1983 Winston 500

1983 Winston 500
Race details[1]
Race 8 of 30 in the 1983 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season
Layout of Talladega Superspeedway
Layout of Talladega Superspeedway
Date May 1, 1983 (1983-May-01)
Official name Winston 500
Location Alabama International Motor Speedway, Talladega, Alabama
Course Permanent racing facility
2.660 mi (4.280 km)
Distance 188 laps, 500.1 mi (804.8 km)
Weather Warm with temperatures of 84.9 °F (29.4 °C); wind speeds of 11.8 miles per hour (19.0 km/h)
Average speed 153.936 miles per hour (247.736 km/h)
Attendance 110,000[2]
Pole position
Driver
Ranier Racing
Most laps led
Driver Richard Petty Petty Enterprises
Laps 52
Winner
No. 43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises
Television in the United States
Network NBC
Announcers Paul Page
Johnny Rutherford
Radio in the United States
Radio MRN
Booth Announcers Barney Hall
Mike Joy
Turn Announcers Eli Gold (1 & 2)
Dave DeSpain (Backstretch)
Dave Sutherland (3 & 4)

The 1983 Winston 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series event that took place on May 1, 1983, at Alabama International Motor Speedway (now Talladega Superspeedway) in Talladega, Alabama.

Background

Talladega Superspeedway, originally known as Alabama International Motor Superspeedway (AIMS), is a motorsports complex located north of Talladega, Alabama. It is located on the former Anniston Air Force Base in the small city of Lincoln. The track is a Tri-oval and was constructed by International Speedway Corporation, a business controlled by the France Family, in the 1960s. Talladega is most known for its steep banking and the unique location of the start/finish line - located just past the exit to pit road. The track currently hosts the NASCAR series such as the Monster Energy Cup Series, Xfinity Series, and the Camping World Truck Series. Talladega Superspeedway is the longest NASCAR oval with a length of 2.66 miles (4.28 km), and the track at its peak had a seating capacity of 175,000 spectators.[3]

Qualifying

Qualifying results

Pos No. Driver Team Manufacturer Speed
1 28 Cale Yarborough Ranier-Lundy Racing Chevrolet 202.650
2 98 Joe Ruttman Benfield Racing Chevrolet
3 88 Geoff Bodine Cliff Stewart Racing Pontiac
4 3 Ricky Rudd Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
5 75 Neil Bonnett RahMoc Enterprises Chevrolet
6 9 Bill Elliott Melling Racing Ford 200.318
7 44 Terry Labonte Hagan Racing Chevrolet
8 27 Tim Richmond Blue Max Racing Pontiac
9 66 Phil Parsons Johnny Hayes Racing Pontiac
10 1 Lake Speed Ellington Racing Chevrolet 198.479
11 21 Buddy Baker Wood Brothers Ford
12 55 Benny Parsons Johnny Hayes Racing Buick 198.076
13 14 AJ Foyt AJ Foyt Enterprises Chevrolet
14 11 Darrell Waltrip Junior Johnson & Associates Chevrolet
15 43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac 197.488
16 16 David Pearson Bobby Hawkins Racing Chevrolet
17 15 Dale Earnhardt Bud Moore Engineering Ford
18 7 Kyle Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac
19 22 Bobby Allison DiGard Motorsports Buick
20 90 Dick Brooks Donlavey Racing Ford
21 33 Harry Gant Mach 1 Racing Buick 196.338
22 17 Sterling Marlin Hamby Racing Chevrolet
23 47 Ron Bouchard Race Hill Farm Team Buick
24 48 Lennie Pond Hylton Motorsports Chevrolet
25 6 Mark Martin Ulrich Racing Chevrolet
26 10 Clark Dwyer Hamby Racing Chevrolet
27 2 Morgan Shepherd Jim Stacy Racing Buick
28 24 Cecil Gordon Gordon Racing Chrysler
29 84 Jody Ridley Robert McEntyre Racing Buick
30 89 Dean Roper Mueller Brothers Pontiac
31 64 Tommy Gale Langley Racing Ford
32 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet
33 4 Connie Saylor Morgan-McClure Motorsports Oldsmobile
34 62 Rick Wilson Wilson Racing Buick
35 96 Rick Baldwin Will Cronkrite Racing Buick
36 77 Ken Ragan Branch-Ragan Racing Buick
37 76 Lowell Cowell Potter Racing Oldsmobile
38 73 Steve Moore Steve Moore Racing Pontiac
39 99 Philip Duffie Duffie Racing Buick
40 67 Buddy Arrington Arrington Racing Chrysler
41 52 Jimmy Means Means Racing Buick
42 41 Ronnie Thomas Thomas Racing Pontiac

Race

There were 42 American-born drivers on the grid, representing manufacturers Pontiac, Buick, Chevrolet, and Ford. Cale Yarborough qualified for the pole position with a speed of 202.650 miles per hour (326.134 km/h). Richard Petty defeated Benny Parsons by two car lengths after three hours and fourteen minutes to earn his 197th career win.[2] Seven cautions for 42 laps were witnessed by 110,000 spectators in addition to 27 lead changes.[2] The average speed of the race was 153.936 miles per hour (247.736 km/h).[2] There was a major incident involving Phil Parsons and ten other drivers.[4] Two photographers managed to get Parsons out of the wreck.[5] The entire race purse was $361,820 ($1,106,857.31 when adjusted for inflation).[6]

Harry Gant finished 4th and took the points lead from Bobby Allison as a result of the 31-point swing. Neil Bonnett came in third in points and maintained that position although he lost ground as a result of the issues that left him with a 15th-place finish, seven laps down.[2]

Dale Earnhardt was driving a Ford Thunderbird for team owner Bud Moore this year.[7] Lowell Cowell would retire from NASCAR after this race.

Race results

Pos Grid No. Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Points
1 15 43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac 188 185
2 12 55 Benny Parsons Johnny Hayes Racing Buick 188 175
3 10 1 Lake Speed Ellington Racing Chevrolet 188 170
4 21 33 Harry Gant Mach 1 Racing Buick 188 165
5 6 9 Bill Elliott Melling Racing Ford 188 160
6 7 44 Terry Labonte Chevrolet
7 41 52 Jimmy Means Buick
8 3 Ricky Rudd Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
9 Dave Marcis
10 22 Bobby Allison DiGard Racing
11 Joe Ruttman
12 Ken Ragan
13 Tommy Gale
14 Dick Brooks
15 75 Neil Bonnett RahMoc Racing
16 Cecil Gordon
17 Morgan Shepherd
18 Dean Roper
19 Lennie Pond
20 Ron Bouchard
21 Geoff Bodine
22 Steve Moore
23 Buddy Arrington
24 15 Dale Earnhardt Bud Moore Engineering Ford
25 21 Buddy Baker Wood Brothers Racing Ford
26 Lowell Cowell
27 27 Tim Richmond Blue Max Racing Pontiac
28 9 66 Phil Parsons
29 28 Cale Yarborough Ranier Racing Chevrolet
30 18 7 Kyle Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac 71 73
31 David Pearson
32 Jody Ridley
33 11 Darrell Waltrip Junior Johnson & Associates Chevrolet
34 14 A.J. Foyt A.J. Foyt Racing Oldsmobile
35 Ronnie Thomas
36 Mark Martin
37 Rick Wilson
38 Philip Duffie
39 26 10 Clark Dwyer Hamby Motorsports Chevrolet 30 46
40 33 4 Connie Saylor Morgan-McClure Motorsports Oldsmobile 22 43
41 22 17 Sterling Marlin (R) Hamby Motorsports Pontiac 20 40
42 35 96 Rick Baldwin Buick 7 37

Race summary

  • Lead changes: 27 among different drivers
  • Cautions/Laps: 7 for 43
  • Red flags: 0
  • Time of race: 3 hours, 14 minutes and 55 seconds
  • Average speed: 153.936 miles per hour (247.736 km/h)

Media

Television

The television coverage of this race was (on NBC) on a tape-delayed broadcast. [7]

NBC Television
Booth announcers Pit reporters
Lap-by-lap: Paul Page
Color-commentator: Johnny Rutherford

Radio

MRN Radio
Booth announcers Turn announcers Pit reporters
Lead announcer: Barney Hall
Announcer: Mike Joy		 Turns 1 & 2: Eli Gold
Backstretch: Dave DeSpain
Turns 3 & 4: Dave Sutherland		 Ned Jarrett
Jerry Punch

Standings after the race

References

  1. ^ "1983 Winston 500 weather information". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved 26 June 2012.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "1983 Winston 500". Racing-Reference. Retrieved 9 August 2011.
  3. ^ "Track Facts". talladegasuperspeedway.com. Talladega Superspeedway. November 1, 2012. Archived from the original on November 1, 2012. Retrieved April 27, 2015.
  4. ^ "1983 Winston 500". How Stuff Works. Archived from the original on 12 June 2011. Retrieved 9 August 2011.
  5. ^ "1983 Winston 500". Front Stretch. Archived from the original on 2011-09-28. Retrieved 9 August 2011.
  6. ^ "1983 Winston 500". Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet. Retrieved 9 August 2011.
  7. ^ a b "1983 Winston 500". Wheels of Speed. Retrieved 9 August 2011.
Preceded by NASCAR Winston Cup Series Season
1983 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Richard Petty's Career Wins
1960-1984 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Winston 500 races
1983 		Succeeded by