The 1980 CRC Chemicals 500 was a NASCAR

NASCAR

The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...

 Winston Cup Series racing event that took place on September 14, 1980 at Dover Downs International Speedway

Dover International Speedway

Dover International Speedway is a NASCAR-sanctioned race track located in Dover, Delaware, owned by, and serving as the corporate headquarters of, Dover Motorsports, Inc. It is co-located with a harness racing track, Dover Downs, and shares the complex with Dover Downs Hotel & Casino...

 (Dover

Dover, Delaware

The city of Dover is the capital and second largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. It is also the county seat of Kent County, and the principal city of the Dover, Delaware Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Kent County. It is located on the St. Jones River in the Delaware...

, Delaware

Delaware

Delaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...

).

Summary

Twenty-nine lead changes were noticed amongst 11 different drivers.

A combination of racing veterans and relative newcomers to the sport made the 1980 NASCAR Cup Series racing amongst the closest ever seen within the 1970s and 1980s decades. The 1980 NASCAR season was also a rare period in time where the "little teams" could compete almost on a completely equal level against the "big organizations" of stock car racing. Today, independent organizations like NEMCO Motorsports

NEMCO Motorsports

NEMCO Motorsports is a NASCAR team that is owned by driver Joe Nemechek and his family. After a two-year hiatus, NEMCO Motorsports fielded full time entries in both the Cup and Nationwide Series in 2009 with driver Joe Nemechek. It carried the number 87 in both Cup and Nationwide. The team ran...

 and Robby Gordon Motorsports

Robby Gordon Motorsports

Robby Gordon Motorsports is a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series team. It fields the #7 Dodge Charger for Robby Gordon. It is based in Charlotte, North Carolina, and is owned by Gordon and heavily supported by John Menard, Jr.-2005:...

 have a very harsh degree of difficulty to overcome when trying to overtake powerhouses like Hendrick Motorsports

Hendrick Motorsports

Hendrick Motorsports , originally named All Star Racing, is a current American auto racing team created in 1984 by Rick Hendrick. The team currently competes in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with Chevrolet Impalas...

, Richard Childress Racing

Richard Childress Racing

RCR Enterprises, LLC, doing business as Richard Childress Racing, is a NASCAR team based in Welcome, North Carolina, and is owned and operated by former driver Richard Childress...

, and Joe Gibbs Racing

Joe Gibbs Racing

Joe Gibbs Racing is a group of NASCAR racing teams owned and operated by former Washington Redskins coach Joe Gibbs, who first started racing on the NASCAR circuit in 1991, and J. D. Gibbs, his son...

. The approximate time it took to complete the race was four hours and fourteen minutes using 500 laps of racing. Eight yellow flags were given out for 39 laps while Darrell Waltrip

Darrell Waltrip

Darrell Lee Waltrip is a 3-time NASCAR Cup Series champion , 3-time runner-up , winner of the 1989 Daytona 500 and 5-time winner of the prestigeous Coca-Cola 600 ,...

 defeated Harry Gant

Harry Gant

Harry Phil Gant is a retired American racecar driver best known for driving the #33 Skoal Bandit car on the NASCAR Winston Cup circuit during the 1980s and 1990s.-Nicknames:...

 by almost ½ of a second. The attendance for this paved oval track race was 35,500 live audience members. Waltrip would earn $22,900 just by winning this race ($ in today's money).

Frank Warren

Frank Warren (NASCAR driver)

Frank Warren is a retired NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver who raced from 1963 to 1980.Out of 88863 laps finished in his career, Warren had led 72 of them. Warren's total career earnings were $625,886 and while his average finish was 20th place in his entire career. The total amount of miles...

 would retire from NASCAR after this race along with Eddie Dickerson. Meanwhile, John Callis and Joel Stowe used this racing event to make their respective NASCAR debuts. Steve Gray

Steve Gray (NASCAR driver)

Steve Gray is a retired NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver who competed from 1979 to 1985 in six different races. Gray has competed in 1321 laps while leading none of them. His average start is 32nd place and his average finish is 29th place; making him finish races generally better than he started...

 was the last-place driver with a head gasket

Head gasket

A head gasket is a gasket that sits between the engine block and cylinder head in an internal combustion engine. Its purpose is to seal the cylinders to ensure maximum compression and avoid leakage of coolant or engine oil into the cylinders; as such, it is the most critical sealing application in...

 incident; earning only a meager prize amount of $450 for his 35 laps of racing ($ in today's money). Speeds for this race were: 116.024 miles per hour (186.7 km/h) as the average racing speed and 137.583 miles per hour (221.4 km/h) for the pole position winner Cale Yarborough

Cale Yarborough

William Caleb "Cale" Yarborough , is a farmer, businessman and former NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver and owner. He is one of only two drivers in NASCAR history to win three consecutive championships...

. This would be one of the few races where Bobby Allison

Bobby Allison

Robert Arthur Allison is a former NASCAR Winston Cup driver and was named one of NASCAR's 50 greatest drivers. His two sons, Clifford Allison and Davey Allison followed him into racing, and both died within a year of each other....

 didn't win at the track that is now known as Dover International Speedway. Dale Earnhardt

Dale Earnhardt

Ralph Dale Earnhardt, Sr. was an American race car driver, best known for his involvement in stock car racing for NASCAR...

would have the NASCAR Winston Cup Series championship after this race. This would eventually lead to his 1980 NASCAR championship.