The 1983 Winston 500 was a

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and ...

Winston Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, and from 1950 to 1970 it was known as the Grand National Division. In 1971 ...

event that took place on May 1, 1983, at

Alabama International Motor Speedway Talladega Superspeedway, nicknamed “'Dega”, and formerly named Alabama International Motor Speedway (AIMS) from 1969 to 1989, is a motorsports complex located north of Talladega, Alabama. It is located on the former Anniston Air Force Bas ...

(now Talladega Superspeedway) in

Talladega, Alabama Talladega (, also ) is the county seat of Talladega County, Alabama, United States. It was incorporated in 1835. At the 2020 census, the population was 15,861. Talladega is approximately east of one of the state’s biggest cities, Birmingham. ...

Background

Talladega Superspeedway, originally known as Alabama International Motor Superspeedway (AIMS), is a motorsports complex located north of

. It is located on the former Anniston Air Force Base in the small city of

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincol ...

. The track is a

Tri-oval A tri-oval is a shape which derives its name from the two other shapes it most resembles, a triangle and an oval. Rather than meeting at sharp, definable angles as the sides of a triangle do, in a tri-oval these angles are instead rounded into s ...

and was constructed by

International Speedway Corporation International Speedway Corporation (ISC) was a corporation whose primary business is the ownership and management of motorsports race tracks. ISC was founded by NASCAR founder Bill France Sr. in 1953 for the construction of Daytona International ...

, a business controlled by the

France Family The France family is known as the "first family" of NASCAR racing. NASCAR was founded by Bill France, Sr. in 1948 and to this day France family members own and operate NASCAR. Jim France, one of the sons of the founder, is the current chairman an ...

, 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

series such as the Monster Energy Cup Series,

Xfinity Series The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to a ...

, and the Camping World Truck Series. Talladega Superspeedway is the longest

oval with a length of , and the track at its peak had a

seating capacity Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available, and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that ...

of 175,000 spectators.

Qualifying

Qualifying results

Race

There were 42

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

-born drivers on the grid, representing manufacturers

Pontiac Pontiac may refer to: *Pontiac (automobile), a car brand *Pontiac (Ottawa leader) ( – 1769), a Native American war chief Places and jurisdictions Canada *Pontiac, Quebec, a municipality ** Apostolic Vicariate of Pontiac, now the Roman Catholic D ...

, Buick, Chevrolet, and

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

. Cale Yarborough qualified for the pole position with a speed of . Richard Petty defeated

Benny Parsons Benjamin Stewart Parsons (July 12, 1941 – January 16, 2007) was an American NASCAR driver, and later an announcer/analyst/pit reporter on SETN, TBS, ABC, ESPN, NBC, and TNT. He became famous as the 1973 NASCAR Winston Cup Series champion, ...

by two car lengths after three hours and fourteen minutes to earn his 197th career win. Seven cautions for 42 laps were witnessed by 110,000 spectators in addition to 27 lead changes. The average speed of the race was . There was a major incident involving

Phil Parsons Phillip Parsons (born June 21, 1957) is an American former professional stock car racing driver, team owner, and current analyst for FOX NASCAR. He is the younger brother of the 1973 Winston Cup champion and former NBC/ TNT commentator Benny Par ...

and ten other drivers. Two photographers managed to get Parsons out of the wreck. The entire race purse was $361,820 ($ when adjusted for inflation). Harry Gant finished 4th and took the points lead from Bobby Allison as a result of the 31-point swing. Neil Bonnett came in third in points and maintained that position although he lost ground as a result of the issues that left him with a 15th-place finish, seven laps down. Dale Earnhardt was driving a

Ford Thunderbird The Ford Thunderbird (colloquially called the T-Bird) is a personal luxury car produced by Ford from model years 1955 until 1997 and 2002 until 2005 across 11 distinct generations. Introduced as a two-seat convertible, the Thunderbird was pr ...

for team owner Bud Moore this year.

Lowell Cowell Lowell Arthur Cowell (October 10, 1945 - November 12, 2018) was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver. He drove in ten total Winston Cup races from 1981 to 1983. Racing career Debuting in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series in 1981, Cowell drove four rac ...

would retire from NASCAR after this race.

Race results

Race summary

* Lead changes: 27 among different drivers * Cautions/Laps: 7 for 43 * Red flags: 0 * Time of race: 3 hours, 14 minutes and 55 seconds * Average speed:

Media

Television

The television coverage of this race was (on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

) on a tape-delayed broadcast.

Radio

Standings after the race

;Drivers' Championship standings ;Manufacturers' Championship standings *Note: Only the first 10 positions are included for the driver standings.

References

{{authority control Winston 500 Winston 500 NASCAR races at Talladega Superspeedway