1983 Winston 500

1983 Winston 500
Race details
Race 8 of 30 in the 1983 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season
	Layout of Talladega Superspeedway
Date	May 1, 1983
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
Pole position
Driver	Cale Yarborough;
Most laps led
Driver	Richard Petty
Laps	52
Winner
No. 43	Richard Petty
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

Drivers' Championship standings

	Pos	Driver	Points^[2]	Differential
1	1	Harry Gant	1187	0
1	2	Bobby Allison	1171	-16
	3	Neil Bonnett	1133	-54
	4	Joe Ruttman	1116	-71
1	5	Bill Elliott	1093	-94
2	6	Richard Petty	1065	-122
2	7	Dick Brooks	1058	-129
1	8	Ricky Rudd	1013	-174
1	9	Terry Labonte	985	-202
4	10	Lake Speed	969	-218

Manufacturers' Championship standings

	Pos	Manufacturer	Points

Note: Only the first 10 positions are included for the driver standings.

References

^ "1983 Winston 500 weather information". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved 26 June 2012.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "1983 Winston 500". Racing-Reference. Retrieved 9 August 2011.
^ "Track Facts". talladegasuperspeedway.com. Talladega Superspeedway. November 1, 2012. Archived from the original on November 1, 2012. Retrieved April 27, 2015.
^ "1983 Winston 500". How Stuff Works. Archived from the original on 12 June 2011. Retrieved 9 August 2011.
^ "1983 Winston 500". Front Stretch. Archived from the original on 2011-09-28. Retrieved 9 August 2011.
^ "1983 Winston 500". Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet. Retrieved 9 August 2011.
^ ^a ^b "1983 Winston 500". Wheels of Speed. Retrieved 9 August 2011.

Preceded by 1983 Virginia National Bank 500	NASCAR Winston Cup Series Season 1983	Succeeded by 1983 Marty Robbins 420

Preceded by 1983 Warner W. Hodgdon Carolina 500	Richard Petty's Career Wins 1960-1984	Succeeded by 1983 Miller High Life 500

Preceded by 1982	Winston 500 races 1983	Succeeded by 1984

[weather-information-1] "1983 Winston 500 weather information". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved 26 June 2012.

[1983w500-2] ^ ^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.

[wheelsofspeed-7] "1983 Winston 500". Wheels of Speed. Retrieved 9 August 2011.

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