1983 Winston Western 500

Auto race held at Riverside International Raceway in 1983 February 2025 CUST Race 30 of 30 in the 1983 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season Winston Western 500 Weather information for the 1983 Winston Western 500 at the Old Farmers' Almanac1983 Winston Western 500 racing information at Racing Reference 1983 11 20 1983 30 30 1983_Winston_Western_500_program_cover.png 1983 Winston Western 500 program cover Winston Western 500 Riverside International Raceway, Riverside, California 2.620 4.345 119 311.8 501.7 Temperatures of 64.9 F C; wind speeds of 8 mph km/h 95.859 mi/h 24,000 Darrell Waltrip Junior Johnson & Associates Darrell Waltrip Junior Johnson & Associates 34 9 Bill Elliott Melling Racing WTBS Ken Squier, Cale Yarborough thumb|The layout of Riverside International Raceway (1969-1988 version), the venue where the race was held. The 1983 Winston Western 500 was the thirtieth and final race of the 1983 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season. It took place on November 20, 1983, at Riverside International Raceway in Riverside, California. Qualifying +Pos.#DriverMakeTeam/OwnerTimeAvg. Speed (mph)111Darrell WaltripChevrolet Monte CarloJunior Johnson & Associates23Ricky RuddChevrolet Monte CarloRichard Childress Racing344Terry LabonteChevrolet Monte CarloHagan Racing498Joe RuttmanPontiac Grand PrixBenfield Racing555Benny ParsonsChevrolet Monte CarloJohnny Hayes Racing622Bobby AllisonBuick RegalDiGard Motorsports733Harry GantBuick RegalMach 1 Racing843Richard PettyPontiac Grand PrixPetty Enterprises915Dale EarnhardtFord ThunderbirdBud Moore Engineering109Bill ElliottFord ThunderbirdMelling Racing1175Neil BonnettChevrolet Monte CarloRahMoc Enterprises1251Scott MillerPontiac Grand PrixScott Miller1393Jim BownBuick RegalJohn Kieper1474Roy SmithBuick RegalJohn Edgett1521Buddy BakerFord ThunderbirdWood Brothers Racing1647Ron BouchardBuick RegalRace Hill Farm Team1778Jim RobinsonOldsmobile CutlassLois Williams1838Don WatermanBuick RegalDon Waterman1912Jimmy InsoloBuick RegalDiGard Motorsports2088Donnie AllisonPontiac Grand PrixCliff Stewart Racing2190Dick BrooksFord ThunderbirdDonlavey Racing2204Hershel McGriffBuick RegalGary Smith2348Trevor BoysChevrolet Monte CarloHylton Motorsports2466Ron EsauBuick RegalLee Racing2587Randy BeckerBuick RegalRandy Becker2627Tim RichmondPontiac Grand PrixBlue Max Racing272Morgan ShepherdBuick RegalJim Stacy Racing2808Rick McCrayPontiac Grand PrixRick McCray2971Dave MarcisOldsmobile CutlassMarcis Auto Racing3073Bill SchmittChevrolet Monte CarloBill Schmitt3141Ronnie ThomasPontiac Grand PrixRonnie Thomas327Kyle PettyPontiac Grand PrixPetty Enterprises3303Glenn FrancisPontiac Grand PrixTrent Francis3464D.K. UlrichFord ThunderbirdLangley Racing3583Sumner McKnightChevrolet Monte CarloMcKnight Racing3691John KrebsOldsmobile CutlassKC Racing3767Buddy ArringtonDodge MiradaArrington Racing3870J.D. McDuffiePontiac Grand PrixMcDuffie Racing3913Doug WheelerBuick RegalMatt Puskarich4052Jimmy MeansChevrolet Monte CarloJimmy Means Racing4117Sterling MarlinPontiac Grand PrixHamby Racing4235Pat MinteyChevrolet Monte CarloPat MinteyFailed to qualify1Mark PerryBuick RegalDave Perry02St. James DavisSt. James Racing6Bobby Hillin Jr.Ulrich Racing8Steve Pfeifer17Harry GoularteBuick RegalHarry Goularte37Dan NobleBuick RegalNoble Racing58Tony Settember94Bob Kennedy Race recap There were 42 drivers;1983 Winston Western 500 racing information at Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet 40 of them were American-born while Roy Smith and Trevor Boys were born in Canada. Ricky Rudd started on the front row (second place) but retired from the lead with a blown engine in his last outing for Richard Childress in the number 3 Piedmont Airlines Chevrolet. Dale Earnhardt would start his final NASCAR Winston Cup Series race in a Ford; bringing home Bud Moore's number 15 Wrangler Thunderbird with a top-5 finish. James "J.D." Stacy would mark his final race as an official NASCAR team owner at this race. Stacy came in with promises and a lot of cash but proved to be a charlatan. The Sterling Marlin and Trevor Boys battle for rookie of the year came down to the last race of the year with the Canadian Boys leading coming into the final race by approximately 16 points. Marlin came from behind to claim the honor after scoring a top-20 finish while mechanical problems in this final race doomed Boys' hopes. Buddy Arrington was the 23rd-place finisher after dropping out of the race on lap 109 due to wheel issues in his Chrysler Cordoba. Sumner McKnight finished in 19th place after completing 114 of the regulation laps. Bobby Allison secured his only Winston Cup Championship during the course of the race. Jimmy Insolo, a West Series driver, drove a second car for DiGard Racing (which fielded Bobby Allison), as a start and park entry to help Allison's team (a common practice for the lead team to have the backup car prepared for a second driver in case their lead car failed, the driver can be changed before the start). It was pulled after one lap. Joe Ruttman blew his engine on lap 12 while Bill Schmidt would also have a blown engine on lap 13. Rick McCray's engine would expire on lap 29. Meanwhile, ignition problems would take out Ron Esau on lap 32 at the same time Ricky Rudd suffered from a faulty engine. The ignition on Roy Smith's vehicle stopped working on lap 36 while the throttle on Jim Bown's vehicle gave out on lap 37. Between lap 38 and lap 61, four drivers were forced to exit the race due to engine concerns. Bill Elliott passed Benny Parsons on the Lap 115 restart that took place on the backstretch, taking the lead before the final safety car was called during Lap 117 for rain, meaning the cars would race back to the line (prohibited starting in 2003) and finished the final two laps under the safety car for a win in front of 24,000 spectators for his first-ever Cup Series victory. This was Elliott's first Cup win. Bill Elliott won this race driving a 1982 Ford Thunderbird as opposed to the slicker 1983 model; the team used the older car on road courses and short tracks this season to save costs and due to a parts shortage from Ford for the newest model. Elliott's first Cup and second-tier series wins were on road courses, as his first second-tier race win was at Watkins Glen International in 1993. In August 2018, his son Chase Elliott also scored his first Cup win, again on a former United States Grand Prix circuit, winning at Watkins Glen in 2018. There were 13 lead changes and five caution flags for 26 laps; making the race last three hours and fifteen minutes. While the average speed of the race was 95.859 mph km/h, Darrell Waltrip qualified for the pole position with a speed of 116.782 mph km/h. The length of this race was 119 laps - the equivalent of 311.8 mi km. Jimmy Insolo, Doug Wheeler, Don Waterman, Pat Mintey, and Randy Becker would retire from NASCAR Cup Series racing after this event.NASCAR Retirements at Race Database Drivers who failed to qualify were: Bobby Hillin Jr. (#6), Dan Noble (#37), Tony Settember (#58), Harry Goularte (#17), Steve Pfeifer (#8), St. James Davis (#02), Mark Perry (#1) and Bob Kennedy (#94).Qualifying information at Racing Reference This was the last race without Rusty Wallace until the 2006 Daytona 500. Results Fin St # Driver Make Team/Owner Sponsor Laps Led StatusPtsWinnings 1 10 9 Bill Elliott Ford ThunderbirdMelling Racing Melling Oil Pumps 119 5 running180$26,380 2 5 55 Benny Parsons Chevrolet Monte CarloJohnny Hayes Racing Copenhagen 119 33 running175$13,225 3 11 75 Neil Bonnett Chevrolet Monte CarloRahMoc Enterprises Hodgdon 119 0 running165$18,375 4 9 15 Dale Earnhardt Ford ThunderbirdBud Moore Engineering Wrangler 119 4 running165$13,725 5 26 27 Tim Richmond Pontiac Grand PrixBlue Max Racing Old Milwaukee 119 31 running160$8,930 6 1 11 Darrell Waltrip Chevrolet Monte CarloJunior Johnson & Associates Pepsi, Burger King 119 34 running160$19,200 7 3 44 Terry Labonte Chevrolet Monte CarloHagan Racing Budweiser 119 0 running146$6,100 8 22 04 Hershel McGriff Buick RegalGary Smith Mark C. Bloome 119 0 running142$4,700 9 6 22 Bobby Allison Buick RegalDiGard Motorsports Miller High Life 119 1 running143$10,85010843Richard PettyPontiac Grand PrixPetty EnterprisesSTP11810running139$8,650111647Ron BouchardBuick RegalRace Hill Farm TeamRace Hill Farm1180running130$5,030122971Dave MarcisOldsmobile CutlassMarcis Auto RacingMiller Brothers1180running127$9,65013327Kyle PettyPontiac Grand PrixPetty Enterprises7-Eleven1170running124$4,620142088Donnie AllisonPontiac Grand PrixCliff Stewart RacingGatorade1170running121$4,410152587Randy BeckerBuick RegalRandy BeckerBecker Trucking1160running118$1,950164052Jimmy MeansChevrolet Monte CarloJimmy Means RacingBroadway Motors1150running115$5,125174117Sterling MarlinPontiac Grand PrixHamby RacingHesco Exhaust1150running112$4,465183913Doug WheelerBuick RegalMatt PuskarichW & W Machine1150running109$2,755193583Sumner McKnightChevrolet Monte CarloMcKnight RacingMcKnight Racing1140running106$2,415201521Buddy BakerFord ThunderbirdWood Brothers RacingValvoline1130running103$1,675211778Jim RobinsonOldsmobile CutlassLois WilliamsHammer Security1120running100$2,305221251Scott MillerPontiac Grand PrixScott MillerMDB Systems1120running97$1,575233767Buddy ArringtonDodge MiradaArrington RacingArrington Grocery1090wheel94$3,195242348Trevor BoysChevrolet Monte CarloHylton MotorsportsHylton-McCaig1010drive line91$3,135251838Don WatermanBuick RegalDon WatermanSt. John's Auto Parts1010running88$1,425263464D.K. UlrichFord ThunderbirdLangley RacingSunny King1010differential85$2,325273141Ronnie ThomasPontiac Grand PrixRonnie ThomasMcCord Gaskets960differential82$1,275283303Glenn FrancisPontiac Grand PrixTrent FrancisFrancis Race Cars890shifter79$1,225294235Pat MinteyChevrolet Monte CarloPat MinteyAFR Signs730engine76$1,175303870J.D. McDuffiePontiac Grand PrixMcDuffie RacingMcDuffie Racing660rocker arm73$2,10031733Harry GantBuick RegalMach 1 RacingSkoal Bandit610engine70$8,925323691John KrebsOldsmobile CutlassKC RacingCoca-Cola600engine67$1,10033272Morgan ShepherdBuick RegalJim Stacy RacingMy Car420engine64$8,675342190Dick BrooksFord ThunderbirdDonlavey RacingChameleon Sunglasses380engine61$2,050351393Jim BownBuick RegalJohn KieperWholesale Truck Parts370throttle58$1,025361474Roy SmithBuick RegalJohn EdgettEdgett Excavating360ignition55$2,0253723Ricky RuddChevrolet Monte CarloRichard Childress RacingPiedmont Airlines321running57$1,900382466Ron EsauBuick RegalLee RacingMcDonald's320ignition49$875392808Rick McCrayPontiac Grand PrixRick McCrayCoors290engine46$850403073Bill SchmittChevrolet Monte CarloBill SchmittMountain Dew130engine43$84041498Joe RuttmanPontiac Grand PrixBenfield RacingLevi Garrett120engine40$1,840421912Jimmy InsoloBuick RegalDiGard MotorsportsMiller High Life10handling37$840 Source: 1983 Winston Western 500 - The Third Turn https://www.thethirdturn.com/wiki/1983_Winston_Western_500 2021-07-03 www.thethirdturn.com en1983 Winston Western 500 race results https://www.racing-reference.info/race-results/1983_Winston_Western_500/W/ live Racing-Reference https://web.archive.org/web/20210428031039/https://www.racing-reference.info/race-results/1983_Winston_Western_500/W/ 2021-04-28 Final standings after the race Drivers Pos Driver Points Difference 1 10px Bobby Allison 4667 0 2 10px Darrell Waltrip 4620 -47 3 10px Bill Elliott 4279 -388 4 10px Richard Petty 4025 -625 5 10px Terry Labonte 4004 -663 6 10px Neil Bonnett 4002 -665 7 10px Harry Gant 3790 -877 8 Dale Earnhardt 3732 -935 9 Ricky Rudd 3693 -974 10 10px Tim Richmond 3597 -1070 Bold denotes the champion for the season. Source: Manufacturers Chevrolet secured the title with a total of 15 wins and 20 poles over the thirty race season. Buick finished a distant second with 6 wins and 2 poles. Third place went to Ford with 4 wins and 1 pole. Pontiac was forth with 5 wins and 7 poles. *Points scored by the manufacturers are not easily available but when they are found, will be added. References 1983 Atlanta Journal 500 1984 Daytona 500 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Season 1983-4 1982 1984 Winston Western 500 races 1983 Winston Western 500 Winston Western 500 Category:NASCAR races at Riverside International Raceway