1983 World 600

The 1983 World 600, the 24th running of the event, was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that took place on May 29, 1983, at the Charlotte Motor Speedway (Concord, North Carolina, US).

1983 World 600

Race details[1][2]
Race 12 of 30 in the 1983 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season
Layout of Charlotte Motor Speedway
Date	May 29, 1983 (1983-May-29)
Official name	World 600
Location	Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord, North Carolina
Course	Permanent racing facility 1.500 mi (2.414 km)
Distance	400 laps, 600 mi (965 km)
Weather	Hot, humid, and partly cloudy with a high around 80.1 °F (26.7 °C); wind out of the ESE at 7.48 miles per hour (12.04 km/h)
Average speed	140.707 miles per hour (226.446 km/h)
Attendance	137,000[3]
Pole position
Driver	Buddy Baker	Wood Brothers
Most laps led
Driver	Bobby Allison	DiGard
Laps	188
Winner
No. 75	Neil Bonnett	RahMoc Enterprises
Television in the United States
Network	Mizlou
Announcers	Ken Squier Phil Parsons

During the early 1980s, the NASCAR Winston Cup Series was plagued with top teams running big engines and finishing in third place to avoid inspection.

Background

The race was held at Charlotte Motor Speedway, a 1.5-mile (2.4 km) quad-oval track located thirteen miles from Charlotte, North Carolina in Concord. The track sanctioned NASCAR Winston Cup Series events biannually during the 1983 season, with the other race being the Miller High Life 500. The track opened for the 1960 World 600, and was built by Bruton Smith and Curtis Turner.

Summary

This event took four hours, fifteen minutes, and fifty-one seconds to complete.[3] Five cautions were waved for twenty-eight laps.[3] Neil Bonnett defeated Richard Petty[4] by a margin of 0.8 seconds in front of 137,000 people.[3] Notable speeds for this race were: 140.707 miles per hour (226.446 km/h) as the average speed and 162.841 miles per hour (262.067 km/h) as the pole position speed.[3] Bonnett had previously won the 1982 running of the same event and would repeat his success.[5] However, he would never win another World 600 race after this one. Canadian driver Trevor Boys started in 33rd and finished in 20th during this race in his #48 Chevrolet.[3] Total winnings for this race were $407,190 ($1,045,253 when adjusted for inflation).[2]

Jimmy Means was in the top 10 in points after this race. He was ahead in the point standings of NASCAR legends such as Ricky Rudd, Dave Marcis, Tim Richmond, Geoff Bodine, Kyle Petty, and Dale Earnhardt.[3] Bobby Allison and Bill Elliott had a great race going for the lead until they were both swept up in the Sterlin Marlin, Slick Johnson spin out.[3] There was some heavy rainfall after the race; which did not affect the race but dampened the spirits of the spectators who were going home after the race.

Other notable racers included: Mark Martin (in his #01 Chevrolet), Ricky Rudd (in his #3 Chevrolet), Terry Labonte (in his #44 Chevrolet), and Cale Yarborough (in his #28 Chevrolet).[3][2] Margaret Claud Padgett was the designated Miss Winston for this race in addition to every NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event held from 1981 to 1985.[6]

Drivers that failed to qualify were: Ronnie Thomas (#41), Lennie Pond, Jody Ridley (#84) and Rick Baldwin (#04).[7]

Finishers

1. Neil Bonnett[8]
2. Richard Petty (highest finishing Pontiac vehicle)
3. Bobby Allison
4. Darrell Waltrip
5. Dale Earnhardt† (highest finishing Ford vehicle)
6. Lake Speed
7. Buddy Baker†
8. Kyle Petty
9. Morgan Shepherd
10. Dave Marcis
11. Bobby Hillin, Jr.
12. Buddy Arrington
13. Dean Combs
14. Joe Ruttman
15. Tommy Ellis
16. Bill Elliott
17. Ken Ragan
18. Bobby Wawak†
19. Sterling Marlin
20. Trevor Boys
21. Jim Vandiver
22. H. B. Bailey†
23. D. K. Ulrich
24. Slick Johnson†
25. Harry Gant
26. J. D. McDuffie†
27. Bob Senneker*
28. Cale Yarborough*
29. Mark Martin*
30. Phillip Duffie*
31. Rick Newsom
32. Ricky Rudd
33. Terry Labonte*
34. Benny Parsons*†
35. Tommy Gale*†
36. Geoffrey Bodine*
37. Dick Brooks*†
38. Jimmy Means*
39. David Pearson*
40. Tim Richmond*†
41. Ron Bouchard*† (finished in last place due to an oil seal problem on lap 14)

† signifies that the driver is known to be deceased
* Driver failed to finish race

Standings after the race

Pos	Driver	Points[3]	Differential
1	Bobby Allison	1881	0
2	Darrell Waltrip	1696	-185
3	Neil Bonnett	1681	-200
4	Bill Elliott	1675	-206
5	Harry Gant	1665	-216
6	Darrell Waltrip	1658	-223
7	Joe Ruttman	1647	-234
8	Terry Labonte	1421	-460
9	Dick Brooks	1416	-465
10	Jimmy Means	1381	-500

References

1. "1983 World 600 weather information". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved 2011-02-03.
2. "1983 World 600 racing results (third reference)". Driver Averages. Archived from the original on 2011-10-05. Retrieved 2010-12-11.
3. "1983 World 600 racing results". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2010-12-11.
4. "Neil Bonnett's Victory at the 1983 World 600". NeilBonnett.com. Archived from the original on 2011-07-14. Retrieved 2011-01-06.
5. "Neil Bonnett's Story". Neil Bonnett.com. Archived from the original on 2011-07-14. Retrieved 2011-02-04.
6. "Margaret Claud Padgett information". Miss Winston. Archived from the original on 2012-03-23. Retrieved 2011-05-02.
7. "Qualifying information". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2017-04-08.
8. "1983 World 600 racing results (winner only)". Charlotte Motor Speedway. Archived from the original on 2011-01-30. Retrieved 2011-01-09.

Preceded by 1983 Valleydale 500	NASCAR Winston Cup Series races 1983	Succeeded by 1983 Budweiser 400

Preceded by 1982	World 600 races 1983	Succeeded by 1984