By Mark Aumann, NASCAR.COM
January 28, 2005
08:04 AM EST (13:04 GMT)
Without a back bumper after clipping Cale Yarborough early in the race and getting 40 laps on his final tank of fuel, Bobby Allison won the 24th Daytona 500 on Feb. 14, 1982 by a comfortable 23 seconds, setting off a firestorm of criticism from his competition.  |  | NASCAR ACCELERATION | |
| ALSO IN 1982... |
| • | The United States places an embargo on Libyan oil imports, alleging Libyan support of terrorist groups. (March 10) |
| • | Spanish priest Juan Hernandes tries to stab the Pope with a bayonet during the latter's pilgrimage to the Fatima shrine. (May 12) |
| • | First bomb later attributed to the "Unabomber" injures professor Diogenes Angelokos in the University of Berkeley in California. (June 2) |
| • | Princess Grace of Monaco dies from injuries sustained in a car crash the previous day. Sept. 15 |
| • | First Blood, starring Sylvester Stallone, is the first Rambo film to be released. (Oct. 22) |
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John DeLorean was one of General Motors' brightest designers when he abruptly quit to start his own car company. In 1979, DeLorean began construction of a factory in Northern Ireland. By early 1981, the fiberglass and stainless steel DeLorean was introduced. On Feb. 19, 1982, the Belfast factory was put into receivership. In October, DeLorean was arrested for selling cocaine to undercover FBI agents, but was found not guilty because of entrapment. Only 8,500 DeLoreans were produced over a three-year span, with perhaps 6,000 still in existence. A 1982 Delorean DMC-12 Gullwing two-door coupe retailed for $29,825. Allison could have purchased four DeLoreans with his first-place check for $120,630. On March 26, ground was broken in Washington, D.C. for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. It was dedicated on Nov. 13 following a march by thousands of Vietnam War veterans. If Allison had driven a DeLorean from his hometown of Hueytown, Ala. to Washington, D.C. for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial dedication, the 756-mile journey would have taken just under 14 hours at freeway speeds, or four hours and 44 minutes at his race-winning average of 153.991 mph. On May 30, Baltimore's Cal Ripken Jr. played the first of 2,632 consecutive games. On May 30, Ricky Rudd made his 43rd consecutive start in the Coca-Cola 600, driving the No. 3 Piedmont Airlines Pontiac, owned by Richard Childress. Piedmont Airlines became USAir on Aug. 5, 1989. Ripken's streak ended on Sept. 20, 2000. Rudd's streak will reach 753 at the 2005 Daytona 500. Steven Spielberg's "E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial" was released on June 11. It went on to gross $399 million in its initial release. The Weather Channel, "Cheers", "Family Ties" and "Late Night With David Letterman" all made their debuts in 1982. Retired dentist Barney Clark became the first person to receive a permanent artifical heart on Dec. 2. He lived 112 days. "Harden My Heart" by Quarterflash was No. 4 on the Cash Box singles chart in February. → Click here for more Daytona Countdown. | 
