1982 Virginia National Bank 500

1982 Virginia National Bank 500
Race details [1]
	Race 8 of 30 in the 1982 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season
	A map showing the layout of Martinsville Speedway
Date	April 25, 1982
Official name	Virginia National Bank 500
Location	Martinsville Speedway, Martinsville, Virginia
Course	Permanent racing facility; 0.525 mi (0.844 km)
Distance	500 laps, 262.5 mi (442.4 km)
Weather	Mild with temperatures of 74.8 °F (23.8 °C); wind speeds of 12.8 miles per hour (20.6 km/h)
Average speed	75.073 miles per hour (120.818 km/h)
Attendance	36,500 [2]
Pole position
Most laps led
Laps	167
Winner
Television in the United States
Network	untelevised
Announcers	none

Last updated September 27, 2019

The 1982 Virginia National Bank 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that was set on April 25, 1982, at Martinsville Speedway in Martinsville, Virginia.

The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock-car racing. Its three largest or National series are the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, the Xfinity Series, and the Gander Outdoors Truck Series. Regional series include the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East and West, the Whelen Modified Tour, NASCAR Pinty's Series, NASCAR Whelen Euro Series, and NASCAR PEAK Mexico Series. NASCAR sanctions over 1,500 races at over 100 tracks in 48 US states as well as in Canada, Mexico, and Europe. NASCAR has presented races at the Suzuka and Motegi circuits in Japan, and the Calder Park Thunderdome in Australia. NASCAR also ventures into eSports via the PEAK Antifreeze NASCAR iRacing Series and a sanctioned ladder system on that title.

Martinsville Speedway is an International Speedway Corporation-owned NASCAR stock car racing short track located in Henry County, Ridgeway, Virginia, just to the south of Martinsville. At 0.526 miles (847 m) in length, it is the shortest track in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. The track was also one of the first paved oval tracks in NASCAR, being built in 1947 by partners H. Clay Earles, Henry Lawrence and Sam Rice per Virginia House Joint Resolution No. 76 on the death of H. Clay Earles. It is also the only race track that has been on the NASCAR circuit from its beginning in 1948. Along with this, Martinsville is the only NASCAR oval track on the entire NASCAR track circuit to have asphalt surfaces on the straightaways, then concrete to cover the turns.

Martinsville is an independent city near the southern border of the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 13,821. It is the county seat of Henry County, although the two are separate jurisdictions. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Martinsville with Henry County for statistical purposes.

Background

Martinsville Speedway is one of five short tracks to hold NASCAR races.^[3] The standard track at Martinsville Speedway is a four-turn short track oval that is 0.526 miles (0.847 km) long.^[4] The track's turns are banked at eleven degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, is banked at zero degrees. The back stretch also has a zero degree banking.^[4]

Oval track racing is a form of closed-circuit automobile racing that is contested on an oval-shaped track. An oval track differs from a road course in that the layout resembles an oval with turns in only one direction, and the direction of traffic is almost universally counter-clockwise. Oval tracks are dedicated motorsport circuits, used predominantly in the United States. They often have banked turns and some, despite the name, are not precisely oval, and the shape of the track can vary.

A banked turn is a turn or change of direction in which the vehicle banks or inclines, usually towards the inside of the turn. For a road or railroad this is usually due to the roadbed having a transverse down-slope towards the inside of the curve. The bank angle is the angle at which the vehicle is inclined about its longitudinal axis with respect to the horizontal.

A degree, usually denoted by °, is a measurement of a plane angle, defined so that a full rotation is 360 degrees.

Race report

A total starting grid of 31 drivers competed for three and a half hours in this 500-lap racing competition. D.K. Ulrich was involved in a crash on lap 14; leading to his last-place finish. An audience consisting of 36,500 live spectators eventually got to see Harry Gant defeat Butch Lindley by a distance of slightly more than a lap.^[2]

Harold Phil Gant, better known as "Handsome Harry", is a retired American racecar driver best known for driving the No. 33 Skoal Bandit car on the NASCAR Winston Cup circuit during the 1980s and 1990s and his 4-race win streak in 1991.

Butch Lindley was a Short track racer. He was the champion of the NASCAR National Sportsman series in 1977 and 1978.

The majority of the field was driving Buick vehicles while participating in the event. Terry Labonte and Ricky Rudd would dominate the first one hundred laps of this race while Harry Gant would monopolize the closing laps of this race with a 1-lap lead over everyone else. Joe Ruttman would be the lowest finishing driver to complete the race; albeit more than 50 laps behind the only driver on the lead lap, who was Harry Gant.^[2] This would be his first victory ever in the NASCAR Cup Series.^[5]

Buick is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM). Named for automotive pioneer David Buick, it was among the first American marques of automobiles, and was the company that established General Motors in 1908. Before the establishment of General Motors, GM founder William C. Durant had served as Buick's general manager and major investor. Buick was the first production automobile maker in the world to equip its cars with overhead valve engines, which it did in 1904.

Terrance Lee Labonte is an American former stock car racing driver, and current racing commentator. A two-time NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series champion and 1989 IROC champion, he is the older brother of 2000 Winston Cup champion Bobby Labonte, and the father of former Nationwide Series driver Justin Labonte. He also co-owns a Chevrolet dealership in Greensboro, North Carolina with Rick Hendrick. He appeared on the CBS series The Dukes of Hazzard in 1984, where he played an unnamed pit crew member. In 2000, he also appeared in commercials for Denny's restaurants with the Kellogg's Racing team, such as Kellogg's Country Inn Specialties Slam, and Country Inn Specialties Slim Slam.

Richard Lee Rudd, nicknamed "The Rooster," is an American former racing driver. He is the uncle of actor Skeet Ulrich and former NASCAR Busch Series driver Jason Rudd. He retired in 2007 with 23 career wins. He was named the 2006 Virginian of the Year and was inducted into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame in 2007. In October 2010, he was selected to the Hampton Roads Sports Hall of Fame, which honors those who have contributed to sports in southeastern Virginia.

The pole position earned was Terry Labonte with his amazing solo qualifying speed of 89.998 miles per hour (144.838 km/h); actual racing speeds for this event averaged around 75.073 miles per hour (120.818 km/h).^[2] Brad Teague's 11th place finish in this race was also the highest finishing position in the Cup series for team owner, Charlie Henderson.^[2] Winnings for this event ranged from the winner's share of $26,795 ($69,565 when adjusted for inflation) to the last-place finisher's share of $1,300 ($3,375 when adjusted for inflation). The overall prize purse for this racing event added up to $170,500 ($442,653 when adjusted for inflation).^[6]

Brad Teague American stock car racing driver

Brad Teague is a retired American professional stock car racing driver. He is a veteran of the NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Nationwide Series, and Camping World Truck Series.

Qualifying

Grid^[2]	No.	Driver	Manufacturer	Owner
1	44	Terry Labonte	Chevrolet	Billy Hagan
2	28	Benny Parsons	Pontiac	Harry Ranier
3	33	Harry Gant	Buick	Hal Needham
4	3	Ricky Rudd	Pontiac	Richard Childress
5	50	Geoffrey Bodine	Pontiac	Cliff Stewart
6	98	Morgan Shepherd	Buick	Ron Benfield
7	88	Bobby Allison	Chevrolet	DiGard Racing
8	2	Tim Richmond	Buick	Jim Stacy
9	21	Neil Bonnett	Ford	Wood Brothers
10	02	Mark Martin	Pontiac	Bud Reeder
11	75	Joe Ruttman	Buick	RahMoc Enterprises
12	11	Darrell Waltrip	Buick	Junior Johnson
13	47	Ron Bouchard	Buick	Jack Beebe
14	01	Butch Lindley	Buick	Emanuel Zervakis
15	15	Dale Earnhardt	Ford	Bud Moore

Top ten finishers

Pos^[2]	Grid	No.	Driver	Manufacturer	Laps	Laps led	Points	Time/Status
1	3	33	Harry Gant	Buick	500	167	185	3:30:01
2	14	01	Butch Lindley	Buick	499	163	175	+1 lap and 1 second
3	9	21	Neil Bonnett	Ford	497	0	165	+3 laps
4	4	3	Ricky Rudd	Pontiac	496	55	165	+4 laps
5	12	11	Darrell Waltrip	Buick	496	25	160	+4 laps
6	16	71	Dave Marcis	Chevrolet	494	0	150	+4 laps
7	10	02	Mark Martin	Pontiac	492	0	146	+8 laps
8	24	67	Buddy Arrington	Dodge	489	0	142	+11 laps
9	21	40	Jimmy Hensley	Buick	485	0	138	+15 laps
10	28	48	Slick Johnson	Pontiac	484	0	134	+16 laps

Standings after the race

Pos	Driver	Points^[2]	Differential
1	Terry Labonte	1235	0
2	Darrell Waltrip	1155	-80
3	Benny Parsons	1134	-101
4	Harry Gant	1122	-113
5	Bobby Allison	1069	-139
6	Dale Earnhardt	1039	-199
7	Morgan Shepherd	1029	-206
8	Richard Petty	1019	-216
9	Buddy Arrington	1015	-220
10	Dave Marcis	950	-285

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References

↑ Weather information for the 1982 Virginia National Bank 500 at The Old Farmers' Almanac
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Race information for the 1982 Virginia National Bank 500 at Racing Reference
↑ "NASCAR Race Tracks". NASCAR. Archived from the original on September 12, 2010. Retrieved October 26, 2012.
1 2 "NASCAR Tracks—The Martinsville Speedway". Martinsville Speedway. Retrieved October 26, 2012.
↑ Racing information for the 1982 Virginia National Bank 500 at Race Database
↑ Racing information for the 1982 Virginia National Bank 500 at Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet

Preceded by 1982 Northwest Bank 400	NASCAR Winston Cup Series Season 1982	Succeeded by 1982 Winston 500

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[race_weather-1] Weather information for the 1982 Virginia National Bank 500 at The Old Farmers' Almanac

[1982vnb500-2] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Race information for the 1982 Virginia National Bank 500 at Racing Reference

[tacksnascar-3] "NASCAR Race Tracks". NASCAR. Archived from the original on September 12, 2010. Retrieved October 26, 2012.

[marttrack-4] 1 2 "NASCAR Tracks—The Martinsville Speedway". Martinsville Speedway. Retrieved October 26, 2012.

[5] Racing information for the 1982 Virginia National Bank 500 at Race Database

[6] Racing information for the 1982 Virginia National Bank 500 at Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet