1983 World 600 Explained

The 1983 World 600, the 24th running of the event, was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that took place on May 29, 1983, at the Charlotte Motor Speedway (Concord, North Carolina, US).

Background

The race was held at Charlotte Motor Speedway, a 1.5miles quad-oval track located thirteen miles from Charlotte, North Carolina in Concord. The track sanctioned NASCAR Winston Cup Series events biannually during the 1983 season, with the other race being the Miller High Life 500. The track opened for the 1960 World 600, and was built by Bruton Smith and Curtis Turner.

Summary

This event took four hours, fifteen minutes, and fifty-one seconds to complete. Five cautions were waved for twenty-eight laps. Neil Bonnett defeated Richard Petty^[1] by a margin of 0.8 seconds in front of 137,000 people. Notable speeds for this race were: as the average speed and as the pole position speed. Bonnett had previously won the 1982 running of the same event and would repeat his success.^[2] However, he would never win another World 600 race after this one. Canadian driver Trevor Boys started in 33rd and finished in 20th during this race in his #48 Chevrolet. Total winnings for this race were $407,190 ($ when adjusted for inflation).

Jimmy Means was in the top 10 in points after this race. He was ahead in the point standings of NASCAR legends such as Ricky Rudd, Dave Marcis, Tim Richmond, Geoff Bodine, Kyle Petty, and Dale Earnhardt. Bobby Allison and Bill Elliott had a great race going for the lead until they were both swept up in the Sterlin Marlin, Slick Johnson spin out. There was some heavy rainfall after the race which did not affect the race.

Margaret Claud Padgett was the designated Miss Winston for this race in addition to every NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event held from 1981 to 1985.^[3]

Qualifying

!Pos.^[4] !#!Driver!Make!Team/Owner!Time!Avg. Speed (mph)
1	21	Buddy Baker	Ford	Wood Brothers Racing	162.841
2	9	Bill Elliott	Ford	Melling Racing
3	15	Dale Earnhardt	Ford	Bud Moore Engineering
4	16	David Pearson	Chevrolet	Bobby Hawkins Racing
5	75	Neil Bonnett	Chevrolet	RahMoc Enterprises
6	98	Joe Ruttman	Chevrolet	Benfield Racing
7	55	Benny Parsons	Buick	Johnny Hayes Racing
8	33	Harry Gant	Buick	Mach 1 Racing
9	3	Ricky Rudd	Chevrolet	Richard Childress Racing
10	90	Dick Brooks	Ford	Donlavey Racing
11	27	Tim Richmond	Pontiac	Blue Max Racing
12	28	Cale Yarborough	Chevrolet	Ranier-Lundy Racing
13	22	Bobby Allison	Buick	DiGard Motorsports
14	11	Darrell Waltrip	Chevrolet	Junior Johnson & Associates
15	44	Terry Labonte	Chevrolet	Hagan Racing
16	88	Geoffrey Bodine	Pontiac	Cliff Stewart Racing
17	43	Richard Petty	Pontiac	Petty Enterprises
18	97	Ken Ragan	Buick	Branch-Ragan Racing
19	67	Buddy Arrington	Chrysler	Arrington Racing
20	01	Mark Martin	Chevrolet	Zervakis Racing
21	7	Kyle Petty	Pontiac	Petty Enterprises
22	2	Morgan Shepherd	Buick	Jim Stacy Racing
23	77	Dean Combs	Buick	Irv Sanderson
24	6	D.K. Ulrich	Chevrolet	Ulrich Racing
25	64	Tommy Gale	Ford	Langley Racing
26	18	Slick Johnson	Buick	Satterfield Racing
27	47	Ron Bouchard	Buick	Race Hill Farm Team
28	80	Bob Senneker	Pontiac	Terry Marra
29	71	Dave Marcis	Chevrolet	Marcis Auto Racing
30	17	Sterling Marlin	Chevrolet	Hamby Racing
31	99	Philip Duffie	Buick	Philip Duffie
32	1	Lake Speed	Chevrolet	Ellington Racing
33	48	Trevor Boys	Chevrolet	James Hylton Motorsports
34	24	Jim Vandiver	Chrysler	Gordon Racing
35	32	Tommy Ellis	Buick	Terry Motorsports
36	52	Jimmy Means	Buick	Jimmy Means Racing
37	36	H.B. Bailey	Pontiac	Bailey Racing
38	74	Bobby Wawak	Chevrolet	Wawak Racing
39	70	J.D. McDuffie	Pontiac	McDuffie Racing
40	8	Bobby Hillin, Jr.	Buick	Hillin Racing
41	02	Rick Newsom	Chevrolet	Reeder Racing	151.647

Drivers that failed to qualify were: Ronnie Thomas (#41), Lennie Pond, Jody Ridley (#84) and Rick Baldwin (#04).^[5]

Race results

Fin	St		Driver	Make	Team/Owner	Sponsor	Laps	Led	Status	Pts
1	5	75	Neil Bonnett	Chevrolet	RahMoc Enterprises	Hodgdon	400	69	running	180
2	17	43	Richard Petty	Pontiac	Petty Enterprises	STP	400	4	running	175
3	13	22	Bobby Allison	Buick	DiGard Motorsports	Miller High Life	400	188	running	175
4	14	11	Darrell Waltrip	Chevrolet	Junior Johnson & Associates	Pepsi Challenger	399	0	running	160
5	3	15	Dale Earnhardt	Ford	Bud Moore Engineering	Wrangler	399	55	running	160
6	32	1	Lake Speed	Chevrolet	Ellington Racing	UNO	398	0	running	150
7	1	21	Buddy Baker	Ford	Wood Brothers Racing	Valvoline	398	0	running	146
8	21	7	Kyle Petty	Pontiac	Petty Enterprises	7-Eleven	395	1	running	147
9	22	2	Morgan Shepherd	Buick	Jim Stacy Racing	ACM Equipment Sales	392	0	running	138
10	29	71	Dave Marcis	Chevrolet	Marcis Auto Racing	Transmissions Unlimited	390	0	running	134
11	40	8	Bobby Hillin, Jr.	Buick	Hillin Racing	Danelle Jeans	388	0	running	130
12	19	67	Buddy Arrington	Chrysler	Arrington Racing	Motorsports Designs	388	0	running	127
13	23	77	Dean Combs	Buick	Irv Sanderson	Best Products	388	0	running	124
14	6	98	Joe Ruttman	Chevrolet	Benfield Racing	Levi Garrett	388	0	running	121
15	35	32	Tommy Ellis	Buick	Terry Motorsports	Big Daddy's	386	0	running	118
16	2	9	Bill Elliott	Ford	Melling Racing	Melling Oil Pumps	384	47	running	120
17	18	97	Ken Ragan	Buick	Branch-Ragan Racing	Clinomint	381	0	running	112
18	38	74	Bobby Wawak	Chevrolet	Wawak Racing	Superior Piping	378	0	running	109
19	30	17	Sterling Marlin	Chevrolet	Hamby Racing	Hesco Exhaust	377	0	running	106
20	33	48	Trevor Boys	Chevrolet	James Hylton Motorsports	Hylton-McCaig	376	0	running	103
21	34	24	Jim Vandiver	Chrysler	Gordon Racing	Western Carolina Forklift	369	0	running	100
22	37	36	H.B. Bailey	Pontiac	Bailey Racing	Monroe RV	369	0	running	97
23	24	6	D.K. Ulrich	Chevrolet	Ulrich Racing	Ulrich Racing	366	0	running	94
24	26	18	Slick Johnson	Buick	Satterfield Racing	Leon Satterfield	359	0	running	91
25	8	33	Harry Gant	Buick	Mach 1 Racing	Skoal Bandit	352	2	running	93
26	39	70	J.D. McDuffie	Pontiac	McDuffie Racing	McDuffie Racing	344	0	running	85
27	28	80	Bob Senneker	Pontiac	Terry Marra	Elk Vans	326	0	battery	82
28	12	28	Cale Yarborough	Chevrolet	Ranier-Lundy Racing	Hardee's	321	31	engine	84
29	20	01	Mark Martin	Chevrolet	Zervakis Racing	Activision	279	0	crash	76
30	31	99	Philip Duffie	Buick	Philip Duffie	U.S. Duffie Sand & Gravel	277	0	overheating	73
31	41	02	Rick Newsom	Chevrolet	Reeder Racing	Louise Smith Special	261	0	running	70
32	9	3	Ricky Rudd	Chevrolet	Richard Childress Racing	Piedmont Airlines	245	0	running	67
33	15	44	Terry Labonte	Chevrolet	Hagan Racing	Budweiser	231	3	oil pump	69
34	7	55	Benny Parsons	Buick	Johnny Hayes Racing	Skoal	201	0	rear end	61
35	25	64	Tommy Gale	Ford	Langley Racing	Sunny King Ford & Honda	94	0	engine	58
36	16	88	Geoffrey Bodine	Pontiac	Cliff Stewart Racing	Gatorade	67	0	crash	55
37	10	90	Dick Brooks	Ford	Donlavey Racing	Chameleon Sunglasses	67	0	crash	52
38	36	52	Jimmy Means	Buick	Jimmy Means Racing	Broadway Motors	65	0	crash	49
39	4	16	David Pearson	Chevrolet	Bobby Hawkins Racing	Chattanooga Chew	65	0	crash	46
40	11	27	Tim Richmond	Pontiac	Blue Max Racing	Old Milwaukee	17	0	engine	43
41	27	47	Ron Bouchard	Buick	Race Hill Farm Team	Race Hill Farm	14	0	oil seal	40

Standings after the race

Pos	Driver	Points	Differential
1	Bobby Allison	1881	0
2		1696	-185
3		1681	-200
4		1675	-206
5		1665	-216
6		1658	-223
7		1647	-234
8		1421	-460
9		1416	-465
10		1381	-500

Notes and References

Web site: Neil Bonnett's Victory at the 1983 World 600. NeilBonnett.com. 2011-01-06. https://web.archive.org/web/20110714162359/http://www.neilbonnett.com/neil1.htm. 2011-07-14. dead.
Web site: Neil Bonnett's Story. Neil Bonnett.com. 2011-02-04. https://web.archive.org/web/20110714162359/http://www.neilbonnett.com/neil1.htm. 2011-07-14. dead.
Web site: Margaret Claud Padgett information. Miss Winston. 2011-05-02. https://web.archive.org/web/20120323130041/http://www.misswinston.com/nwci_article.htm. 2012-03-23. dead.
Web site: NASCAR, World 600 Auto Racing Qualifying Results At Charlotte, N.C., May 27. 2021-06-28. UPI. en.
Web site: Qualifying information . Racing Reference . 2017-04-08.