1980 Winston Cup Series

1980 Winston Cup Series
Dale Earnhardt won his first Winston Cup.
Duration	January 13, 1980 through November 15, 1980
Season statistics
No. of races	31
First race	1980 Winston Western 500
Last race	1980 Los Angeles Times 500
Drivers' champion	Dale Earnhardt
Manufacturers' champion
Rookie of the Year	Jody Ridley
Most popular driver	Bobby Allison
Previous	1979
Next	1981

The 1980 Winston Cup Series was the 32nd season of the NASCAR Winston Cup Series. The season began with the Winston Western 500 at Riverside International Raceway on January 13 and ended with the Los Angeles Times 500 at Ontario Motor Speedway on November 15.

Dale Earnhardt won his first Winston Cup Series championship in his second full-time season with 5 wins, driving for Osterlund Racing, a team considered to be an underdog compared to the more established teams and drivers. A win at Charlotte late in the season propelled Earnhardt to the point lead, and he held on through the final 3 races to defeat Cale Yarborough by 19 points.

1980 was the final season for Gen 2 cars, and was the final season for Ontario Motor Speedway. It was also notable for a year-long feud between DiGard Racing and driver Darrell Waltrip, ending when Waltrip bought out his contract at season's end to move to Junior Johnson's team.

Major Teams

Car No.	Driver	Sponsor	Make	Team
1	David Pearson	Hawaiian Tropic		Ellington Racing
2	Dale Earnhardt	Mike Curb / Hodgdon		Osterlund Racing
3	Richard Childress	CRC Chemicals		Richard Childress Racing
7	Dick Brooks (16) Ricky Rudd (7) Lake Speed (7)	Sanyo		Nelson Malloch Racing
11	Cale Yarborough	Busch		Junior Johnson & Associates
12	Donnie Allison (13) Lennie Pond (1) Buck Simmons (6)	Ramey's Chevy City		Kennie Childers Racing
15	Bobby Allison	Mike Curb / Hodgdon		Bud Moore Engineering
17	Roger Hamby	Kings Inn Daytona		Hamby Motorsports
21	Neil Bonnett	Purolator		Wood Brothers Racing
24	Cecil Gordon (27)	Sadler Motors / South Hill Texaco		Gordon Racing
25	Ronnie Thomas	Stone's Cafeteria		Robertson Racing
27	Benny Parsons	Melling Tool		M.C. Anderson Racing
28	Buddy Baker	NAPA / Regal Ride Shocks		Ranier-Lundy Racing
40	Bill Whittington (2) Joe Booher (1) Ricky Rudd (3) Dick May (2) D.K. Ulrich (9) Dick Skillen (1) Mike Alexander (1) J.D. McDuffie (1) Tommy Gale (1) Lennie Pond (1) Sterling Marlin (1) Tim Richmond (4) Harry Dinwiddie (1) Stan Barrett (3)			Ulrich Racing
42	Kyle Petty (15)	STP		Petty Enterprises
43	Richard Petty	STP		Petty Enterprises
44	Terry Labonte	Stratagraph / Apache Stove		Hagan Racing
45	Baxter Price (18) Joel Stowe (2) Roy Smith (1) Jimmy Means (1) Charlie Chamblee (1)	Iron Peddlers		Price Racing
47	Harry Gant (28)	Race Hill Farm		Race Hill Farm Team
48	James Hylton	Palatine Auto Parts		Hylton Racing
52	Jimmy Means (27)	Thompson Industries		Means Racing
53	Slick Johnson			Johnson Racing
64	Tommy Gale (28)	Sunny King		Langley Racing
66	Lake Speed (12)			Speed Racing
67	Buddy Arrington	Reid Trailer Sales		Arrington Racing
70	J.D. McDuffie (30)	Bailey Exacvating		McDuffie Racing
71	Dave Marcis	Hudson Transmission / Buck Stove		Marcis Auto Racing
74	Bobby Wawak			Wawak Racing
75	Bill Elswick (12) John Anderson (7) Harry Gant (3) Joe Millikan (3) Lennie Pond (2) Chuck Bown (1) Kyle Petty (1) Jim Sauter (1)			RahMoc Enterprises
88	Darrell Waltrip (30)	Gatorade		DiGard Racing
90	Jody Ridley	Truxmore / Sunny King		Donlavey Racing

Schedule

Round	Date	Race Name	Track
1	January 13, 1980	Winston Western 500	Riverside International Raceway
	February 10, 1980	Busch Clash	Daytona International Speedway
	February 14, 1980	125 Mile Qualifying Races	Daytona International Speedway
2	February 17, 1980	Daytona 500	Daytona International Speedway
3	February 24, 1980	Richmond 400	Richmond Fairgrounds Raceway
4	March 9, 1980	Carolina 500	North Carolina Motor Speedway
5	March 16, 1980	Atlanta 500	Atlanta International Raceway
6	March 30, 1980	Valleydale Southeastern 500	Bristol International Speedway
7	April 13, 1980	CRC Chemicals Rebel 500	Darlington Raceway
8	April 20, 1980	Northwestern Bank 400	North Wilkesboro Speedway
9	April 27, 1980	Virginia 500	Martinsville Speedway
10	May 4, 1980	Winston 500	Alabama International Motor Speedway
11	May 10, 1980	Music City USA 420	Nashville Speedway
12	May 18, 1980	Mason-Dixon 500	Dover Downs International Speedway
13	May 25, 1980	World 600	Charlotte Motor Speedway
14	June 1, 1980	NASCAR 400	Texas World Speedway
15	June 8, 1980	Warner W. Hodgdon 400	Riverside International Raceway
16	June 15, 1980	Gabriel 400	Michigan International Speedway
17	July 4, 1980	Firecracker 400	Daytona International Speedway
18	July 12, 1980	Busch Nashville 420	Nashville Speedway
19	July 27, 1980	Coca-Cola 500	Pocono International Raceway
20	August 3, 1980	Talladega 500	Alabama International Motor Speedway
21	August 17, 1980	Champion Spark Plug 400	Michigan International Speedway
22	August 23, 1980	Busch Volunteer 500	Bristol International Speedway
23	September 1, 1980	Southern 500	Darlington Raceway
24	September 7, 1980	Capital City 400	Richmond Fairgrounds Raceway
25	September 14, 1980	CRC Chemicals 500	Dover Downs International Speedway
26	September 21, 1980	Holly Farms 400	North Wilkesboro Speedway
27	September 28, 1980	Old Dominion 500	Martinsville Speedway
28	October 5, 1980	National 500	Charlotte Motor Speedway
29	October 19, 1980	American 500	North Carolina Motor Speedway
30	November 2, 1980	Atlanta Journal 500	Atlanta International Raceway
31	November 15, 1980	Los Angeles Times 500	Ontario Motor Speedway

Results

Round	Race	Pole Winner	Winner	Make	Cautions	Caution Laps	Average Speed	Number of Lead Changes
1	1980 Winston Western 500	Darrell Waltrip	Darrell Waltrip		2	30	94.974	5
	1980 Busch Clash	Bobby Allison	Dale Earnhardt		0	0	191.693	8
	1980 125 Mile Qualifying Race #1	Buddy Baker	Neil Bonnett		2	11	138.250	8
	1980 125 Mile Qualifying Race #2	Donnie Allison	Donnie Allison		1	6	165.441	7
2	1980 Daytona 500	Buddy Baker	Buddy Baker		5	15	177.602	29
3	1980 Richmond 400	Darrell Waltrip	Darrell Waltrip		9	72	67.703	19
4	1980 Carolina 500	Darrell Waltrip	Cale Yarborough		12	93	108.735	18
5	1980 Atlanta 500	Buddy Baker	Dale Earnhardt		7	45	134.808	27
6	1980 Valleydale Southeastern 500	Cale Yarborough	Dale Earnhardt		3	14	96.977	15
7	1980 CRC Chemicals Rebel 500	Benny Parsons	David Pearson		7	47	112.397	12
8	1980 Northwestern Bank 400	Bobby Allison	Richard Petty		5	32	95.501	9
9	1980 Virginia 500	Darrell Waltrip	Darrell Waltrip		8	91	69.049	5
10	1980 Winston 500	David Pearson	Buddy Baker		6	28	170.481	40
11	1980 Music City USA 420	Cale Yarborough	Richard Petty		4	29	89.471	11
12	1980 Mason-Dixon 500	Cale Yarborough	Bobby Allison		9	67	113.866	18
13	1980 World 600	Cale Yarborough	Benny Parsons		14	113	119.265	47
14	1980 NASCAR 400	Cale Yarborough	Cale Yarborough		0	0	159.046	9
15	1980 Warner W. Hodgdon 400	Cale Yarborough	Darrell Waltrip		5	15	101.846	18
16	1980 Gabriel 400	Benny Parsons	Benny Parsons		7	43	131.808	25
17	1980 Firecracker 400	Cale Yarborough	Bobby Allison		3	11	173.473	40
18	1980 Busch Nashville 420	Cale Yarborough	Dale Earnhardt		1	4	93.821	10
19	1980 Coca-Cola 500	Cale Yarborough	Neil Bonnett		5	26	124.395	49
20	1980 Talladega 500	Buddy Baker	Neil Bonnett		5	25	166.894	36
21	1980 Champion Spark Plug 400	Buddy Baker	Cale Yarborough		4	17	145.352	31
22	1980 Busch Volunteer 500	Cale Yarborough	Cale Yarborough		10	57	86.973	19
23	1980 Southern 500	Darrell Waltrip	Terry Labonte		14	79	115.210	28
24	1980 Capital City 400	Cale Yarborough	Bobby Allison		7	31	79.722	18
25	1980 CRC Chemicals 500	Cale Yarborough	Darrell Waltrip		8	39	116.024	29
26	1980 Holly Farms 400	Cale Yarborough	Bobby Allison		8	113	75.510	14
27	1980 Old Dominion 500	Buddy Baker	Dale Earnhardt		17	79	69.654	25
28	1980 National 500	Buddy Baker	Dale Earnhardt		8	44	135.243	43
29	1980 American 500	Donnie Allison	Cale Yarborough		9	61	114.159	35
30	1980 Atlanta Journal 500	Bobby Allison	Cale Yarborough		6	49	131.190	28
31	1980 Los Angeles Times 500	Cale Yarborough	Benny Parsons		6	30	129.441	25

Final Points Standings

Pos.	Driver	Races	Wins	Top 5s	Top 10s	Poles	Points	Difference
1	Dale Earnhardt	31	5	19	24	0	4661
2	Cale Yarborough	31	6	19	22	14	4642	-19
3	Benny Parsons	31	3	16	21	2	4278	-383
4	Richard Petty	31	2	15	19	0	4255	-406
5	Darrell Waltrip	31	5	16	17	5	4239	-422
6	Bobby Allison	31	4	12	18	2	4019	-642
7	Jody Ridley	31	0	2	18	0	3972	-689
8	Terry Labonte	31	1	6	16	0	3766	-895
9	Dave Marcis	31	0	4	14	0	3745	-916
10	Richard Childress	31	0	0	10	0	3742	-919
11	Harry Gant	31	0	9	14	0	3703	-958
12	Buddy Arrington	31	0	0	7	0	3461	-1,200
13	James Hylton	31	0	0	4	0	3449	-1,212
14	Ronnie Thomas	30	0	0	4	0	3066	-1,595
15	Cecil Gordon	29	0	0	3	0	2993	-1,668
16	J.D. McDuffie	31	0	0	3	0	2968	-1,693
17	Jimmy Means	28	0	0	0	0	2947	-1,714
18	Tommy Gale	29	0	0	0	0	2885	-1,776
19	Neil Bonnett	22	2	10	13	0	2865	-1,796
20	Roger Hamby	26	0	0	0	0	2606	-2,055
21	Buddy Baker	19	2	10	12	6	2603	-2,058
22	Lake Speed	19	0	0	5	0	1853	-2,808
23	Slick Johnson	18	0	0	5	0	1851	-2,810
24	John Anderson	20	0	0	2	0	1805	-2,856
25	Bobby Wawak	19	0	0	1	0	1742	-2,919
26	Donnie Allison	18	0	3	6	1	1730	-2,931
27	Dick Brooks	19	0	2	5	0	1698	-2,963
28	Kyle Petty	15	0	0	6	0	1690	-2,971
29	Baxter Price	18	0	0	0	0	1689	-2,972
30	Lennie Pond	17	0	2	7	0	1558	-3,103
31	Junior Miller	16	0	0	0	0	1402	-3,259
32	Dick May	21	0	0	2	0	1323	-3,338
33	Joe Millikan	12	0	2	6	0	1274	-3,387
34	Bill Elliott	11	0	0	4	0	1232	-3,429
35	Ricky Rudd	13	0	1	3	0	1213	-3,448
36	Bill Elswick	12	0	0	0	0	1053	-3,608
37	David Pearson	9	1	4	5	1	1004	-3,657
38	D.K. Ulrich	11	0	0	1	0	935	-3,726
39	Tighe Scott	10	0	1	2	0	791	-3,870
40	Frank Warren	7	0	0	0	0	559	-4,102

Complete statistics can be found at Racing-Reference.info.

Rookie of the Year

With a 7th place points finish and the only Rookie to run more than 19 races, Jody Ridley was the NASCAR Winston Cup Series Rookie of the Year in 1980.

Rookie of the Year Standings

Position	Driver	Race Wins
1	Jody Ridley	0
2	Lake Speed	0
3	Kyle Petty	0
4	Slick Johnson	0

Manufacturer's Championship

With 22 wins, Chevrolet won the manufacturer's championship.

Position	Make	Race Wins
1		22
2		3
3		3
4		3
5		0
6		0
7		0