1983 Winston Western 500

The 1983 Winston Western 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that took place on November 20, 1983, at Riverside International Raceway in Riverside, California.

1983 Winston Western 500

Race details[1][2]
Race 30 of 30 in the 1983 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season
Layout of Riverside International Raceway (1969-1988 version)
Date	November 20, 1983 (1983-November-20)
Official name	Winston Western 500
Location	Riverside International Raceway, Riverside, California
Course	2.700 mi (4.345 km)
Distance	119 laps, 311.8 mi (501.7 km)
Weather	Chilly with temperatures of 64.9 °F (18.3 °C); wind speeds of 8 miles per hour (13 km/h)
Average speed	95.859 miles per hour (154.270 km/h)
Attendance	24,000
Pole position
Driver	Darrell Waltrip	Junior Johnson & Associates
Most laps led
Driver	Darrell Waltrip	Junior Johnson & Associates
Laps	34
Winner
No. 9	Bill Elliott	Melling Racing
Television in the United States
Network	WTBS
Announcers	Ken Squier, Cale Yarborough

Race report

There were 42 drivers;[3] 40 of them were American-born while Roy Smith and Trevor Boys were born in Canada.

Ricky Rudd starts on the front row but retires from the lead with a blown engine in his last outing for Richard Childress in the #3 Piedmont Airlines Chevrolet.[2] Dale Earnhardt would make his final NASCAR Winston Cup Series race in a Ford; bringing home Bud Moore's #15 Wrangler Thunderbird home with a top-5 finish.[2] Jim Stacy would mark his final race as an official NASCAR team owner at this race.[2] Stacy came in with promises and a lot of cash but got bored when he got impatient with his drivers and crew members. Sterling Marlin and Trevor Boys battle for rookie of the year comes 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.[2]

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.[2]

Meanwhile, Bobby Allison managed to secure his only Winston Cup Championship during the course of the race.

Jimmy Insolo quit the race on the first lap due to team issues. Joe Ruttman blew his engine on lap 12 while Bill Schmidt would ruin his engine on lap 13. Rick McCray's engine would stop working 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.[2][3]

Bill Elliott would defeat Benny Parsons under the final caution flag in front of 24,000 loyal NASCAR spectators for his first-ever Cup Series victory[2] on a rain-soaked road course that would have required Formula One vehicles to use their "wet" tires. This was Elliott's first win on a road course. Just under 35 years later his son Chase Elliott also scored his first Cup win on a road course, winning at Watkins Glen in 2018.[2] Bill Elliott won this race driving a 1982 Ford Thunderbird as opposed to the slicker 1983 model, the team used an older car they ran on road courses and short tracks this season.

There were 13 lead changes and five caution flags for 26 laps;[3] making the race last three hours and fifteen minutes long.[2] While the average speed of the race was 95.859 miles per hour (154.270 km/h), Darrell Waltrip qualified for the pole position with a top speed of 116.782 miles per hour (187.942 km/h).[2][3] The regulation length of this race was 119 laps - the equivalent of 311.8 miles (501.8 km).[2][3]

Jimmy Insolo, Doug Wheeler, Don Waterman, Pat Mintey, and Randy Becker would retire from NASCAR Cup Series racing after this event.[4]

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).[5]

This was the last race without Rusty Wallace until 2006 Daytona 500.

Top 10 finishers

Pos[2]	Grid	No.	Driver	Manufacturer	Laps	Laps led	Points	Time/Status
1	10	9	Bill Elliott	Ford	119	5	180	3:15:09
2	5	55	Benny Parsons	Chevrolet	119	33	175	Lead lap under caution
3	11	75	Neil Bonnett	Chevrolet	119	0	165	Lead lap under caution
4	9	15	Dale Earnhardt	Ford	119	4	165	Lead lap under caution
5	26	27	Tim Richmond	Pontiac	119	31	160	Lead lap under caution
6	1	11	Darrell Waltrip	Chevrolet	119	34	160	Lead lap under caution
7	3	44	Terry Labonte	Chevrolet	119	0	146	Lead lap under caution
8	22	04	Hershel McGriff	Buick	119	0	142	Lead lap under caution
9	6	22	Bobby Allison	Buick	119	1	143	Lead lap under caution
10	8	43	Richard Petty	Pontiac	118	10	139	Lead lap under caution

Standings after the race

Pos	Driver	Points[2]	Differential
1	Bobby Allison	4667	0
2	Darrell Waltrip	4620	-47
3	Bill Elliott	4279	-388
4	Richard Petty	4025	-625
5	Terry Labonte	4004	-663
6	Neil Bonnett	4002	-665
7	Harry Gant	3790	-877
8	Dale Earnhardt	3732	-935
9	Ricky Rudd	3693	-974
10	Tim Richmond	3597	-1070

References

1. Weather information for the 1983 Winston Western 500 at the Old Farmers' Almanac
2. 1983 Winston Western 500 racing information at Racing Reference
3. 1983 Winston Western 500 racing information at Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet
4. NASCAR Retirements at Race Database
5. Qualifying information at Racing Reference

Preceded by 1983 Atlanta Journal 500	NASCAR Winston Cup Series Season 1983-4	Succeeded by 1984 Daytona 500

Preceded by 1982	Winston Western 500 races 1983	Succeeded by 1984