Last race at Ontario ended in first title for Earnhardt

It was American author Kurt Vonnegut who said, "History is merely a list of surprises. It can only prepare us to be surprised yet again." Of course, he wasn't referring directly to the 1980 Los Angeles Times 500 at Ontario Motor Speedway, but it's a fitting comment on an event that featured a number of surprises, firsts and lasts.

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Ontario -- a carbon-copy showplace of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway built in the center of the Inland Valley -- had the biggest purse on the circuit when NASCAR debuted there in 1971. But by the time NASCAR returned for the season finale in 1980, the sustained economic recession, coupled with poor management decisions, left the track clinging to survival.

Only 15,000 fans turned out for what would be the last oval race in California until 1997, but what they saw was a fascinating race for the victory and the season championship.

Pole-sitter Cale Yarborough -- trailing points-leader Dale Earnhardt by 29 points coming into the race -- needed some good luck to come his way, and some misfortune to land on the driver of the No. 2 Chevrolet.

He got both. Yarborough led eight times for 65 laps and finished third, while Earnhardt, in only his second full-time season, made a pair of costly mistakes early in the race. First, he pitted too soon after a caution flag. Later, he ran over his tire jack exiting the pits and was forced to return the next lap to serve a penalty.

But what seemed like bad luck at the time turned out to be somewhat fortunate for Earnhardt, as his team discovered three missing lugnuts on the right-rear tire. That allowed Earnhardt to remain at the tail end of the lead lap of a race slowed by caution six times for 30 laps. And by using a pit strategy different than the leaders, he was able to pick up the lead three times -- including twice late in the race.

While Earnhardt was desperately trying to hold off Yarborough for the season championship, the race for the win was just as thrilling. Over the final 50 laps, Yarborough swapped the lead with Bobby Allison. Yarborough pitted on Lap 185, handing the lead to Allison, who had a healthy advantage over second-place Benny Parsons.

However, Allison was fighting tire wear, and with eight laps to go, dove onto pit road for fresh right-side rubber. That handed to the lead to Parsons, who held off Neil Bonnett by more than 6 seconds to repeat his 1979 Ontario victory. Yarborough finished third, followed by Allison and Earnhardt, the final car on the lead lap.

Staying in contention despite his pit-road problems allowed Earnhardt to win his first Winston Cup championship by just 19 points.

It also was the first race in which Earnhardt had been sponsored by Wrangler Jeans, a pairing that would last through the 1987 season. Ontario would also mark the final race for Yarborough in Junior Johnson's No. 11 Chevrolet. And Bonnett's second-place finish for the Wood Brothers would be the last time they would field a No. 21 Mercury.

It also was the final hurrah for Ontario Motor Speedway, which also hosted Indy-car events, concerts and Evel Knievel's world-record motorcycle jump over 19 cars. The track was sold by the city to a land developer for $10 million -- and demolished shortly thereafter. The property sat vacant for many years but recent development includes a portion of the Ontario Mills shopping center, several condominiums, restaurants and hotels. Only a small corner of what used to be the third turn remained untouched, as of 2007.

Of the drivers entered in this week's Pepsi 500 at Auto Club Speedway, Kyle Petty is the only driver who raced in the last event at Ontario. He finished 33rd that day, sidelined by engine woes.