1983 Talladega 500

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1983 Talladega 500
Race details [1]
Race 19 of 30 in the 1983 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season
Talladega Superspeedway.png
Layout of Talladega Superspeedway
Date July 31, 1983 (1983-July-31)
Official name Talladega 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 Cloudy, 81 °F (27 °C), 70% humidity, 20% chance of precipitation, wind from the NW at 12 mph (19 km/h) [2]
Average speed 170.611 miles per hour (274.572 km/h)
Attendance 95,000 [3]
Pole position
Driver
 Harry Ranier
Most laps led
Driver Dale Earnhardt
Tim Richmond 		Bud Moore
Raymond Beadle
Laps 41
Winner
No. 15Dale EarnhardtBud Moore
Television in the United States
Network CBS
Announcers Ken Squier
Ned Jarrett
Radio in the United States
Radio MRN
Booth Announcers Barney Hall
Eli Gold
Turn Announcers Dave DeSpain (1 & 2)
Mike Garrell (Backstretch)
Dave Sutherland (3 & 4)

The 1983 Talladega 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series event on July 31, 1983, at Alabama International Motor Speedway in Talladega, Alabama.

Contents

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 Sprint 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]

Qualifying

Qualifying results

PosNo.DriverTeamManufacturerSpeed
128Cale Yarborough201.744
29Bill ElliottFord199.675
355Benny ParsonsChevrolet
415Dale EarnhardtBud Moore EngineeringFord199.309
590Dick Brooks
621Buddy Baker
744Terry Labonte
84Mark Martin
988Geoff Bodine
1011Darrell WaltripJunior Johnson & AssociatesChevrolet198.322
111Lake Speed
1243Richard PettyPetty EnterprisesPontiac196.737
137Kyle Petty
1475Neil Bonnett
1516David Pearson
1629Grant Adcox
173Ricky Rudd
1827Tim RichmondBlue Max RacingPontiac196.145
1947Ron Bouchard
2084Jody Ridley
2198Joe Ruttman
2217Sterling Marlin
2333Harry GantMach 1 RacingBuick195.090
2422Bobby AllisonBuick
2567Buddy ArringtonChrysler
2648Trevor Boys
2774Bobby Wawak
2824Cecil Gordon
2977Ken Ragan
3031Billie Harvey
318Bobby Hillin Jr.
322Morgan Sheperd
336Al Elmore
3464Tommy Gale
3576Mike Potter
3671Dave Marcis
3741Ronnie Thomas
3870J.D. McDuffie
3978Dick Skillen
4046Travis Tiller

[5]

Race

Forty drivers made the grid; Trevor Boys was the only driver not to be born in the United States. The race lasted almost three hours for the scheduled 188 laps. Dick Skillen was the last-place finisher due to a crash on the first lap with Travis Tiller, Tommy Gale, Billie Harvey, Grant Adcox, and Neil Bonnett. J.D. McDuffie was the lowest-finishing driver to finish the race; he was 44 laps behind the leaders. 95,000 people attended this race. [3] Neil Bonnett driving in relief for Tim Richmond was leading the race with 12 laps to go when he pitted for fuel only. The car stalled and it took long enough to get it re-fired that Earnhardt and Waltrip were able to get by.

Cale Yarborough would qualify for the pole position with a speed of 201.744 miles per hour (324.675 km/h). Dale Earnhardt would defeat Darrell Waltrip by four car lengths in this race; securing his last victory for an owner other than Richard Childress. [3] Harvey and Tiller would retire from NASCAR after this race. [6] Individual earnings for each driver ranged from the winner's share of $46,950 ($143,626.53 when adjusted for inflation) to the last-place finisher's share of $1,450 ($4,435.75 when adjusted for inflation). The total prize purse was $316,700 ($968,829 when adjusted for inflation). [7]

Race results

PosGridNo.DriverTeamManufacturerLapsPoints
1415Dale EarnhardtBud Moore EngineeringFord188185
21011Darrell WaltripJunior Johnson & AssociatesChevrolet188175
31827Neil Bonnett†Blue Max RacingPontiac188175
41243Richard PettyPetty EnterprisesPontiac188165
52333Harry GantMach 1 RacingBuick188155
6988Geoff BodineCliff Stewart RacingPontiac188155
7590Dick BrooksDonlavey RacingFord187146
829Bill ElliottMelling RacingFord187142
92422Bobby AllisonDiGard MotorsportBuick186143
1084Mark MartinMorgan-McClure MotorsportsChevrolet186143
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40

† Bonnett crashed his car on lap 2, but drove Richmond's car after Richmond retired due to debris in his eyes

Race summary

Media

Television

CBS Television
Booth announcersPit reporters
Lap-by-lap: Ken Squier
Color-commentator: Ned Jarrett 		Larry Nuber
Mike Joy

Radio

MRN Radio
Booth announcersTurn announcersPit reporters
Lead announcer: Barney Hall
Announcer: Eli Gold 		Turns 1 & 2: Dave DeSpain
Backstretch: Mark Garrell
Turns 3 & 4: Dave Sutherland		 Jerry Punch
Bill Bowser

Standings after the race

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References

  1. ↑ Weather information for the 1983 Talladega 500 at The Old Farmers' Almanac
  2. ↑ "1983 Talladega 500". Youtube.com. Retrieved 30 June 2017.
  3. 1 2 3 4 1983 Talladega 500 racing information at Racing Reference
  4. ↑ "Track Facts". talladegasuperspeedway.com. Talladega Superspeedway. November 1, 2012. Archived from the original on November 1, 2012. Retrieved April 27, 2015.
  5. ↑ "1983 Talladega 500". Youtube.com. Retrieved 30 June 2017.
  6. ↑ 1983 Talladega 500 results at Race-Database
  7. ↑ 1983 Talladega 500 racing information at Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet
Preceded by NASCAR Winston Cup Series Season
1983		Succeeded by
Preceded by Talladega 500 races
1983		Succeeded by
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