1984 Winston 500
{{short description|Auto race held at Talladega Superspeedway in 1984}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2025}}
{{Infobox NASCAR race report
| Type = CUST
| Description = Race 9 of 30 in the 1984 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season
| Race Name = Winston 500
| Details ref = [http://www.almanac.com/weather/history/AL/Talladega/1984-05-06 1984 Winston 500] weather information at The Old Farmers' Almanac
| Fulldate = {{Start date|1984|05|6}}
| Year = 1984
| Race_No = 9
| Season_No = 30
| Image = Talladega Superspeedway.png
| Caption = Layout of Talladega Superspeedway
| Weather = Very hot with temperatures of {{convert|88|F|C}}; wind speeds of {{convert|8.8|mph|km/h}}
| Official name = Winston 500
| Location = Alabama International Motor Speedway, Talladega, Alabama
| Course_mi = 2.660
| Course_km = 4.280
| Distance_laps = 188
| Distance_mi = 500.1
| Distance_km = 804.8
| Avg = {{convert|172.988|mph|abbr=on}}
| Pole_Driver = Cale Yarborough
| Pole_Team = Ranier-Lundy Racing
| Most_Driver = Benny Parsons
| Most_Team = Johnny Hayes
| Most_laps = 56
| Car = 28
| First_Driver = Cale Yarborough
| First_Team = Ranier-Lundy Racing
| Network = NBC
| Announcers = Paul Page
Gary Gerould
Johnny Rutherford
}}
The 1984 Winston 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that took place on May 6, 1984, at Alabama International Motor Speedway in Talladega, Alabama.[http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/face/Article.jsp?id=h-1821 Talladega Superspeedway] at the Encyclopedia of Alabama
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 Monster Energy Cup Series, Xfinity Series, and the Camping World Truck Series. Talladega Superspeedway is the longest NASCAR oval with a length of {{convert|2.66|mi|km}}, and the track at its peak had a seating capacity of 175,000 spectators.{{cite web|url=http://www.talladegasuperspeedway.com/This-Is-Talladega/Track-Facts.aspx|title=Track Facts|publisher=Talladega Superspeedway|date=November 1, 2012|website=talladegasuperspeedway.com|access-date=April 27, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121101080016/http://www.talladegasuperspeedway.com/This-Is-Talladega/Track-Facts.aspx|archive-date=November 1, 2012 }}
Race report
Forty drivers competed in this 188-lap race; 39 of them were born in the United States while Trevor Boys was born in Canada.[http://www.racing-reference.info/race/1984_Winston_500/W 1984 Winston 500] racing information at Racing Reference The pole position was won by Yarborough with a speed of {{convert|202.692|mph|km/h}}; one of the times where the qualifying speed exceeded {{convert|200|mph|km/h}}. This race featured 75 lead changes and laps exceeding 200 mph with unrestricted engines. The NBC TV coverage featured Bruce Jenner (now Caitlyn Jenner) as the pit reporter.
Notable crew chiefs in this race were Kenny Wallace, Junie Donlavey, Darrell Bryant, Joey Arrington, Cecil Gordon, Dale Inman, Waddell Wilson, Jake Elder, Harry Hyde, and Kirk Shelmerdine.[https://www.racing-reference.info/entrylist/1984-09/W/C 1984 Winston 500 crew chiefs] at Racing Reference
The average speed of the race was {{convert|172.988|mph|km/h}}. Four cautions covered 17 laps. Chevrolet was the manufacturer for the majority of the grid. Cale Yarborough defeated Harry Gant by two car lengths after nearly three hours of racing in front of more than 110000 spectators; 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.[http://nascarfans.wetpaint.com/page/Talladega%3A+Best+and+Worst+Moments Lead, lead or get out of the way] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130301025249/http://nascarfans.wetpaint.com/page/Talladega:+Best+and+Worst+Moments |date=2013-03-01 }} at All About Racin'
Jimmy Means suffered an oil pressure problem on the sixth lap and ended up in last place. Bill Elliott, Terry Labonte, Dale Earnhardt, Rusty Wallace, and David Pearson all took turns leading. Phil Barkdoll would make his NASCAR debut in this race.[http://www.race-database.com/results/results.php?year=1984&race=9&series_id=2 1984 Winston 500] racing information at Race Database
=Qualifying=
Top 20 finishers
| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;" |
| Pos
! {{Tooltip|No.|Car number}} ! Driver ! Manufacturer ! {{Tooltip|Laps|Number of laps completed}} ! {{Tooltip|Laps led|Number of laps led}} ! Time/Status |
|---|
| 1
|28||Cale Yarborough||Chevrolet||188||19|| 2:53:27 |
| 2
|33||Harry Gant||Chevrolet||188||14|| +2 car lengths |
| 3
|21||Buddy Baker||Ford||188||43|| Lead lap under green flag |
| 4
|22||Bobby Allison||Buick||188||13|| Lead lap under green flag |
| 5
|55||Benny Parsons||Chevrolet||188||56|| Lead lap under green flag |
| 6
|43||Richard Petty||Pontiac||187||18|| +1 lap |
| 7
|66||Phil Parsons||Chevrolet||187||4|| +1 lap |
| 8
|75||Dave Marcis||Pontiac||187||0|| +1 lap |
| 9
|9||Bill Elliott||Ford||187||1|| +1 lap |
| 10
|47||Ron Bouchard||Buick||186||3|| +2 laps |
| 11
|8||Bobby Hillin, Jr.||Chevrolet||186||0|| +2 laps |
| 12
|95||Sterling Marlin||Chevrolet||186||0|| +2 laps |
| 13
|4||Tommy Ellis||Chevrolet||185||0|| +3 laps |
| 14
|51||Greg Sacks||Chevrolet||185||0||+3 laps |
| 15
|7||Kyle Petty||Ford||184||0|| +4 laps |
| 16
|84||Jody Ridley||Chevrolet||182||0||+6 laps |
| 17
|71||Mike Alexander||Oldsmobile||181||0|| +7 laps |
| 18
|48||Trevor Boys||Chevrolet||179||0|| +9 laps |
| 19
|64||Tommy Gale||Ford||177||0|| +11 laps |
| 20
|41||Ronnie Thomas||Chevrolet||177||0|| +11 laps |
Standings after the race
| class="wikitable" |
| Pos
! Driver ! Differential |
|---|
| 1 10px
| style="text-align:center;"| 1357 | 0 |
| 2 {{Increase}}
| style="text-align:center;"| 1328 | -29 |
| 3 {{Decrease}}
| style="text-align:center;"| 1327 | -30 |
| 4 {{Decrease}}
| style="text-align:center;"| 1299 | -58 |
| 5 {{Decrease}}
| style="text-align:center;"| 1293 | -64 |
| 6 10px
| style="text-align:center;"| 1266 | -91 |
| 7 10px
| style="text-align:center;"| 1215 | -142 |
| 8 10px
| style="text-align:center;"| 1129 | -228 |
| 9 10px
| style="text-align:center;"| 1125 | -232 |
| 10 10px
| style="text-align:center;"| 1122 | -235 |
References
{{reflist}}
{{s-start}}
{{succession box
|before = 1984 Sovran Bank 500
|after = 1984 Coors 420
|title = NASCAR Winston Cup Series Season
|years = 1984
}}
{{s-end}}
{{s-start}}
{{succession box |
before = 1983|
after = 1985|
title = Winston 500 races |
years = 1984 |
}}
{{s-end}}
{{authority control}}