Retro Auto Racing
Although it was before my time, I had once heard that CBS actually broadcast the first-ever Daytona "500" in 1959 with Walter Cronkite as play-by-play man (who back in the 1950's would sometimes race sports cars on weekends out on Long Island). It was the first-ever national flag-to-flag live telecast of an auto race, and the last live telecast of Daytona until 1974, and the last live flag-to-flag telecast until 1979.
It is my understanding that during 1959, CBS broadcast a handful of auto races with Cronkite as announcer. I think they did, besides Daytona, three other live races and also carried (on a one-week tape-delay in those pre-satellite days) the Monaco Grand Prix.
I have heard that those telecasts did well in the ratings, but were dropped after 1959 because sponsors weren't very interested since the (then) biggest event in auto racing, the Indianapolis "500", was not included in the CBS package. Back then, the Indianapolis speedway refused to allow the race to be seen on television.
The 1959 CBS telecast would be the last NASCAR race on network TV until the birth of "Wide World Of Sports" in 1961; I think the 1961 Firecracker "400" (taped and edited-down to fit the show's timeslot) was the first NASCAR race shown on "Wide World", likely the first Saturday after July 4th (back then, the race was held the morning of July 4th).
From 1962 through 1973, "Wide World" broadcast an edited version of the Daytona "500" (edited down to about one hour and twelve minutes, minus commercials, segues, and the "Wide World" opening and closing, which brought the show up to 90 minutes).
One interesting note about the 1976 Daytona "500" was that ABC showed the start of the race and the first 20 minutes or so live (in a half-hour slot), then cut away for an hour-and-a-half (it was the final day of the 1976 Winter Olympics and ABC showed the final day of competition during the time they had cut away from Daytona). ABC hen came back for 90 minutes to broadcast the finish of the race.
Besides this being NBC's last Daytona "500", I think this year may see another "last" for The Great American Race, but I'm not 100% sure. I believe that this year would be the last time the Daytona "500" is held during the day; I have heard from some friends that starting in 2007, the race will be moved from the third Sunday afternoon in February to the third Sunday night in February to have Fox carry the race live in prime-time. Daytona already has lights; the Firecracker "400" (Yes, I know it's now been re-named after the number-two cola brand) has been held in prime-time for quite a few years now. Does anyone know if indeed the Daytona "500" will be held under the lights starting next year??
I'd like to conclude by saying this: If you were to see a kinescope of CBS' broadcast of the 1959 Daytona "500" or tapes of "Wide World Of Sports"' auto-racing coverage during the 1960's, you'd be stunned at how primitive the coverage looks. While technology has changed, and usually improved, television sports coverage, a case can be made that the evolution of technology has affected coverage of auto racing more than coverage of any other sport.
