1984 Winston 500

The 1984 Winston 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that took place on May 6, 1984, at Alabama International Motor Speedway in Talladega, Alabama. [3]

1984 Winston 500
Race details[1]
Race 9 of 30 in the 1984 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season
Layout of Talladega Superspeedway
Date May 6, 1984 (1984-May-06)
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 Very hot with temperatures of 88 °F (31 °C); wind speeds of 8.8 miles per hour (14.2 km/h)
Average speed 172.988 mph (278.397 km/h)
Attendance 115,000[2]
Pole position
Driver Ranier-Lundy Racing
Most laps led
Driver Benny Parsons Johnny Hayes
Laps 56
Winner
No. 28 Cale Yarborough Ranier-Lundy Racing
Television in the United States
Network NBC
Announcers Paul Page
Gary Gerould
Johnny Rutherford

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.[4]

Race report

Forty cars competed in this 188-lap race; 39 of them were born in the United States while Trevor Boys was born in Canada.[2] The pole position was won by Yarborough with a speed of 202.692 miles per hour (326.201 km/h); one of the times where the qualifying speed exceeded the 200 miles per hour (320 km/h) threshold.[2][5] This race featured 75 lead changes and laps exceeding 200 mph with unrestricted engines. The NBC TV coverage featured Bruce Jenner (now Caitlyn Jenner) as the pit reporter.

Some notable crew chiefs who participated in this race were Kenny Wallace, Junie Donlavey, Darrell Bryant, Joey Arrington, Cecil Gordon, Dale Inman, Waddell Wilson, Jake Elder, Harry Hyde, and Kirk Shelmerdine.[6]

The average speed of the race was 172.988 miles per hour (278.397 km/h).[2][5] Four cautions covered 17 laps.[2][5] Chevrolet was the manufacturer for the majority of the grid.[2][5] Cale Yarborough defeated Harry Gant by two car lengths after nearly three hours of racing in front of more than 110000 audience members; marking the 80th race win in Yarborough's NASCAR Winston Cup Series career.[2][5] 75 lead changes occurred; the most ever in NASCAR Cup Series history.[2][5]

It would exceed the record set by the 1978 Talladega 500 for the number of leader changes in the race. This record would eventually be broken at the 2010 Aaron's 499 and be tied at the 2011 Aaron's 499. Since NASCAR only covered the lead changes that occurred at the end of each lap, there were many more lead changes that weren't officially recorded because they didn't last the whole lap.[7]

Jimmy Means suffered an oil pressure problem on the sixth lap and ended up in last place.[2][5] Bill Elliott, Terry Labonte, Dale Earnhardt, Rusty Wallace, and David Pearson all took turns being the leading the race.[2][5] Phil Barkdoll would make his NASCAR debut in this race.[5] Until the 2010 Sprint Cup Series season, this race was considered to be the most competitive in NASCAR history. The use of the Car of Tomorrow along with NASCAR's then-current Have at it, boys policy and smaller restrictor plates made the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races at Daytona and Talladega more prone to passing.

Qualifying

Grid[2] No. Driver Manufacturer Owner
1 28Cale YarboroughChevroletHarry Ranier
2 9Bill ElliottFordHarry Melling
3 44Terry LabonteChevroletBill Hagan
4 55Benny ParsonsChevroletJohnny Hayes
5 3Dale EarnhardtChevroletRichard Childress
6 16David PearsonChevroletBobby Hawkins
7 21Buddy BakerFordWood Brothers
8 5Geoffrey BodineChevroletRick Hendrick
9 11Darrell WaltripChevroletJunior Johnson
10 15Ricky RuddFordBud Moore
11 33Harry GantChevroletHal Needham
12 1Lake SpeedChevroletHoss Ellington
13 43Richard PettyPontiacMike Curb
14 22Bobby AllisonBuickDiGard Racing
15 12Neil BonnettChevroletJunior Johnson
16 38Phil BarkdollChevroletPhil Barkdoll
17 17Clark DwyerChevroletRoger Hamby
18 8Bobby Hillin, Jr.ChevroletStavola Brothers
19 47Ron BouchardBuickJack Beebe
20 84Jody RidleyChevroletRobert McEntyre
21 66Phil ParsonsChevroletJohnny Hayes
22 4Tommy EllisChevroletLarry McClure
23 75Dave MarcisPontiacRahMoc Enterprises
24 98Joe RuttmanChevroletRon Benfield
25 90Dick BrooksFordJunie Donlavey

Top 20 finishers

Pos No. Driver Manufacturer Laps Laps led Time/Status
1 28Cale YarboroughFord188192:53:27
2 33Harry GantChevrolet18814+2 car lengths
3 21Buddy BakerFord18843Lead lap under green flag
4 22Bobby AllisonBuick18813Lead lap under green flag
5 55Benny ParsonsChevrolet18856Lead lap under green flag
6 43Richard PettyPontiac18718+1 lap
7 66Phil ParsonsChevrolet1874+1 lap
8 75Dave MarcisPontiac1870+1 lap
9 9Bill ElliottFord1871+1 lap
10 47Ron BouchardBuick1863+2 laps
11 8Bobby Hillin, Jr.Chevrolet1860+2 laps
12 95Sterling MarlinChevrolet1860+2 laps
13 4Tommy EllisChevrolet1850+3 laps
14 51Greg SacksChevrolet1850+3 laps
15 7Kyle PettyFord1840+4 laps
16 84Jody RidleyChevrolet1820+6 laps
17 71Mike AlexanderOldsmobile1810+7 laps
18 48Trevor BoysChevrolet1790+9 laps
19 64Tommy GaleFord1770+11 laps
20 41Ronnie ThomasChevrolet1770+11 laps

Standings after the race

Pos Driver Points[2] Differential
1 Darrell Waltrip 1357 0
2 Bill Elliott 1328 -29
3 Terry Labonte 1327 -30
4 Dale Earnhardt 1299 -58
5 Ricky Rudd 1293 -64
6 Harry Gant 1266 -91
7 Richard Petty 1215 -142
8 Neil Bonnett 1129 -228
9 Bobby Allison 1125 -232
10 Ron Bouchard 1122 -235

References

  1. 1984 Winston 500 weather information at The Old Farmers' Almanac
  2. 1984 Winston 500 racing information at Racing Reference
  3. Talladega Superspeedway at the Encyclopedia of Alabama
  4. "Track Facts". talladegasuperspeedway.com. Talladega Superspeedway. November 1, 2012. Archived from the original on November 1, 2012. Retrieved April 27, 2015.
  5. 1984 Winston 500 racing information at Race Database
  6. 1984 Winston 500 crew chiefs at Racing Reference
  7. Lead, lead or get out of the way Archived 2013-03-01 at the Wayback Machine at All About Racin'
Preceded by
1984 Sovran Bank 500
NASCAR Winston Cup Series Season
1984
Succeeded by
1984 Coors 420
Preceded by
1983
Winston 500 races
1984
Succeeded by
1985
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