I miss the 80/90s of NASCAR. Harry Gant, Rusty, Bodine, D.W., Dale, Kulwicki, Davey, Ricky, Terry, Mark, Bill, Swirvin Irvin, etc. Those guys made the sport. They all had personality.

This is seriously some of the best racing I've ever seen.

I would watch nascar every week if the racing was still like this

Damn shame this track doesn't exist anymore.

Dammit man, brings a tear to my eye, that's when racing was racing and NASCAR was affordable and family-friendly. Gone are the days my friend

This is so awesome. Guys today whine incessantly if the car slides an inch. These two slid through every turn. This is driving. This blew me away. No wonder no one goes or watches anymore.

"They say you cut the course..." -iRacing

You know Dale was grinning ear to ear the whole time! I didn't much care for him back in the day, but Geoff Bodine really was a fantastic wheel man.

Holy crap this is real racing.

You young ones missed those great days. Bodine, Rudd, Wallace, Jaws, awesome Bill, and Ol Iron Head on track, and Buddy Baker calling the race. It really was a better show then.

The 80's we're great for NASCAR. The cars looked best then.

Hangin' the ass out on every turn ! I really miss the 80's and 90's Nascar. I thought I just remembered it being great because that's when I started watching.

What beautiful driving. The Golden years.

Boy they manhandled those cars back then.

Keep in mind that by this point, Earnhardt had already clinched the title and still there were two races left in the season (here and then the finale at Atlanta) while nearly 500 points ahead of second. No taking it easy here, that's for sure.

Spent many a weekend at Riverside for NASCAR, Trans AM, Times Grand Prix SCCA, etc. What a great track and great racing. Fun hearing the names of the former stars again. This was when racing was racing.

Two completely different driving styles. Bodine is smooth and Earnhardt is a raging beast!

Sliding through every turn, pushing and beating on each other. Just awesome. Nothing else can be said.

My Dad took me to this race. We used to frequent Riveside and Ontario motor speed way all the time. We saw the last TIMES 500 at Ontario. Back when SoCal was still the racing mecca of the world. Boy how times have changed.

I saw Dale Earnhardt 9 times at Talladega & treasure every moment!!! He truly was the GOAT of NASCAR!!!! RIP #3❤ u are missed

I attended every Cup race @ Riverside from 1981 to the end in 1988 ( except Nov. 1982 ). I still believe if Riverside had managed to keep the developers at bay for a few more years, maybe MAYBE Bruton Smith could have bought the track and turned it into a Showplace. It had the fan support, it had the events, ( 2 Cup races, IndyCar, SCORE Off Road, SCCA, IMSA, even drag racing UP the back straightaway ) it had the track rental days, for TV and EPA Mileage testing, it had corporate support from Datsun / Nissan. Bruton knew how to PROMOTE; a decent investment in new grandstands, better concessions, lotsa grass & plants, maybe a motorhome terrace with full hookups -- and Riverside would still be around today. Such a waste...

Brian France, if you are watching, you can still fix your horrible tenure at Nascar. This is racing.

This is pure driving, pure racing pure Skill.

Riverside was great because there was room to pass in several areas. Also, the mix of drivers skill in the S’s and raw horse power, this track was great! Such a mistake getting rid of this track!

I grew up on this track. Raceway Souvenirs was owned and operated by Chuck and Jo Walsh, my Grandparents. I miss them and this beloved track.

The last race at Riverside was June 12, 1988. Rusty Wallace won under caution. A friend and myself were there.

I'll bet nascar is kicking themselves in the ass after letting Riverside Raceway go. My step dad would show me old recordings, memorabilia, photos of when he went all the time as a kid and young adult. This was some really great racing! I just wish the track was still around to host more nascar

I watched that live from the turn six grandstand. It was really cool!

Why is nascar dead Answer: they don't race like this anymore

Man those old cars were fun to watch!

Make nascar great again

When racing was racing in NASCAR was NASCAR. God I miss these days..

Wish this track was around today. I live in Riverside and this track was long gone by the time I was born but it looked like a lot of fun. Another NASCAR road course would be awesome.

im not even a giant nascar fan but this is just beautiful racing

Earnhardt didn't care about saving tires or gas. That cost him some races, but it was fun to watch. Ol' Ironhead driving like he's late for supper 😅

They should go back to bodies like these. Or some sort of low downforce. Them sliding like that is awesome.

That Earnhardt fella ain't ever gonna amount to much if he keeps driving that way. LOL

Bodine definitely had more horsepower, but Earnhardt had more Earnhardt, meaning it was a helluva race...

Miss Dale & Riverside... Thanks For Posting!

Thank you for uploading this. I wasn't at this particular race, but heard it - as i did nearly all the races in the 80s. My childhood home was a half mile from the former raceway.

I was fortunate to have grown up in the 80s, my dad took us to Michigan in 84 and 85, I miss the cars and drivers.

I miss the 80`s. Less rules, more racing and not everyone won a trophy.

Those Monte Carlos were some great looking race cars.

Damn they are sliding through every corner! And I love the look of those monte Carlos all lowered and with those big slicks just a good looking car!

R.I.P NASCAR.. we miss you...

Like they were the only 2 racing. Love it.

love the tire marks on the fender and then again on the quarter panel

growing up in the 90s watching this man race on tv and going to richmond and rockingham were the highlihgts of my life. It was all I ever looked forward to counting down the days until sunday so I could watch this man race. There will never be anyone else like him.

Those Monte Carlos were some beautiful machines.

Old riverside was an extremely difficult road course when I motorcycle road raced there, I can only imagine how difficult it was to go fast driving a nascar

Thanks very much for sharing this wonderful record of two of the hardest-nosed racers in the series duking it out -- without crashing the heck out of each other! That takes some serious skill on both drivers' parts. I didn't begin watching NASCAR until 1993, so I missed out on seeing Riverside races live, but this course seems really neat. I'm so sad that it didn't survive.

Once at a entertainment park the ticket holder at the can am cars slowed traffic enough for me to take the win on approaching the ticket holder after the win she whispered love your long sleeve Jersey which had Dale Earnhardts logo on it I'm a Dale Earnhardt fan also thanks for the upload of a legend.

The commentary at the beginning makes the whole video. If only commentators today showed that much emotion.

That'd be scary af being a racecar driver and seeing Earnhardt behind you

Got into NASCAR too late to see a live race at Riverside or North Wilksboro, but my feeling is that we need more racetracks like those and fewer Kentuckys, Kansas'es, and Chicagolands. Would really like Rockingham back, too, dammit.

You don’t see racing this intense anymore unless you like motorcycles.

"The Pass in the Dirt" never quite caught on....

When the cars and drivers were cool.

OMFG. Earnhardt was on him like it was stuck on his tail. Like a tractor trailer. That is nuts. This really shows what kind of a race car driver Earnhardt was. Top notch. Amazing.

I really really miss watching this old nascar racing a whole whole lot

Sure do miss this track. Used to sit in the Esses for the Bud 400 and the Winston girls, oh my!!

The 70s and 80s were the best i dont even watch nascar anymore these guys were racers nowdays just posterboys

NASCAR back then really was better than today

Still hard not to hear that #3 Earnhardt’s car running the track no matter how old ya are or how long it’s been won’t forget that 2000 race

This is when Nascar was good nowadays it's a snooze fest

this is what racing should be and id give anything to take a time machine and watch this live

I was at that race. Saw Dale at the Dennys the next morning.

Great memories of that track. I was at the race at the end of 1983 (There were two races at Riverside that year. I believe the first one was in May or June). I remember watching the cars slithering through the Esses in double file right off the green flag. It was one of the most awesome visual and auditory experiences I've ever had. It was like watching a giant sidewinder snake moving through the desert with the roar of all those engines. Bill Elliott won the day and the biggest payday of the year.

I remember when they tore down this raceway to build a stupid mall. That was real driving back then..

Back in the day when NASCAR was worth watching !!!!!

Good old days of NASCAR

I miss the historic old Riverside track, '80s NASCAR, and the '80s in general. I lived in Riverside in the '80s and went to a few events at the track including the '84 spring race won by Terry Labonte. I'm glad I did, because little did we know the track's days were numbered. If I had known that back then I would have gone to more races, but that's how it is when you're young. You think you have all the time in the world and nothing will ever change.

I watched this Riverside race live. How I wish Nascar would return to it's roots.

When they actually looked just like the car in your driveway

Still got this on VHS tape... When it was worth watching

Back when the races were as much fun for us to watch as it was for the drivers to do their thing!

Really miss Riverside. Loved the Busch race at 11:00 and the Bud 400 at 1:00. Then flipping a coin to see which of us would drive us back to Santa Ana. Always a great time.

Riverside, the best road course NASCAR ever had.

I wish Nascar was still like that

I’ll never understand why nascar fans historically (and even now) haven’t been able to grasp and enjoy road courses. Watching these old cars get thrown around while racing one another is some of the most entertaining racing I’ll probably ever see.

When racing was real

That is racing!!

The old camera angles where you could see the cars sliding.... amazing

I was at that race back in the day that was a amazing finish thanks for the memories & sharing 🏁

Them G body monte Carlos were the best

I watched Nascar for a couple years after Dale passed. It wasn't the same. This was cool to watch again on that track!

This is how NASCAR should film there road course races these days, the long tracking shots from low camera angles make them seem like they are just flying!

The good ole days of racing. Miss those years.

Awesome course! RIP Riverside, N. Wilkesboro, Texas World.

Back when NASCAR were real

Thanks for posting this!!!

I believe this was the 2nd to Last Nascar race @ Riverside raceway. And in 88 too, I was there for both.. Great memories thnx for revisiting🏁🏁💨

There should be a project cars 3, It should include this track & the trademarked look of the old school late 80’s Monte Carlo.

The late Dan Gurney's race track.

BORN IN RIVERSIDE ........ WAS ONE OF THE BEST TRACKS EVER IMO VARY SAD THAT ITS GONE

I always envisioned This Track replacing The Fall Dover Race on The Schedule (1989-) if it Wasn't Turned into a Mall

"There are no guarantees out here but if you're between me and the checkered flag...you'll wish you weren't." Dale Earnhardt.

Wow do I miss 1987 Winston Cup!!

I grew up going to Riverside as a kid. Then progress came

Love NASCAR road races!