1982 Busch 500
Coordinates: 36°30′58″N 82°15′25″W / 36.516172°N 82.256945°W
| Race details[1] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 21 of 30 in the 1982 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season | |||
 Map of the Bristol Motor Speedway | |||
| Date | August 28, 1982 | ||
| Official name | Busch 500 | ||
| Location | Bristol International Raceway, Bristol, Tennessee | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 0.533 mi (0.857 km) | ||
| Distance | 500 laps, 266.5 mi (428.8 km) | ||
| Weather | Warm with temperatures approaching 80.1 °F (26.7 °C); wind speeds up to 8 miles per hour (13 km/h) | ||
| Average speed | 94.318 miles per hour (151.790 km/h) | ||
| Attendance | 30,000[2] | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Jim Stacy Racing | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Bobby Allison | DiGard Motorsports | |
| Laps | 169 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 11 | Darrell Waltrip | Junior Johnson & Associates | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | untelevised | ||
| Announcers | none | ||
The 1982 Busch 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that took place on August 28, 1982, at Bristol International Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee.
Summary
By 1980, NASCAR had completely stopped tracking the year model of all the vehicles and most teams did not take stock cars to the track under their own power anymore.
It took almost two hours and fifty minutes for Darrell Waltrip to defeat Bobby Allison and 29 other American-born drivers in front of an audience of 30,000 live spectators.[2] This would make him equal to Cale Yarborough in the number of wins at Bristol Speedway up to this point.[3] Kyle Petty received the last-place finish due to an engine problem on the second lap of this 500-lap race.[2] Tim Richmond earned his pole position after acquiring a top speed of 112.507 miles per hour (181.062 km/h).[2] Almost ¾ of a second would separate Allison from Waltrip. Three cautions were administered on the track for 15 laps.[2] Only seven vehicles would fail to finish the race.[2] Other notable drivers in this race included J.D. McDuffie, Dale Earnhardt, and D.K. Ulrich.[2]
The final win of Tim Richmond's career would occur at this race while Al Loquasto would terminate his NASCAR racing career after this date.[4] After the end of this race, Bobby Allison would develop a slim lead over Terry Labonte for championship points.[5]
Top ten finishers
| Pos[2] | Grid | No. | Driver | Manufacturer | Laps | Laps led |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 | 11 | Darrell Waltrip | Buick | 500 | 38 |
| 2 | 9 | 88 | Bobby Allison | Chevrolet | 500 | 169 |
| 3 | 7 | 33 | Harry Gant | Buick | 500 | 47 |
| 4 | 2 | 44 | Terry Labonte | Buick | 499 | 4 |
| 5 | 3 | 98 | Morgan Shepherd | Buick | 499 | 85 |
| 6 | 12 | 15 | Dale Earnhardt | Ford | 499 | 74 |
| 7 | 6 | 3 | Ricky Rudd | Pontiac | 498 | 0 |
| 8 | 24 | 90 | Jody Ridley | Ford | 495 | 0 |
| 9 | 5 | 28 | Buddy Baker | Pontiac | 494 | 0 |
| 10 | 11 | 50 | Geoffrey Bodine | Pontiac | 494 | 0 |
Timeline
- Start of race: Tim Richmond started out as the first-place driver, holding it for 81 laps
- Lap 2: Kyle Petty had engine problems; making him the last-place finisher
- Lap 28: Rick Newsom's oil pump stopped working properly
- Lap 30: Ronnie Thomas overheated his vehicle, ending his day on the track
- Lap 45: Al Loquasto developed major engine problems, forcing him off the track
- Lap 50: Richard Petty's issues with his steering forced him out of the race
- Lap 82: Morgan Shepherd took over the lead from Tim Richmond
- Lap 83: Tim Richmond's engine acted up, bringing his race weekend to a premature end
- Lap 166: Joe Ruttman took over the lead from Morgan Shepherd
- Lap 168: Dale Earnhardt took over the lead from Joe Ruttman
- Lap 169: Darrell Waltrip took over the lead from Dale Earnhardt
- Lap 171: Terry Labonte took over the lead from Darrell Waltrip
- Lap 173: Dale Earnhardt took over the lead from Terry Labonte, eventually losing it to Harry Gant on lap 246
- Lap 246: Harry Gant took over the lead from Dale Earnhardt, eventually losing to Darrell Waltrip on lap 293
- Lap 259: Joe Ruttmann had to end the day because his vehicle's rear end came off in an unsafe manner
- Lap 293: Darrell Waltrip took over the lead from Harry Gant
- Lap 303: Morgan Shepherd took over the lead from Darrell Waltrip
- Lap 304: Bobby Allison took over the lead from Morgan Shepherd
- Lap 472: Darrell Waltrip took over the lead from Bobby Allison
- Lap 476: Terry Labonte took over the lead from Darrell Waltrip
- Lap 478: Darrell Waltrip took over the lead from Terry Labonte
- Lap 480: Bobby Allison took over the lead from Darrell Waltrip
- Lap 481: Darrell Waltrip took over the lead from Bobby Allison
- Finish: Darrell Waltrip was officially declared the winner of the event
Standings after the race
| Pos | Driver | Points[2] | Differential |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bobby Allison | 3142 | 0 |
| 2 | Terry Labonte | 3077 | -65 |
| 3 | Darrell Waltrip | 3022 | -120 |
| 4 | Buddy Arrington | 2639 | -503 |
| 5 | Harry Gant | 2630 | -512 |
| 6 | Richard Petty | 2622 | -520 |
| 7 | Dave Marcis | 2539 | -549 |
| 8 | Dale Earnhardt | 2540 | -602 |
| 9 | Ron Bouchard | 2516 | -626 |
| 10 | Morgan Shepherd | 2472 | -670 |
References
- ↑ Weather information for the 1982 Busch 500 at the Old Farmers' Almanac
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1982 Busch 500 racing information at Racing Reference
- ↑ Memorable Moments at BMS at Google News Archive Search
- ↑ 1982 Busch 500 results at Race-Database
- ↑ NASCAR Race Results at Bristol - August 28, 1982 at Driver Averages
| Preceded by 1982 Champion Spark Plug 400 |
NASCAR Winston Cup Series Season 1982 |
Succeeded by 1982 Southern 500 |