The 1982 Winston 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race that took place May 2, 1982, at Alabama International Motor Speedway in Talladega, Alabama.
The makes of the cars in the race were 1 Oldsmobile, 9 Pontiacs, 5 Fords, 1 Chevrolet, 1 Dodge, and 24 Buicks. The race is most well known for the debut of confidence trickster L.W. Wright.
Background Talladega Superspeedway, originally known as Alabama International Motor Superspeedway (AIMS), is a motorsports complex located north of Talladega, Alabama. It is located on the former Anniston Air Force Base in the small city of Lincoln. The track is a Tri-oval and was constructed by International Speedway Corporation, a business controlled by the France Family, 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 NASCAR series such as the Sprint Cup Series, Xfinity Series, and the Camping World Truck Series. Talladega Superspeedway is the longest NASCAR oval with a length of , and the track at its peak had a seating capacity of 175,000 spectators.
Qualifying Benny Parsons won the pole position with a qualifying speed of ; the first 200+ MPH qualifying speed in NASCAR history. It broke the previous qualifying record of set in 1970 by Bobby Isaac. Grid Driver 1 28 Benny Parsons 200.176 2 11 Darrell Waltrip 199.446 3 3 Ricky Rudd 199.388 4 44 Terry Labonte 197.860 5 50 Geoffrey Bodine 197.497 6 27 Cale Yarborough 197.379 7 9 Bill Elliott 196.609 8 47 Ron Bouchard 196.343 9 43 Richard Petty 195.993 10 71 Dave Marcis 195.705 11 02 Mark Martin 195.673 12 88 Bobby Allison 195.481 13 1 Buddy Baker 195.166 14 33 Harry Gant 195.035 15 42 Kyle Petty 194.686 16 98 Morgan Shepherd 194.473 17 37 Donnie Allison 194.181 18 96 Elliott Forbes-Robinson 193.749 19 21 Neil Bonnett 193.422 20 15 Dale Earnhardt 192.797 21 75 Joe Ruttman 194.200 22 62 Rick Wilson 194.098 23 24 Lennie Pond 191.559 24 2 Tim Richmond 191.555 25 99 Phillip Duffie 191.4822666Lowell Cowell191.4442773Steve Moore191.2182817Lake Speed190.7192954David Simko190.5373019John Anderson189.452316Dick May189.1413267Buddy Arrington188.9843352Jimmy Means188.6723490Jody Ridley188.6603594Tommy Gale187.4343634L.W. Wright187.3793748Slick Johnson187.2513870J.D. McDuffie187.0873907Bill Scott186.8244040Ferrell Harris185.899
Race report There were 40 drivers on the grid; all of them were American-born. Darrell Waltrip defeated Terry Labonte by approximately three car lengths even though Labonte had a fender under Waltrip coming to the finish line. Waltrip earned $44,250 for winning the race ($ when adjusted for inflation). In the final laps before the checkered flag, the race became a battle between Benny Parsons, Darrell Waltrip, Terry Labonte and Kyle Petty. Parsons would lead seven of those laps while Waltrip led 13 followed by Labonte leading two. The green flag was waved at 1:00 P.M. while the checkered flag was waved at approximately 4:19 P.M.; There were eight cautions for 39 laps. There were 51 lead changes and the average speed of the race was . The race covered 188 laps of the track, totaling . Attendance was announced at 100,000 spectators.
David Simko crashed his vehicle on lap 4 while L. W. Wright blew his engine on lap 13. Further engine failures would be caused by Jody Ridley on lap 16, Cale Yarborough on lap 17 and Ron Bouchard on lap 23. Steve Moore's vehicle developed problems with its clutch that forced Moore out of the race on lap 32. Lake Speed blew his engine on lap 39 while Geoffrey Bodine did the same thing on lap 53. A valve sidelined Rick Wilson on lap 57. Lennie Pond would cause terminal damage to his vehicle on lap 66 while Dave Marcis blew his engine on the same lap. Elliott Forbes-Robinson would be relegated to the sidelines due to a nonworking engine on lap 73 while a problematic piston took Bill Scott out of the race on lap 75.
Richard Petty had an issue with his vehicle's fuel pump that would knock him out of the race on lap 82 while transmission problems took out Bill Elliott on lap 100. Buddy Baker developed steering problems with his vehicle on lap 109; forcing his early exit from the race. An engine issue took out Joe Ruttman on lap 159 and John Anderson on lap 164.
Terry Labonte took the championship lead after this race. Ferrel Harris would retire after this race with a 23rd-place finish. One-time NASCAR driver L. W. Wright would race his only professional stock car event on this day. The sole Chevrolet driver on the grid, L. W. Wright was a con artist who managed to swindle people into financing him getting a ride for this race, as well as an attempt at another at the next race where he failed to make the grid. His credentials as a licensed NASCAR driver were not requested during the early 1980s.
Results PosGridCar No.DriverTeamManufacturerLapsLaps LedTime/Retired1211Darrell WaltripJohnson Hodgdon RacingBuick188543:11:191802444Terry LabonteHagan EnterprisesBuick18821 +1 car length1753128Benny ParsonsRanier-Lundy RacingPontiac18884 +3 car lengths17541542Kyle PettyPetty EnterprisesPontiac1880 +4 car lengths16051698Morgan ShepherdBenfield RacingBuick1885lead lap16061737Donnie AllisonRogers RacingBuick1861 +2 laps1557242Tim RichmondJim Stacy RacingBuick1860 +2 laps082015Dale EarnhardtBud Moore EngineeringFord1863 +2 laps14793352Jimmy MeansMeans RacingBuick1840 +4 laps138101102Mark MartinBud Reeder RacingBuick1840 +4 laps134113267Buddy ArringtonArrington RacingDodge1841 +4 laps135123748Slick JohnsonHylton EngineeringBuick1830 +5 laps0131288Bobby AllisonDiGard MotorsportsBuick1828 +6 laps129141433Harry GantMach 1 RacingBuick1824 +6 laps12615316Dick MayBuick1810 +7 laps118163594Tommy GaleLangley RacingFord1800 +8 laps115172599Phillip Duffie (R)Duffie RacingBuick1790 +9 laps112183870J.D. McDuffieMcDuffie RacingPontiac1770 +11 laps109191921Neil BonnettWood Brothers RacingFord1651 +13 laps111203019John AndersonGray RacingBuick1640Engine103212666Lowell CowellHamby RacingBuick1610 +27 laps100222175Joe RuttmanRahMoc EnterprisesPontiac1590Engine97234040Ferrel HarrisUlrich RacingBuick1460 +42 laps02433Ricky RuddRichard Childress RacingPontiac1161 +72 laps9625131Buddy BakerEllington RacingBuick1090Steering882679Bill ElliottMelling RacingFord1000Transmission8527943Richard PettyPetty EnterprisesPontiac820Fuel pump82283907Bill Scott (R)Brown RacingBuick750Piston79291896Elliott Forbes-RobinsonCronkrite RacingBuick730Engine76301071Dave MarcisMarcis Auto RacingBuick660Contact73312324Lennie PondGordon RacingBuick661Contact75322262Rick WilsonWilson RacingOldsmobile570Valves6733550Geoffrey BodineCliff Stewart RacingPontiac530Engine0342617Lake SpeedHamby RacingBuick390Engine61352773Steve MooreMoore RacingPontiac324Clutch6336847Ron BouchardRace Hill Farm TeamBuick230Engine5537627Cale YarboroughM. C. Anderson RacingBuick170Engine52383490Jody RidleyDonlavey RacingFord160Engine49393634L. W. Wright (R)Music City RacingChevrolet130Engine0402954David Simko (R)Simko RacingPontiac40Contact43Sources:
Notes
Sources conflict as to whether Dick May or D. K. Ulrich raced in the 1982 Winston 500. L. W. Wright did not receive any driver points, as a late entrant to the race.
Standings after the race Pos Driver Points Differential 1 Terry Labonte 1410 0 2 Darrell Waltrip 1335 -75 3 Benny Parsons 1309 -101 4 Harry Gant 1258 -162 5 Bobby Allison 1225 -185 6 Morgan Shepherd 1189 -221 7 Dale Earnhardt 1183 -227 8 Buddy Arrington 1150 -260 9 Richard Petty 1101 -309 10 Jimmy Means 1064 -346
References