1983 Talladega 500

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

1983 Talladega 500

Race details[1]
Race 19 of 30 in the 1983 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season
Layout of Talladega Superspeedway
Date	July 31, 1983 (1983-07-31)
Official name	Talladega 500
Location	Alabama International Motor Speedway, Talladega, Alabama
Course	Permanent racing facility
Course length	2.660 miles (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	Cale Yarborough	Harry Ranier
Most laps led
Driver	Dale Earnhardt Tim Richmond	Bud Moore Raymond Beadle
Laps	41
Winner
No. 15	Dale Earnhardt	Bud 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)

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

Pos	No.	Driver	Team	Manufacturer	Speed
1	28	Cale Yarborough			201.744
2	9	Bill Elliott		Ford	199.675
3	55	Benny Parsons		Chevrolet
4	15	Dale Earnhardt	Bud Moore Engineering	Ford	199.309
5	90	Dick Brooks
6	21	Buddy Baker
7	44	Terry Labonte
8	4	Mark Martin
9	88	Geoff Bodine
10	11	Darrell Waltrip	Junior Johnson & Associates	Chevrolet	198.322
11	1	Lake Speed
12	43	Richard Petty	Petty Enterprises	Pontiac	196.737
13	7	Kyle Petty
14	75	Neil Bonnett
15	16	David Pearson
16	29	Grant Adcox
17	3	Ricky Rudd
18	27	Tim Richmond	Blue Max Racing	Pontiac	196.145
19	47	Ron Bouchard
20	84	Jody Ridley
21	98	Joe Ruttman
22	17	Sterling Marlin
23	33	Harry Gant	Mach 1 Racing	Buick	195.090
24	22	Bobby Allison		Buick
25	67	Buddy Arrington		Chrysler
26	48	Trevor Boys
27	74	Bobby Wawak
28	24	Cecil Gordon
29	77	Ken Ragan
30	31	Billie Harvey
31	8	Bobby Hillin Jr.
32	2	Morgan Sheperd
33	6	Al Elmore
34	64	Tommy Gale
35	76	Mike Potter
36	71	Dave Marcis
37	41	Ronnie Thomas
38	70	J.D. McDuffie
39	78	Dick Skillen
40	46	Travis 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 ($148,222.7 when adjusted for inflation) to the last-place finisher's share of $1,450 ($4,577.7 when adjusted for inflation). The total prize purse was $316,700 ($999,832.38 when adjusted for inflation).^[7]

Race results

Pos	Grid	No.	Driver	Team	Manufacturer	Laps	Points
1	4	15	Dale Earnhardt	Bud Moore Engineering	Ford	188	185
2	10	11	Darrell Waltrip	Junior Johnson & Associates	Chevrolet	188	175
3	18	27	Neil Bonnett†	Blue Max Racing	Pontiac	188	175
4	12	43	Richard Petty	Petty Enterprises	Pontiac	188	165
5	23	33	Harry Gant	Mach 1 Racing	Buick	188	155
6	9	88	Geoff Bodine	Cliff Stewart Racing	Pontiac	188	155
7	5	90	Dick Brooks	Donlavey Racing	Ford	187	146
8	2	9	Bill Elliott	Melling Racing	Ford	187	142
9	24	22	Bobby Allison	DiGard Motorsport	Buick	186	143
10	8	4	Mark Martin	Morgan-McClure Motorsports	Chevrolet	186	143
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

• Lead changes: 46 among different drivers
• Cautions/Laps: 2 for 16
• Red flags: 0
• Time of race: 2 hours, 55 minutes and 52 seconds
• Average speed: 170.611 miles per hour (274.572 km/h)

Media

Television

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

Radio

MRN Radio
Booth announcers	Turn announcers	Pit 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

Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points[3] Differential 1 Bobby Allison 2947 0 2 Darrell Waltrip 2777 -170 1 3 Harry Gant 2678 -269 1 4 Bill Elliott 2677 -270 5 Richard Petty 2604 -343 6 Neil Bonnett 2483 -464 1 7 Joe Ruttman 2326 -621 2 8 Dale Earnhardt 2309 -638 9 Ricky Rudd 2303 -644 3 10 Terry Labonte 2302 -645

Manufacturers' Championship standings Pos Manufacturer Points Note: Only the first 10 positions are included for the driver standings.