The 1984 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 hi ...

Winston Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the NASCAR, 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. ...

racing event that took place on May 6, 1984, 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 Base ...

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 Motorsport, motorsports or motor sport is a global term used to encompass the group of competitive sporting events which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles. The terminology can also be used to describe forms of competition of two ...

complex located north of

. It is located on the former

Anniston Air Force Base Anniston Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force airfield located approximately 10 miles north-northeast of Talladega, Alabama. It was active from 1942 to 1945 and 1949 to 1952. It is currently the site of the Talladega Superspeedway a ...

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. * Lincoln ...

. 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 sm ...

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 and ...

, 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 The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the NASCAR, 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. ...

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 The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is a pickup truck racing series owned and operated by the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, and is the only series in NASCAR to race production pickup truck based stock cars. The series is one of th ...

. 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.

Race report

Forty cars competed in this 188-lap race; 39 of them were born in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

while

Trevor Boys Trevor Boys (born November 3, 1957) is a Canadian race car driver. He raced in 102 Winston Cup races from 1982 to 1993, posting two top-ten finishes, and ran six races in the Craftsman Truck Series in 2003, his best finish a 22nd at Memphis Motors ...

was born in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

.''1984 Winston 500''
racing information at Racing Reference The pole position was won by Yarborough with a speed of ; one of the times where the qualifying speed exceeded the threshold. This race featured 75 lead changes and laps exceeding 200 mph with unrestricted engines. The NBC TV coverage featured

Bruce Jenner Caitlyn Marie Jenner (born William Bruce Jenner; October 28, 1949) is an American media personality and retired Olympic gold medal-winning decathlete. Jenner played college football for the Graceland Yellowjackets before incurring a kn ...

(now Caitlyn Jenner) as the pit reporter. Some notable crew chiefs who participated in this race were

Kenny Wallace Kenneth Lee Wallace (born August 23, 1963) is an American race car driver and former reporter for Fox NASCAR. He retired from NASCAR in 2015 after driving in the national series since 1988. In a career spanning twenty-five years in NASCAR, Wallace ...

Junie Donlavey Wesley Christian "Junie" Donlavey Jr. (April 8, 1924June 9, 2014), a native of Richmond, Virginia, was the owner of Donlavey Racing; he began fielding the team in 1950. He drove for his team at first, but soon gave way to other drivers. Donlavey e ...

Darrell Bryant Darrell Bryant is a retired NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver whose claim to fame was his two "top ten" finishes in addition to racing 2389 laps - for a distance of . Bryant has driver for Chevrolet, Dodge, Oldsmobile, and Mercury during his drivi ...

Joey Arrington Joey Arrington (born July 25, 1956) is an American former NASCAR driver, team owner, and crew chief from Rocky Mount, Virginia. He made nine Winston Cup Series starts with a best finish of 12th. He made his first start in 1974 as a 17-year-old a ...

Cecil Gordon Cecil Gordon (June 21, 1941 – September 19, 2012) was an American stock car racing driver. A competitor in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series between 1968 and 1985, he competed in 449 events without winning a race. NASCAR Career as driver Gordon d ...

Dale Inman Dale Inman (born August 19, 1936) is a retired NASCAR Grand National/Winston Cup Series crew chief from Level Cross, Randolph County, North Carolina. He is best known for being the crew chief of Richard Petty at Petty Enterprises during three de ...

Waddell Wilson Waddell Wilson (born December 29, 1936) is a former NASCAR Winston Cup Series crew chief and engine builder. He was the winning crew chief for the Daytona 500 in 1980 Daytona 500, 1980, 1983 Daytona 500, 1983, and 1984 Daytona 500, 1984. He was cr ...

Jake Elder J. C. "Jake" Elder (November 22, 1936 – February 24, 2010) was a NASCAR Grand National/Winston Cup Series crew chief. He was the championship crew chief for two years and for part of a third season. Elder had these successes despite never pas ...

Harry Hyde Harry Hyde (January 17, 1925 – May 13, 1996) was a leading crew chief in NASCAR stock car racing in the 1960s through the 1980s, winning 56 races and 88 pole positions. He was the 1970 championship crew chief for Bobby Isaac. He inspired t ...

, and

Kirk Shelmerdine Edward Kirk Shelmerdine V (born March 8, 1958) is an American stock car racing driver and former championship-winning crew chief for Dale Earnhardt. Crew chief After spending his early NASCAR career as an engineer for Hylton Engineering, in 1984 ...

. The average speed of the race was . Four cautions covered 17 laps.

Chevrolet Chevrolet ( ), colloquially referred to as Chevy and formally the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors Company, is an American automobile division of the American manufacturer General Motors (GM). Louis Chevrolet (1878–1941) and ous ...

was the manufacturer for the majority of the grid.

Cale Yarborough William Caleb "Cale" Yarborough (born March 27, 1939) is an American former NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver and owner, businessman, and farmer. He is one of only two drivers in NASCAR history to win three consecutive championships, winning in 1 ...

defeated

Harry Gant Harold Phil Gant"Harry P. Gant"
(born January 10, 1940), known for his many nicknames such as "The Ban ...

by two car lengths after nearly three hours of racing in front of more than 110000 audience members; marking the 80th race win in Yarborough's NASCAR Winston Cup Series career. 75 lead changes occurred; the most ever in NASCAR Cup Series history. It would exceed the record set by the 1978 Talladega 500 for the number of leader changes in the race. This record would eventually be broken at the 2010 Aaron's 499 and be tied at the

2011 Aaron's 499 The 2011 Aaron's 499 was the eighth race of the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season out of thirty six total races. The race was held on April 17 at Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Alabama. Jeff Gordon won his 70th pole position, leading ...

. Since NASCAR only covered the lead changes that occurred at the end of each lap, there were many more lead changes that weren't officially recorded because they didn't last the whole lap.''Lead, lead or get out of the way''
at All About Racin'

Jimmy Means James Means (born May 29, 1950) is a retired American racing driver and owner, who competed in the Winston Cup Series as an owner-driver. He is currently an adviser for Front Row Motorsports and owns his own team, Jimmy Means Racing. He compet ...

suffered an

oil pressure {{unreferenced, date=May 2016 Oil pressure is an important factor in the longevity of most internal combustion engines. With a forced lubrication system (invented by Frederick Lanchester), oil is picked up by a positive displacement oil pump and ...

problem on the sixth lap and ended up in last place.

Bill Elliott William Clyde Elliott (born October 8, 1955), also known as Awesome Bill from Dawsonville, Million Dollar Bill, or Wild Bill is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He competes full time in the Camping World Superstar Racing ...

Terry Labonte Terrance Lee Labonte (born November 16, 1956), nicknamed Texas Terry or The Iceman, is an American former stock car driver who raced from 1978 to 2014 in the former NASCAR Winston Cup and Sprint Cup Series (now called the NASCAR Cup Series). A two ...

Dale Earnhardt Ralph Dale Earnhardt Sr. (; April 29, 1951February 18, 2001) was an American professional stock car driver and team owner, who raced from 1975 to 2001 in the former NASCAR Winston Cup Series (now called the NASCAR Cup Series), most notably dri ...

Rusty Wallace Russell William "Rusty" Wallace Jr. (born August 14, 1956) is an American former NASCAR racing driver. He has won the 1984 NASCAR Cup series Rookie of the Year and the 1989 NASCAR Winston Cup Championship. Over the course of his successful care ...

, and David Pearson all took turns being the leading the race. Phil Barkdoll would make his NASCAR debut in this race.''1984 Winston 500''
racing information at Race Database Until the 2010 Sprint Cup Series season, this race was considered to be the most competitive in NASCAR history. The use of the

Car of Tomorrow The Car of Tomorrow (abbreviated as CoT) was the common name used for the chassis of the NASCAR Cup Series (2007 –2012) and Xfinity Series (since 2011 full-time) race cars. The car was part of a five-year project to create a safer vehicle ...

along with NASCAR's then-current '' Have at it, boys'' policy and smaller restrictor plates made the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races at Daytona and Talladega more prone to passing.

Qualifying

Top 20 finishers

Standings after the race

References

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