|| *Comments on the 1980 Firecracker 400:* View the most recent comment <#24> | Post a comment <#post> Tweet 1. Matt posted: 12.22.2005 - 12:10 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Phil Finney had a violent crash off turn 4 and broke his neck, a foot, and some ribs after getting airborne and then hitting the wall before the pit entrance. 2. Dave posted: 07.07.2007 - 11:14 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Rick Wilsons Debut 3. WillG_46 posted: 04.10.2008 - 7:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Phil Finney's accident was horrendous. The way his car lifted kind of looked like an IndyCar crash, where the entire car lifted up at once, not just the back end. This would ultimately be his final start in NASCAR competition. 4. myself posted: 08.21.2009 - 11:47 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Cale's & Junior's final race together @ Daytona. 5. smr posted: 10.01.2009 - 5:33 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) I believe this was the race where Bobby Allison announced in victory lane that he was leaving Bud Moore because Fords were uncompetitive at most tracks. 6. jp posted: 11.25.2009 - 11:29 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Finney tried to make the '83 Daytona 500 if im not mistaken... 7. 18fan posted: 03.13.2010 - 5:52 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Finney had the 1979 ARCA 200 at Daytona, which was Kyle Petty's first stock car race, won when a piece of metal destroyed his winshield. This was also the fastest 400 in Daytona history. The fastest 500 and 400 occurred in the same year. 8. Schroeder51 posted: 05.12.2011 - 7:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Finney nearly flew into the 76 sign at the entrance of pit road. 9. rob posted: 09.24.2012 - 4:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) i didn't know bobby ran a mercury in this race. 10. zuel660 posted: 12.29.2012 - 10:24 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Bud Moore ran a Mercury for select superspeedway races during the 1980 season 11. Walleyewhacker posted: 02.15.2014 - 8:37 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) The Ford and Mercury cars of this era weren't exactly aerodynamic wonders compared to the GM cars. Also this was the era before Ernie Elliott fiqured out how to make the 351 Cleveland rev in the same high ranges that the Chevys were running without breaking valve springs. 12. b4il3y posted: 05.08.2014 - 2:29 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Walleyewhacker: Explain a little more? 13. RaceFanX posted: 12.12.2014 - 4:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) John Greenwood, best known for road racing in a series of spectacular modified Corvettes, makes his second and final Winston Cup start. His 21st was an improvement on his early retirement in the World 600 earlier in the year. 14. RaceFanX posted: 12.12.2014 - 4:49 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Allison's victory was the last at Daytona for a Mercury. The downsizing of cars next year took the brand out of NASCAR competition, none would even be entered for the following year's Daytona 500. John Anderson picks up the first of his two top-10s in 1980. 15. RaceFanX posted: 08.01.2017 - 11:36 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Richard Childress' eighth-place finish was his best at Daytona as a driver...although he'd go on to win many races here as an owner with other drivers in his cars. 16. Matt J posted: 07.24.2018 - 11:40 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Looking at a replay of the race, it looks like Earnhardt actually drove an Oldsmobile instead of a Chevy. Could the admins update the page? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxe_MZgvEPM 17. JSPorts posted: 07.24.2018 - 11:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) That also seems likely because they ran Chevrolet at every race in 1980 other than the Daytona 500 and the Talladega races, so they probably ran the Olds at the 2nd Daytona race, as well. 18. RaceFanX posted: 11.13.2018 - 8:37 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) David Pearson did not enter the 1980 Daytona 500 but lost none of his big track skills in the interim. Once he took over Hoss Ellington's famous #1 Hawaiian Tropic entry from Donnie Allison early in the season he proceeded to finish third at Talladega in the spring then back it up with a strong runner-up performance here. 19. Rob posted: 09.23.2019 - 10:37 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) My bad. I misread post. 20. Rob posted: 09.23.2019 - 10:37 am Rate this comment: (0) (1) To Racefan X. Can't believe it took almost five years to correct your post about Mercury. The last win by that brand was by Neil Bonnet at Talladega in August of 1980. 21. zuel660 posted: 12.18.2019 - 9:51 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) @20 that's because there's nothing to correct....he stated it was the last win at Daytona for a Mercury, not the last win overall. 22. KW posted: 04.27.2020 - 10:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) DiGard fired Buddy Parrot (again) before this race and hired Jake Elder 23. RacingDude00 posted: 08.27.2020 - 8:44 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I am sure some of the older fans know this but I had no idea about this till just that this year marks 40 years since Bill France ALMOST pull the Firecracker from Daytona to move to Indianapolis :O 24. rateus posted: 02.11.2021 - 5:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Frank Warren qualified for Marty Robbins. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *Post a comment:* Your comment may not appear immediately - all comments must be approved by the moderator. Name: Comment: