1983 Winston Cup Series

1983 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
Duration	February 20, 1983 through November 20, 1983
Season statistics
No. of races	30
First race	1983 Daytona 500
Last race	1983 Winston Western 500
Drivers' champion	Bobby Allison
Manufacturers' champion
Rookie of the Year	Sterling Marlin
Most popular driver	Bobby Allison
Previous	1982
Next	1984

The 1983 Winston Cup Series was the 35th season of the NASCAR Winston Cup Series. The season began with the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 20 and ended with the Winston Western 500 at Riverside International Raceway on November 20.

Bobby Allison became the oldest Cup Series champion at 45 years old, winning his first championship by 47 points over Darrell Waltrip in his 20th season of competition and 16th full time season. It was the first championship for DiGard Motorsports.

The season was notable for the debut of a redesigned Chevrolet Monte Carlo model which proved to be a strong contender, earning Chevrolet its first manufacturer's championship since 1980.

Major Teams

Car No.	Driver	Sponsor	Make	Team
1	Lake Speed	UNO Bull Frog Knits		Ellington Racing
2	Morgan Shepherd (23) Mark Martin (7) Rodney Combs (1)	ACM Equipment Sales		Jim Stacy Racing
3	Ricky Rudd	Piedmont Airlines		Richard Childress Racing
6	D.K. Ulrich (22) Mark Martin (2)			Ulrich Racing
7	Kyle Petty	7-Eleven		Petty Enterprises
9	Bill Elliott	Melling Oil Pumps		Melling Racing
11	Darrell Waltrip	Pepsi / Burger King		Junior Johnson & Associates
15	Dale Earnhardt	Wrangler		Bud Moore Engineering
17	Sterling Marlin	Hesco Exhaust		Hamby Motorsports
21	Buddy Baker	Valvoline		Wood Brothers Racing
22	Bobby Allison	Miller High Life		DiGard Racing
27	Tim Richmond	Old Milwaukee		Blue Max Racing
28	Cale Yarborough	Hardee's		Ranier-Lundy Racing
33	Harry Gant	Skoal Bandit		Mach 1 Racing
41	Ronnie Thomas	Advance Auto Parts McCord Gaskets		Thomas Racing
43	Richard Petty	STP		Petty Enterprises
44	Terry Labonte	Budweiser		Hagan Racing
47	Ron Bouchard	Race Hill Farm		Race Hill Farm Team
48	Trevor Boys			Hylton Racing
52	Jimmy Means	Broadway Motors		Means Racing
55	Benny Parsons	Skoal Copenhagen		Johnny Hayes Racing
64	Tommy Gale	Sunny King		Langley Racing
67	Buddy Arrington			Arrington Racing
70	J.D. McDuffie	Bailey Excavating		McDuffie Racing
71	Dave Marcis	Hudson Transmissions Unlimited		Marcis Auto Racing
75	Neil Bonnett	Hodgdon		RahMoc Enterprises
88	Geoff Bodine	Gatorade		Cliff Stewart Racing
90	Dick Brooks	Chameleon Sunglasses Sunny King		Donlavey Racing
98	Joe Ruttman	Levi Garrett		Benfield Racing

Schedule

Round	Date	Race Name	Track
	February 14, 1983	Busch Clash	Daytona International Speedway
	February 17, 1983	UNO Twin 125 Qualifiers	Daytona International Speedway
	February 18, 1983	Daytona 500 Consolation Race	Daytona International Speedway
1	February 20, 1983	Daytona 500	Daytona International Speedway
2	February 27, 1983	Richmond 400	Richmond Fairgrounds Raceway
3	March 13, 1983	Warner W. Hodgdon Carolina 500	North Carolina Motor Speedway
4	March 27, 1983	Coca-Cola 500	Atlanta International Raceway
5	April 10, 1983	TranSouth 500	Darlington Raceway
6	April 17, 1983	Northwestern Bank 400	North Wilkesboro Speedway
7	April 24, 1983	Virginia National Bank 500	Martinsville Speedway
8	May 1, 1983	Winston 500	Alabama International Motor Speedway
9	May 7, 1983	Marty Robbins 420	Nashville Speedway
10	May 15, 1983	Mason-Dixon 500	Dover Downs International Speedway
11	May 21, 1983	Valleydale 500	Bristol International Speedway
12	May 29, 1983	World 600	Charlotte Motor Speedway
13	June 5, 1983	Budweiser 400	Riverside International Raceway
14	June 12, 1983	Van Scoy Diamond Mine 500	Pocono International Raceway
15	June 19, 1983	Gabriel 400	Michigan International Speedway
16	July 4, 1983	Firecracker 400	Daytona International Speedway
17	July 16, 1983	Busch Nashville 420	Nashville Speedway
18	July 24, 1983	Like Cola 500	Pocono International Raceway
19	July 31, 1983	Talladega 500	Alabama International Motor Speedway
20	August 21, 1983	Champion Spark Plug 400	Michigan International Speedway
21	August 27, 1983	Busch 500	Bristol International Speedway
22	September 5, 1983	Southern 500	Darlington Raceway
23	September 11, 1983	Wrangler Sanfor-Set 400	Richmond Fairgrounds Raceway
24	September 18, 1983	Budweiser 500	Dover Downs International Speedway
25	September 25, 1983	Goody's 500	Martinsville Speedway
26	October 2, 1983	Holly Farms 400	North Wilkesboro Speedway
27	October 9, 1983	Miller High Life 500	Charlotte Motor Speedway
28	October 30, 1983	Warner W. Hodgdon American 500	North Carolina Motor Speedway
29	November 6, 1983	Atlanta Journal 500	Atlanta International Raceway
30	November 20, 1983	Winston Western 500	Riverside International Raceway

Results

Round	Race	Pole Winner	Winner	Make	Cautions	Caution Laps	Average Speed	Number of Lead Changes
	1983 Busch Clash	Bill Elliott	Neil Bonnett		1	0	192.513	3
	1983 UNO Twin 125 Qualifier (Race #1)	Ricky Rudd	Dale Earnhardt		2	12	157.746	9
	1983 UNO Twin 125 Qualifier (Race #2)	Geoff Bodine	Neil Bonnett		4	23	122.183	6
	1983 Daytona 500 Consolation Race	Darryl Sage	Blackie Wangerin		2	8	140.845	8
1	1983 Daytona 500	Ricky Rudd	Cale Yarborough		6	36	155.979	58
2	1983 Richmond 400	Ricky Rudd	Bobby Allison		5	25	79.584	15
3	1983 Warner W. Hodgdon Carolina 500	Ricky Rudd	Richard Petty		10	94	113.055	30
4	1983 Coca-Cola 500	Geoff Bodine	Cale Yarborough		7	62	124.055	30
5	1983 TranSouth 500	Tim Richmond	Harry Gant		5	37	130.406	20
6	1983 Northwestern Bank 400	Neil Bonnett	Darrell Waltrip		7	49	91.436	12
7	1983 Virginia National Bank 500	Ricky Rudd	Darrell Waltrip		9	105	66.460	13
8	1983 Winston 500	Cale Yarborough	Richard Petty		7	42	153.936	27
9	1983 Marty Robbins 420	Darrell Waltrip	Darrell Waltrip		5	52	70.717	2
10	1983 Mason-Dixon 500	Joe Ruttman	Bobby Allison		9	53	114.847	28
11	1983 Valleydale 500	Neil Bonnett	Darrell Waltrip		4	22	93.445	12
12	1983 World 600	Buddy Baker	Neil Bonnett		5	28	140.707	23
13	1983 Budweiser 400	Darrell Waltrip	Ricky Rudd		5	35	88.063	12
14	1983 Van Scoy Diamond Mine 500	Darrell Waltrip	Bobby Allison		6	25	128.636	22
15	1983 Gabriel 400	Terry Labonte	Cale Yarborough		5	22	138.728	15
16	1983 Firecracker 400	Cale Yarborough	Buddy Baker		3	16	167.442	39
17	1983 Busch Nashville 420	Ron Bouchard	Dale Earnhardt		4	25	85.726	12
18	1983 Like Cola 500	Tim Richmond	Tim Richmond		5	52	114.818	41
19	1983 Talladega 500	Cale Yarborough	Dale Earnhardt		2	16	170.611	46
20	1983 Champion Spark Plug 400	Terry Labonte	Cale Yarborough		2	7	147.511	27
21	1983 Busch 500	Joe Ruttman	Darrell Waltrip		5	31	89.430	12
22	1983 Southern 500	Neil Bonnett	Bobby Allison		9	60	123.343	17
23	1983 Wrangler Sanfor-Set 400	Darrell Waltrip	Bobby Allison		4	22	79.381	6
24	1983 Budweiser 500	Terry Labonte	Bobby Allison		7	51	116.077	21
25	1983 Goody's 500	Darrell Waltrip	Ricky Rudd		6	37	76.134	6
26	1983 Holly Farms 400	Darrell Waltrip	Darrell Waltrip		1	4	100.716	8
27	1983 Miller High Life 500	Tim Richmond	Richard Petty		8	35	139.998	30
28	1983 Warner W. Hodgdon American 500	Neil Bonnett	Terry Labonte		10	63	119.324	36
29	1983 Atlanta Journal 500	Tim Richmond	Neil Bonnett		6	39	137.643	28
30	1983 Winston Western 500	Darrell Waltrip	Bill Elliott		5	26	95.859	13

Final Points Standings

Pos.	Driver	Races	Wins	Top 5s	Top 10s	Poles	Points	Difference
1	Bobby Allison	30	6	18	25	0	4667
2	Darrell Waltrip	30	6	22	25	7	4620	-47
3	Bill Elliott	30	1	12	22	0	4279	-388
4	Richard Petty	30	3	9	21	0	4042	-625
5	Terry Labonte	30	1	11	20	3	4004	-663
6	Neil Bonnett	30	2	10	17	4	3842	-825
7	Harry Gant	30	1	10	16	0	3790	-877
8	Dale Earnhardt	30	2	9	14	0	3732	-935
9	Ricky Rudd	30	2	7	14	4	3693	-974
10	Tim Richmond	30	1	10	15	4	3612	-1,055
11	Dave Marcis	30	0	0	7	0	3361	-1,306
12	Joe Ruttman	30	0	4	10	2	3342	-1,325
13	Kyle Petty	30	0	0	2	0	3261	-1,406
14	Dick Brooks	30	0	2	6	0	3230	-1,437
15	Buddy Arrington	30	0	0	2	0	3158	-1,509
16	Ron Bouchard	28	0	1	7	1	3113	-1,554
17	Geoffrey Bodine	28	0	5	9	1	3019	-1,648
18	Jimmy Means	28	0	0	3	0	2983	-1,684
19	Sterling Marlin	30	0	0	1	0	2980	-1,687
20	Morgan Shepherd	26	0	3	13	0	2733	-1,934
21	Buddy Baker	21	1	5	12	1	2621	-2,046
22	Ronnie Thomas	26	0	0	0	0	2515	-2,152
23	Tommy Gale	28	0	0	1	0	2507	-2,160
24	D.K. Ulrich	22	0	0	2	0	2400	-2,267
25	Trevor Boys	23	0	0	1	0	2293	-2,374
26	J.D. McDuffie	25	0	0	0	0	2197	-2,470
27	Lake Speed	18	0	2	5	0	2114	-2,553
28	Cale Yarborough	16	4	4	8	3	1960	-2,707
29	Benny Parsons	16	0	4	5	0	1657	-3,010
30	Mark Martin	16	0	1	3	0	1627	-3,040
31	Ronnie Hopkins	13	0	0	0	0	1147	-3,520
32	Jody Ridley	10	0	0	3	0	1050	-3,617
33	David Pearson	10	0	1	4	0	943	-3,724
34	Lennie Pond	10	0	0	2	0	887	-3,780
35	Ken Ragan	8	0	0	0	0	836	-3,831
36	Bobby Wawak	9	0	0	0	0	825	-3,842
37	Bobby Hillin, Jr.	12	0	0	0	0	737	-3,930
38	Slick Johnson	10	0	0	0	0	705	-3,962
39	Mike Potter	11	0	0	0	0	662	-4,005
40	Cecil Gordon	7	0	0	0	0	649	-4,018

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

Rookie of the Year

Sterling Marlin won the 1983 NASCAR Winston Cup Rookie of the Year Award.

Rookie of the Year Standings

Position	Driver	Race Wins
1	Sterling Marlin	0
2	Trevor Boys	0
3	Ronnie Hopkins	0
4	Ken Ragan	0
5	Bobby Hillin, Jr.	0

Manufacturer's Championship

With 15 wins, Chevrolet won the 1983 Manufacturer's Championship.

Position	Make	Race Wins
1		15
2		6
3		5
4		4
5		0
6		0
7		0