The 1984 NASCAR Winston Cup Series was the 36th season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 13th modern-era Cup series season. It began on Sunday, February 19 and ended on Sunday, November 18. Terry Labonte was crowned champion at the end of the season. This was the final year for Chrysler until Dodge returned in 2001.
Cale Yarborough completed a lap of 201.848mph (324.828km/h), officially breaking the 200mph barrier at Daytona. He drafted past Darrell Waltrip on the final lap, winning for the second year in a row, and fourth time in his career. Richard Petty, making his debut with Curb Racing, stormed from 34th to lead over 20 laps before a camshaft broke.
Bobby Allison grabbed his first win of the season, while a vicious four-car crash swept up rookie Rusty Wallace on Lap 372; the guardrail was damaged to where it took half an hour to repair it. Before the race controversy erupted between the track and sponsor Warner Hodgdon over late payment of sponsorship fees; the fees were paid in full March 19.
Atlanta 500
Benny Parsons fought off Dale Earnhardt and Cale Yarborough in a three-car race; the win was Parsons' final Winston Cup win. Darrell Waltrip was dropped from fifth to 10th after the race when NASCAR ruled he'd passed illegally to get a lap back late in the race.
Valleydale 500
Waltrip passed Tim Richmond with 44 laps to go for his seventh-straight Bristol International Raceway win. He was pressured by Bobby Allison, who led 190 laps to Waltrip's 205; Allison faltered with 57 laps to go and finished 19th.
Two thunderstorms and multiple crashes permeated Darlington's annual spring race as Darrell Waltrip took his fourth Rebel 500 win. Pole-sitter Benny Parsons hit the wall on the opening lap; on Lap Three a three-abreast stack-up for second led to a four-car crash involving Bobby Allison, Richard Petty (who led seven laps and still finished seventh), Geoff Bodine, and Dick Brooks. Around Lap 137 following a Bobby Hillin Jr. crash Joe Ruttman, Terry Labonte, Buddy Baker, and Rusty Wallace crashed on the backstretch on the yellow. In a later five-car melee in the second turn D. K. Ulrich climbed over Greg Sacks's hood; Tim Richmond crashed twice while Dave Marcis crashed while leading (he still finished 13th) after being sideswiped by Buddy Baker. In all some thirty cars were involved in wrecks.
Sovran Bank 500
Ricky Rudd led 121 laps and Bobby Allison led 266 laps, but both were knocked out of contention in the final 60 laps as Geoff Bodine took his first career Winston Cup win and gave Charlotte car dealer Rick Hendrick his first win as owner. Ron Bouchard, a longtime adversary of Bodine on NASCAR's Modified Tour, finished second. Bodine's victory saved All-Star Racing from shutting down as they were able to secure sponsorship from Northwestern Security Life for the rest of the season.
The Winston 500 at Talladega was the 2nd most competitive race in the history of NASCAR Winston Cup. The race had 75 different lead changes, a record that stood until the 2010 Aaron's 499 with 88 changes, which was matched in 2011. Cale Yarborough passed Harry Gant in the final lap to take the win.
Coors 420
Nashville's Fairgrounds race track had seen numerous controversies over the years, but 1984's controversy may have topped all of them. On lap 418 three cars crashed on the backstretch; Darrell Waltrip led laps 418 and 419 but Junior Johnson teammate Neil Bonnett passed him on the final lap under yellow; Dick Beaty of NASCAR initially ruled Bonnett the race winner; the following Monday, however, NASCAR reversed the decision since the yellow had flown before the last lap pass.
Budweiser 500
Richard Petty had not won at Dover Downs International Speedway since 1979 and had not won the track's spring/early summer race since 1969. But he battled Bill Elliott, Tim Richmond, and Harry Gant to the win, his 199th Winston Cup win. Gant led 218 laps but fell out while running in the top five 108 laps from the end, while Elliott cut a tire while running second with 40 to go. It was Petty's first win not with Petty Enterprises since driving a Don Robertson Plymouth to two wins in 1970.
Because of the 1971 Myers Brothers 250 controversy and NASCAR rules regarding combination races of the time (compared to modern rules), there is a dispute if this was his 200th win. (Petty, the highest-placed Grand National car in the combination Grand National and Grand American race, would be credited with a Grand National, or as it is called as of 2022, the NASCAR Cup Series, win under combination race regulations in play.)
Cale Yarborough outlasted his competitors to take the win at Pocono Raceway. David Pearson drove Neil Bonnett's Chevrolet in qualifying and won the pole; he relieved Bonnett and finished 14th; ironically David finished just behind arch-rival Richard Petty, who led early before finishing 13th.
Yarborough led 67 laps but faltered late as Bill Elliott achieved a breakthrough win, his second career win but first on a superspeedway and first with Coors sponsorship.
Geoff Bodine led 327 laps to the win at Nashville - it would turn out to be the final Winston Cup race at the Fairgrounds as Warner W. Hodgdon's racing empire began cracking. Richard Petty started third but fell out after 212 laps with engine failure; it was his first race having to get engines from suppliers other than the DiGard team after the Gardners ended their engine deal with Curb Motorsports.
Like Cola 500
At Pocono Harry Gant burst past pole-sitter Bill Elliott on the opening lap and edged Cale Yarborough and Elliott at the stripe after leading 107 laps. Bobby Allison led one lap but climbed the wall hard in the Tunnel Turn (one of nine yellows during the day) and finished a distant 28th.
Dale Earnhardt fought off a ten car pack, passing Terry Labonte on the last lap to win his second consecutive Talladega 500. The race featured 68 lead changes among 16 drivers.
Darrell Waltrip led 144 laps but after halfway he fell out and finished 12th, ending his win streak at Bristol International Raceway. Terry Labonte led the final 124 laps but had to withstand a challenge from Bobby Allison to grab the win, his fourth career win and first on a short track.
Southern 500
Amid numerous crashes Harry Gant led 277 laps to an easy win. He thus moved into second place in points behind Terry Labonte.
Capital City 400
Darrell Waltrip, despite more wins than any other driver, found himself a distant fifth in points; he led 321 laps for the win but was still 185 points out of the lead. Dale Earnhardt grabbed third in the race and second in points behind Labonte (eighth at the end) while Harry Gant finished ninth.
Despite leading 313 laps to the win, Darrell Waltrip was now 215 points out of the lead following Martinsville's early-autumn race. Terry Labonte finished second and held a 91-point lead over Harry Gant (fourth). Pole-sitter Geoff Bodine led the first 37 laps before his oil pump failed. Joe Ruttman fell out with engine failure and left Ron Benfield's team after two potent but ultimately futile seasons.
Miller High Life 500
Benny Parsons and Bill Elliott claimed the front row and combined to lead 284 of 334 laps. Cale Yarborough and point leaders Harry Gant and Terry Labonte led 37 laps between them and finished 3-4-5 at the end. Elliott grabbed the lead with 60 to go and pulled away to his second win of the season. Gant finished fourth and stood 86 points behind Labonte.
Holly Farms 400
Junior Johnson's Chevrolets led 305 of 400 laps as Darrell Waltrip took his seventh win of the season and Neil Bonnett finished fifth. But he was 246 points out of the lead and realistically was eliminated from the championship; the story fell to Harry Gant as he finished a close second in the race; combined with a ninth-place finish by Terry Labonte the finish helped Gant close to 59 points out.
Warner W. Hodgdon American 500
North Carolina Motor Speedway saw its final race under Warner Hodgdon sponsorship as the racing magnate's business empire was deteriorating more and more. Numerous crashes erupted; a multicar melee on a restart eliminated Geoff Bodine and Tim Richmond. The most spectacular crash came when Jerry Bowman flipped over and slid on his roof down the backstretch. Bill Elliott and Harry Gant combined to lead 299 laps; in the final 55 laps Gant ran down Elliott and took the lead with two to go, but Elliott dove back under Gant and the two raced abreast the final two miles; they hit the stripe abreast and Elliott won by less than a wheel. Labonte finished third and held a 49-point lead on Gant with two races to go.
Geoff Bodine stormed into the lead on the opening lap and led 125 laps before his engine failed with 36 laps to go; this put Dale Earnhardt into the lead for his second win of the season, while pole-sitter Bill Elliott finished second. Terry Labonte and Harry Gant fell out with engine failures and the points race stood with Labonte holding a 42-point lead on Gant. Tragedy blackened the event when Terry Schoonover crashed some 200 miles in and was killed.
Winston Western 500
Geoff Bodine grabbed his third win of the season as Terry Labonte won the pole and finished third, finally clinching the Winston Cup title. Harry Gant finished eighth and finished second in points. Lame duck series champ Bobby Allison led 56 laps but slid off the track with four to go and finished seventh; arch-rival Darrell Waltrip led 33 laps but blew his engine and finished 34th. Bodine referenced budding rumors about Riverside International Raceway's future when he said he was glad to have won as "they're going to tear this place down." Open-wheel driver Bobby Rahal made his only NASCAR start in this race, driving for Wood Brothers Racing. Rahal would drop out of the race on lap 44 due to mechanical problems.
Rusty Wallace, a future hall of famer (see Class of 2013 hall of fame), beat out Dean Combs, Clark Dwyer, Tommy Ellis, Doug Heveron, Phil Parsons, and Greg Sacks to win the award in 1984. Only Wallace competed in all 30 races. Dean Combs competed in 12 races. Clark Dwyer competed in 26 races (he skipped rounds 25-27). Tommy Ellis competed in 20 races (he skipped rounds 1-4, 11, 13-14, and 28-30). Doug Heveron competed in 16 races (he failed to qualify for the spring Richmond race and the Southern 500). Phil Parsons competed in 23 races (He skipped rounds 3-4, 10-11, 13, 23-24, and 28). Greg Sacks competed in 29 races only skipping the spring Bristol race.
The Subway 400 was the second race of the NASCAR Winston Cup Series season until 2004, held a week after the Daytona 500. This 400-mile (644 km) annual race was sponsored by Subway and was held at North Carolina Speedway since 1966. From 1966 to 1995, the race distance was 500 miles (805-km) which was shortened to 400 miles starting from the 1996 season.
The 1994 NASCAR Winston Cup Series was the 46th season of NASCAR professional stock car racing in the United States and the 23rd modern-era Cup series. The season began on Sunday, February 20, and ended on Sunday, November 13. Dale Earnhardt of Richard Childress Racing was crowned champion at season's end, winning consecutive Winston Cups for the third time in his career and tying Richard Petty for the record of most top-level NASCAR championships with seven. It was also the 7th and final NASCAR Winston Cup Series Championship for Dale Earnhardt before his death 7 years later in 2001; this was also the final season for 18-time Winston Cup winner Harry Gant.
The 1993 NASCAR Winston Cup Series was the 45th season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 22nd modern-era Cup season. The season began on February 7 and ended on November 14. Dale Earnhardt of Richard Childress Racing won the title, the sixth of his career.
The 1992 NASCAR Winston Cup Series was the 44th season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 21st modern-era Cup season. The season began on February 9, 1992, and ended on November 15, 1992. Independent owner/driver Alan Kulwicki of AK Racing won the Winston Cup championship.
The 1991 NASCAR Winston Cup Series was the 43rd of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 20th modern-era Cup Season. It began February 10 and ended November 17. Dale Earnhardt of Richard Childress Racing won his fifth Winston Cup championship at the conclusion of the season. The season was marred by the death of driver and team owner J. D. McDuffie, who was killed in a wreck at Watkins Glen.
The 1989 NASCAR Winston Cup Series was the 41st season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 18th modern-era Cup season. It began February 12 and ended November 19. Rusty Wallace of Blue Max Racing won the championship. This was the first year that every Winston Cup race had flag to flag coverage, with almost all of them being televised live.
The 1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Series was the 40th season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 17th modern-era Cup series. The season began on February 7 at Daytona International Speedway and ended on November 20 at the Atlanta International Speedway. Bill Elliott of Melling Racing won the championship.
The 1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Series was the 39th season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 16th modern-era cup series. The season began on February 8 and ended on November 22. Dale Earnhardt of Richard Childress Racing won the championship for the third time.
The 1986 NASCAR Winston Cup Series was the 38th season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 15th modern-era Cup series season. The season began on February 16 and ended November 16. Dale Earnhardt of RCR Enterprises won his second championship this year.
The 1985 NASCAR Winston Cup Series was the 37th season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 14th modern-era Cup series season. The season began on Sunday, February 10 and ended on Sunday, November 17. Darrell Waltrip, driving for Junior Johnson, was crowned champion at the end of the season. Bill Elliott, driving for Harry Melling, had won 11 races in 1985, but lost the title by 101 points to three-time race winner Waltrip. This was the first season where all races were televised in some form.
The 1977 NASCAR Grand National Winston Cup Series was the 29th season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 6th modern era NASCAR Cup series. The season began on Sunday, January 16 and ended on Sunday, November 20. Cale Yarborough driving the Junior Johnson #11 Holly Farms Chevrolet won his second consecutive NASCAR Grand National Series Winston Cup Championship. Ricky Rudd was crowned NASCAR Rookie of the Year.
The 1979 NASCAR Winston Cup Series was the 31st season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 8th modern-era Cup series. It began on Sunday, January 14, and ended on Sunday, November 18. Richard Petty won his seventh and final Winston Cup championship, winning by 11 points over Darrell Waltrip. Dale Earnhardt was crowned NASCAR Rookie of the Year.
The 1982 NASCAR Winston Cup Series was the 34th season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 11th modern-era Cup series. The season began on February 14 at the Daytona International Speedway and concluded on November 21 at Riverside International Raceway. Darrell Waltrip took his second straight championship driving for Junior Johnson by 72 points over Bobby Allison.
The 1985 The Winston, the inaugural running of the NASCAR All-Star Race, was a stock car racing competition that took place on May 25, 1985. Held at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina, the 70-lap race was the second exhibition race in the 1985 NASCAR Winston Cup Series. Defending 1984 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Champion Terry Labonte of Hagan Racing was awarded the pole position while Darrell Waltrip of Junior Johnson & Associates won the race and US$200,000.
The 1981 NASCAR Winston Cup Series was the thirty-third season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 10th modern-era Cup Season. It was the first year of the Gen 3 car. Because of the energy crisis, manufacturers were downsizing their cars to be more fuel-efficient, which NASCAR reflected by mandating a 110-inch wheelbase that still exists today. The season began at Riverside International Raceway with the first Winston Western 500 on January 11, 1981 and ended with the same event on November 22. Darrell Waltrip won his first championship with point margin of fifty-three points over Bobby Allison. Ron Bouchard was named Rookie of the Year.
The 1980 NASCAR Winston Cup Series was the 32nd season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 9th modern-era NASCAR Cup season. It was the final year with the Gen 2 car. The season began on Sunday, January 13 and ended on Sunday, November 15. Dale Earnhardt won his first Winston Cup championship, winning by 19 points over Cale Yarborough. Jody Ridley was crowned NASCAR Rookie of the Year.
The 1986 Firecracker 400 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race that took place on 4 July 1986, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida.
The 1986 Winston 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race that took place on May 4, 1986, at Alabama International Motor Speedway in Talladega, Alabama.
The 1987 edition of The Winston was a stock car racing competition that took place on May 17, 1987. Held at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina, the 135-lap race was an exhibition race in the 1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Series. Bill Elliott of Melling Racing won the pole and led the most laps (121), but it was Dale Earnhardt of Richard Childress Racing who won the race in a move that would be known in NASCAR history as the Pass in the Grass.
The 1988 edition of The Winston was a stock car racing competition that took place on May 22, 1988. Held at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina, the 135-lap race was an exhibition race in the 1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Series. Darrell Waltrip of Hendrick Motorsports won the pole and led the most laps (50), but it was Terry Labonte of Junior Johnson & Associates who won the race.
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