8/24 | Champion Spark Plug 400 (Michigan) | CBS | Ken Squier | Johnny Rutherford | |
| 9/1 | Southern 500 (Darlington) | ABC | Keith Jackson | Darel Dieringer | |
| 10/5 | National 500 (Charlotte) | ABC | Jim McKay | Jackie Stewart | Chris Economaki |
| 11/9 | Dixie 500 (Atlanta) | CBS | Ken Squier | Johnny Rutherford | |

### 1976

| Date | Event | Network | Lap-by-lap | Color commentator(s) | Reporters |
| 2/15 | Daytona 500 | ABC | Bill Flemming | Jackie Stewart | Chris Economaki |
| 3/21 | Atlanta 500 | ABC | Bill Flemming | Jackie Stewart | Chris Economaki |
| 4/11 | Rebel 500 (Darlington) | ABC | | | |
| 5/2 | Winston 500 (Talladega) | CBS | Ken Squier | Lee Petty | Ned Jarrett |
| 5/30 | World 600 (Charlotte) | CBS | Ken Squier | | |
| 6/13 | Riverside 400 | CBS | Ken Squier | Richard Petty | |
| 7/4 | Firecracker 400 (Daytona) | ABC | Bill Flemming | Sam Posey | Chris Economaki |
| 8/8 | Talladega 500 | CBS | Ken Squier | Lee Petty | |
| 8/22 | Champion Spark Plug 400 (Michigan) | CBS | Ken Squier | Bobby Unser and Ned Jarrett | |
| 9/6 | Southern 500 (Darlington) | ABC | Bill Flemming | Jackie Stewart | |
| 10/10 | National 500 (Charlotte) | ABC | Keith Jackson | Chris Economaki | |
| 11/7 | Dixie 500 (Atlanta) | CBS | Ken Squier | | |
| 11/21 | Los Angeles Times 500 (Ontario) | ABC | Jim McKay | Chris Economaki | |
The 1976 Daytona 500 was held on the same day of the final day of competition in the Winter Olympics (also broadcast on ABC). ABC carried 30 minutes of live coverage of the start of the race, then switched to the Olympics for 90 minutes to carry taped coverage of the final two competitive events (a cross-country ski race and the final runs in the bobsled), held earlier that day. Then it was back to Daytona for about an hour-and-a-half for the finish.

### 1977-1979

| Year | Date | Event | Track | Network | Coverage | Commentary | Commentary | Pit Reporters |
| Year | Date | Event | Track | Network | Coverage | Lap-by-lap | Color | Pit Reporters |
| 1977 | February 17 | Twin 125's | Daytona | ABC | Highlights | Jim McKay | Jackie Stewart | Chris Economaki |
| 1977 | February 20 | Daytona 500 | Daytona | ABC | Live | Jim McKay | Jackie Stewart | Chris Economaki |
| 1977 | March 20 | Atlanta 500 | Atlanta | ABC | Live | Keith Jackson | Jackie Stewart | Chris Economaki |
| 1977 | April 3 | Rebel 500 | Darlington | ABC | Live | Keith Jackson | Jackie Stewart | Chris Economaki |
| 1977 | May 29 | World 600 | Charlotte | CBS | Highlights | Ken Squier | David Hobbs | Brock Yates |
| 1977 | July 4 | Firecracker 400 | Daytona | ABC | Highlights | Bill Flemming | Chris Economaki | |
| 1977 | August 7 | Talladega 500 | Talladega | CBS | Highlights | Ken Squier | Lee Petty | |
| 1977 | September 5 | Southern 500 | Darlington | ABC | Highlights | Bill Flemming | Jackie Stewart | |
| 1977 | October 8 | National 500 | Charlotte | ABC | Highlights | Al Michaels | Chris Economaki | |
| 1977 | November 20 | Los Angeles Times 500 | Ontario | CBS | Highlights | Ken Squier | David Hobbs | Brock Yates |
| 1978 | February 16 | Twin 125's | Daytona | ABC | Highlights | Jim McKay | Jackie Stewart | Chris Economaki |
| 1978 | February 19 | Daytona 500 | Daytona | ABC | Live | Jim McKay | Jackie Stewart | Chris Economaki |
| 1978 | March 19 | Atlanta 500 | Atlanta | ABC | Live | Al Michaels | Jackie Stewart | Chris Economaki |
| 1978 | April 8 | Rebel 500 | Darlington | ABC | Live | Jim McKay | Jackie Stewart | Chris Economaki |
| 1978 | May 28 | World 600 | Charlotte | CBS | Highlights | Ken Squier | David Hobbs | Brock Yates |
| 1978 | June 18 | Gabriel 400 | Michigan | ABC | Highlights | Al Michaels | Jackie Stewart | Chris Economaki |
| 1978 | July 4 | Firecracker 400 | Daytona | ABC | Highlights | Jim McKay | Chris Economaki | |
| 1978 | August 6 | Talladega 500 | Talladega | CBS | Highlights | Ken Squier | Lee Petty | |
| 1978 | September 4 | Southern 500 | Darlington | ABC | Highlights | Keith Jackson | Chris Economaki | |
| 1978 | October 8 | National 500 | Charlotte | ABC | Highlights | Jim McKay | Jackie Stewart | Chris Economaki |
| 1978 | November 19 | Los Angeles Times 500 | Ontario | CBS | Highlights | Ken Squier | David Hobbs | Brock Yates |
| 1979 | February 11 | Busch Clash | Daytona | CBS | Live | Ken Squier | David Hobbs | Brock Yates |
| 1979 | February 15 | Twin 125's | Daytona | CBS | Highlights | Ken Squier | David Hobbs | Ned Jarrett Brock Yates |
| 1979 | February 18 | Daytona 500 | Daytona | CBS | Live | Ken Squier | David Hobbs | Ned Jarrett Brock Yates |
| 1979 | March 18 | Atlanta 500 | Atlanta | ABC | Highlights | Al Michaels | Jackie Stewart | Chris Economaki |
| 1979 | April 3 | Rebel 500 | Darlington | ABC | Live | Jim McKay | Jackie Stewart | Chris Economaki |
| 1979 | April 22 | Virginia 500 | Martinsville | MRN TV | Highlights | Jack Arute | Ned Jarrett | |
| 1979 | April 29 | Winston 500 | Talladega | MRN TV | Highlights | Jack Arute | Ned Jarrett | |
| 1979 | May 27 | World 600 | Charlotte | CBS | Highlights | Ken Squier | David Hobbs | Ned Jarrett Brock Yates |
| 1979 | June 17 | Gabriel 400 | Michigan | ABC | Highlights | Al Michaels | Jackie Stewart | Chris Economaki |
| 1979 | July 4 | Firecracker 400 | Daytona | ABC | Highlights | Keith Jackson | Sam Posey | Chris Economaki |
| 1979 | August 5 | Talladega 500 | Talladega | CBS | Live | Ken Squier | Lee Petty | Ned Jarrett Brock Yates |
| 1979 | September 3 | Southern 500 | Darlington | ABC | Highlights | Bill Flemming | Jackie Stewart | |
| 1979 | October 7 | National 500 | Charlotte | NBC | Highlights | Paul Page | Johnny Rutherford | |
| 1979 | November 18 | Los Angeles Times 500 | Ontario | CBS | Highlights | Ken Squier | David Hobbs | Brock Yates |
In 1979, CBS instituted the live "flag-to-flag" coverage policy. The ground-breaking 1979 broadcast ushered in the 22-year run of NASCAR on CBS.
During its entire run from 1979 to 2000, CBS also carried the Busch Clash (live), and in most years, carried the Twin 125s (tape-delayed).