The 1984 NASCAR Winston Cup Series was the 36th season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 13th modern-era Cup series season. It began on Sunday, February 19 and ended on Sunday, November 18. Terry Labonte was crowned champion at the end of the season. This was the final year for Chrysler until Dodge returned in 2001.
Teams and drivers Complete schedule ManufacturerTeamRace DriverCrew Chief Buick Race Hill Farm Team 47 Ron Bouchard Jack BeebeChevrolet All-Star Racing 5 Geoff Bodine Harry HydeBenfield Racing98 Joe Ruttman Kenny Wallace L. D. Ottinger Morgan Shepherd Hagan Racing 44 Terry Labonte Dale Inman Hylton Motorsports 48 Trevor Boys Steve Terry Junior Johnson & Associates 11 Darrell Waltrip Jeff Hammond 12 Neil Bonnett Doug Richert Mach 1 Racing 33 Harry Gant Travis Carter Richard Childress Racing 3 Dale Earnhardt Kirk Shelmerdine Ford Bud Moore Engineering 15 Ricky Rudd Bud Moore Donlavey Racing 90 Dick Brooks Junie Donlavey Melling Racing 9 Bill Elliott Ernie Elliott Petty Enterprises 7 Kyle Petty Mike Beam Pontiac Blue Max Racing 27 Tim Richmond Tim Brewer Cliff Stewart Racing 88 Rusty Wallace (R) Darrell Bryant Curb Racing 43 Richard Petty Buddy Parrott Chevrolet Buick DiGard Motorsports 22 Bobby Allison Gary Nelson Ford Pontiac Langley Racing 64 Tommy Gale Jimmy Hensley Gary Mayeda Ken Schrader Clark Dwyer (R) Joe Millikan Pontiac Chevrolet RahMoc Enterprises 75 Dave Marcis Butch Mock Limited schedule ManufacturerTeamRace DriverCrew Chief Round(s) Chevrolet Bobby Hawkins Racing 16 David Pearson Ricky Pearson Branch-Ragan Racing 77 Ken Ragan Marvin Ragan Ellington Racing 1 Lake Speed Runt Pittman Hamby Racing 10 Sterling Marlin Heveron Racing 01 Doug Heveron (R) Johnny Hayes Racing 55 Benny Parsons Cliff Champion 66 Phil Parsons Larry Pollard Morgan-McClure Motorsports4 Lennie Pond Tony Glover Tommy Ellis (R) Joe Ruttman Ranier-Lundy Racing 28 Cale Yarborough Waddell Wilson Robert McEntyre Racing 84 Jody Ridley Sacks & Sons 51 Greg Sacks Thomas Racing 41 Ronnie Thomas Buddy Arrington Ford Wood Brothers Racing 21 Buddy Baker Len Wood Bobby Rahal Oldsmobile Marcis Auto Racing 71 Mike Alexander Lennie Pond Pontiac McDuffie Racing 70 J. D. McDuffie Chevrolet Buick Stavola Brothers Racing 8 Bobby Hillin Jr. Jake Elder Chevrolet Buick Ulrich Racing 6 Jim Sauter D. K. Ulrich Connie Saylor Morgan Shepherd Jimmy Ingalls Clark Dwyer (R) Chevrolet Pontiac Hamby Racing 17 Clark Dwyer (R) Morgan Shepherd Lake Speed Chevrolet Pontiac Jimmy Means Racing 52 Jimmy Means Roy Smith Bobby Wawak Slick Johnson Dale Jarrett Sterling Marlin Morgan Shepherd Chevrolet Pontiac Buick Wawak Racing 74 Bobby Wawak Bob Riley Chevrolet Oldsmobile Sadler Brothers Racing 95 Sterling Marlin Chrysler Dodge Arrington Racing 67 Buddy Arrington Joey Arrington Oldsmobile Chevrolet Irv Sanderson Racing 97 Dean Combs (R)
Schedule No. Race title Track DateNCBusch ClashDaytona International Speedway, Daytona BeachFebruary 12UNO Twin 125 QualifiersFebruary 16Daytona 500 Consolation RaceFebruary 171Daytona 500February 192Richmond 400Richmond Fairgrounds Raceway, RichmondFebruary 263Carolina 500North Carolina Motor Speedway, RockinghamMarch 44Coca-Cola 500Atlanta International Raceway, HamptonMarch 185Valleydale 500Bristol International Raceway, BristolApril 16Northwestern Bank 400North Wilkesboro Speedway, North WilkesboroApril 87TranSouth 500Darlington Raceway, DarlingtonApril 158Sovran Bank 500Martinsville Speedway, RidgewayApril 299Winston 500Alabama International Motor Speedway, TalladegaMay 610Coors 420Nashville Speedway, NashvilleMay 1211Budweiser 500Dover Downs International Speedway, DoverMay 2012World 600Charlotte Motor Speedway, ConcordMay 2713Budweiser 400Riverside International Raceway, RiversideJune 314Van Scoy Diamond Mine 500Pocono International Raceway, Long PondJune 1015Miller High Life 400Michigan International Speedway, BrooklynJune 1716Firecracker 400Daytona International Speedway, Daytona BeachJuly 417Pepsi 420Nashville Speedway, NashvilleJuly 1418Like Cola 500Pocono International Raceway, Long PondJuly 2219Talladega 500Alabama International Motor Speedway, TalladegaJuly 2920Champion Spark Plug 400Michigan International Speedway, BrooklynAugust 1221Busch 500Bristol International Raceway, BristolAugust 2522Southern 500Darlington Raceway, DarlingtonSeptember 223Wrangler Sanfor-Set 400Richmond Fairgrounds Raceway, RichmondSeptember 924Delaware 500Dover Downs International Speedway, DoverSeptember 1625Goody's 500Martinsville Speedway, RidgewaySeptember 2326Miller High Life 500Charlotte Motor Speedway, ConcordOctober 727Holly Farms 400North Wilkesboro Speedway, North WilkesboroOctober 1428Warner W. Hodgdon American 500North Carolina Motor Speedway, RockinghamOctober 2129Atlanta Journal 500Atlanta International Raceway, HamptonNovember 1130Winston Western 500Riverside International Raceway, RiversideNovember 18
Originally scheduled for November 4, but postponed due to rain.
Bold denotes NASCAR Crown Jewel event
Races
Daytona 500
The 26th running of the Daytona 500 was run on February 19 at Daytona International Speedway. Cale Yarborough completed a lap of 201.848 mph (324.828 km/h) to win the pole, officially breaking the 200 mph barrier at Daytona. He drafted past Darrell Waltrip on the final lap, winning for the second year in a row, and fourth time in his career.
Top ten results: #28 - Cale Yarborough #3 - Dale Earnhardt #11 - Darrell Waltrip #12 - Neil Bonnett #9 - Bill Elliott #33 - Harry Gant #15 - Ricky Rudd #5 - Geoff Bodine #16 - David Pearson #84 - Jody Ridley
Richard Petty, making his debut with Curb Racing, stormed from 34th to lead over 20 laps before a camshaft broke.
Richmond 400 The Richmond 400 was held on February 26 at Richmond Fairgrounds Speedway. Darrell Waltrip won the pole.
Top ten results: #15 - Ricky Rudd* #11 - Darrell Waltrip #44 - Terry Labonte #9 - Bill Elliott #12 - Neil Bonnett #3 - Dale Earnhardt #27 - Tim Richmond #33 - Harry Gant #5 - Geoff Bodine #98 - Joe Ruttman
Rudd's victory came while still dealing with swelling in his face from his accident in the Busch Clash.
Carolina 500 The Carolina 500 was held on March 4 at North Carolina Motor Speedway. Harry Gant won the pole.
Top ten results: #22 - Bobby Allison #44 - Terry Labonte #1 - Lake Speed #43 - Richard Petty #21 - Buddy Baker #5 - Geoff Bodine #9 - Bill Elliott #75 - Dave Marcis #11 - Darrell Waltrip
A four-car crash on Lap 372 damaged the guardrail, resulting in a 30-minute delay to repair it. Before the race, controversy erupted between the track and sponsor Warner Hodgdon over late payment of sponsorship fees. The fees were paid in full March 19.
Atlanta 500 The Atlanta 500 was held on March 18 at Atlanta International Speedway. Buddy Baker won the pole. Benny Parsons fought off Dale Earnhardt and Cale Yarborough in a three-car race.
Top ten results: #55 - Benny Parsons* #3 - Dale Earnhardt #28 - Cale Yarborough #43 - Richard Petty #22 - Bobby Allison #33 - Harry Gant #44 - Terry Labonte #15 - Ricky Rudd #1 - Lake Speed #11 - Darrell Waltrip*
This was Parsons' final career Winston Cup Series victory. Darrell Waltrip was dropped from 5th to 10th after the race when NASCAR ruled that he made an illegal pass to get a lap back late in the race.
Valleydale 500 The Vallydale 500 was held on April 1 at Bristol International Raceway. Ricky Rudd won the pole. Darrell Waltrip passed Tim Richmond with 44 laps to go for the victory.
Top ten results: #11 - Darrell Waltrip* #44 - Terry Labonte #47 - Ron Bouchard #75 - Dave Marcis #27 - Tim Richmond #15 - Ricky Rudd #3 - Dale Earnhardt #43 - Richard Petty #9 - Bill Elliott #98 - Joe Ruttman
This was Waltrip's seventh consecutive Bristol victory. Bobby Allison, who led 190 laps to Waltrip's 205, faltered with 57 laps to go and finished 19th. Dale Jarrett made his Winston Cup debut in this race, driving the #02 Chevrolet for Emanuel Zervakis. Jarrett started 24th and finished 14th.
Northwestern Bank 400 The Northwestern Bank 400 was held on April 8 at North Wilkesboro Speedway. Ricky Rudd won the pole. Rudd led 290 laps but faltered in the final 28 laps, handing Tim Richmond the victory, what would be his last driving for Raymond Beadle.
Top ten results: #27 - Tim Richmond #33 - Harry Gant #15 - Ricky Rudd #44 - Terry Labonte #7 - Kyle Petty #11 - Darrell Waltrip #47 - Ron Bouchard #3 - Dale Earnhardt #12 - Neil Bonnett #9 - Bill Elliott
TranSouth 500 The TranSouth 500 was held on April 8 at Darlington Raceway. Benny Parsons won the pole.
Top ten results: #11 - Darrell Waltrip* #44 - Terry Labonte #9 - Bill Elliott #28 - Cale Yarborough #3 - Dale Earnhardt #33 - Harry Gant #43 - Richard Petty #66 - Phil Parsons #15 - Ricky Rudd #12 - Neil Bonnett
This was Waltrip's fourth Spring Darlington victory. This race was permeated by two thunderstorms and multiple crashes, including two multi-car wrecks.
Sovran Bank 500 The Sovran Bank 500 was held on April 29 at Martinsville Speedway. Joe Ruttman won the pole. Ricky Rudd led 121 laps and Bobby Allison led 266 laps, but both were knocked out of contention in the final 60 laps, allowing Geoff Bodine to score the victory.
Top ten results: #5 - Geoff Bodine* #47 - Ron Bouchard #11 - Darrell Waltrip #22 - Bobby Allison #12 - Neil Bonnett #98 - Joe Ruttman #9 - Bill Elliott #7 - Kyle Petty #3 - Dale Earnhardt #21 - Buddy Baker
This was Bodine's first Winston Cup Series victory, and the first Cup Series victory for Charlotte car dealer Rick Hendrick as team owner. Bodine's victory also saved All-Star Racing from shutting down as they were able to secure sponsorship from Northwestern Security Life for the rest of the season.
Winston 500
The Winston 500 was held on May 6 at Alabama International Motor Speedway. Cale Yarborough won the pole.
Top ten results: #28 - Cale Yarborough #33 - Harry Gant #21 - Buddy Baker #22 - Bobby Allison #55 - Benny Parsons #43 - Richard Petty #66 - Phil Parsons #75 - Dave Marcis #9 - Bill Elliott #47 - Ron Bouchard
This race saw a record-breaking 75 lead changes, making it the most competitive race in Winston Cup history at the time. This record would stand until Talladega in May 2010, with had 88 lead changes.
Coors 420 The Coors 420 was held on May 12 at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway. Darrell Waltrip won the pole. This race ended in controversial fashion. After a crash on lap 418, Waltrip led laps 418 and 419 but Junior Johnson teammate Neil Bonnett passed him on the final lap under yellow. Dick Beaty of NASCAR initially ruled Bonnett the race winner, but the following Monday, NASCAR reversed the decision since the yellow had flown before the last lap pass, declaring Waltrip the winner.
Top ten results: #11 - Darrell Waltrip #12 - Neil Bonnett #5 - Geoff Bodine #15 - Ricky Rudd #47 - Ron Bouchard #88 - Rusty Wallace #43 - Richard Petty #44 - Terry Labonte #90 - Dick Brooks #75 - Dave Marcis
Budweiser 500 The Budweiser 500 was held on May 20 at Dover Downs International Speedway. Ricky Rudd won the pole. Richard Petty held off Bill Elliott, Tim Richmond, and Harry Gant to score his 199th Winston Cup victory. Gant led 218 laps but fell out while running in the top five 108 laps from the end, while Elliott cut a tire while running second with 40 to go. It was Petty's first win not with Petty Enterprises since driving a Don Robertson Plymouth to two wins in 1970.
Top ten results: #43 - Richard Petty* #27 - Tim Richmond #44 - Terry Labonte #9 - Bill Elliott #3 - Dale Earnhardt #11 - Darrell Waltrip #21 - Buddy Baker #15 - Ricky Rudd #47 - Ron Bouchard #5 - Geoff Bodine
This was Petty's first victory at Dover since 1979. This was Petty's first Cup Series victory not with Petty Enterprises since winning two races in 1970 driving for Don Robertson.
World 600