The late 1970s version of NASCAR was a rather strange, transitional space. Stock car racing was still shaking off its regional skin while slowly embracing national relevance, and road courses were rare. At this time, Riverside International Raceway stood apart from the ovals that defined the sport. It was a place where reputations could be made, or revived.
That is what made a particular return to racing so emotionally loaded. It was not just about nostalgia or a ceremonial appearance, but about unfinished business at the track. It was about the dominance that this particular driver once had. And as he returned to racing, he took the lights, and it indeed almost became a fairy-tale run to victory, only to ultimately end in disappointment.
The day NASCAR’s tough side crushed a remarkable return
Dan Gurney had already become a motorsports legend by the time NASCAR moved its Grand National Series, which was called the Winston Cup Series then, to Riverside in 1980. Although never a full-time driver, he had been the face of the track in the sport, delivering dominating wins, owing to his experience racing in other series.
His racing stretched far beyond any limits, be it stock racing, F1, or sports cars, and that certainly helped him. He hadn’t run any of the major series since 1970, post his retirement, but then came that one race at Riverside in 1980, which looked like the perfect story written out for him…