Before we had NASCAR races, NASCAR recaps, NASCAR pre- and post-shows, NASCAR cooking shows, and NASCAR bathroom renovation shows on TV at all hours of the day, NASCAR races were only in edited clips on TV. Then someone had the idea to show an entire live race on April 10, 1971.

The first whole live NASCAR race ever put on television was a 200-lap Winston Cup race at Greenville-Pickens Speedway in Greenville, South Carolina.

This wasn't the first race ever broadcast on TV, though. That honor belongs to the 1960 Daytona 500, which was aired as part of the CBS Sports Spectacular. Races were occasionally shown, but they were edited or shown on a tape delay.

ABC sent radio commentator Ken Squier to roam the pits and collect interesting stories. Commenting on the race itself was National Speed Sport News publisher Chris Economaki. The goal was to make viewers feel as if they're at the race, even though they were watching it on TV.

Eventually, in the mid-eighties, broadcasting races in live became the norm. This is where it all started.