36th season of NASCAR stock-car racing
The
1984 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
was the 36th season of professional stock car racing in the
United States
and the 13th modern-era Cup series season. It began on Sunday, February 19 and ended on Sunday, November 18.
Terry Labonte
was crowned champion at the end of the season. This was the final year for
Chrysler
until
Dodge
returned in
2001
.
Teams and drivers
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]
Schedule
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]
No.
|
Race Title
|
Track
|
Date
|
NC
|
Busch Clash
|
Daytona International Speedway
,
Daytona Beach
|
February 12
|
UNO Twin 125 Qualifiers
|
February 16
|
Daytona 500 Consolation Race
|
February 17
|
1
|
Daytona 500
|
February 19
|
2
|
Richmond 400
|
Richmond Fairgrounds Raceway
,
Richmond
|
February 26
|
3
|
Carolina 500
|
North Carolina Motor Speedway
,
Rockingham
|
March 4
|
4
|
Coca-Cola 500
|
Atlanta International Raceway
,
Hampton
|
March 18
|
5
|
Valleydale 500
|
Bristol International Raceway
,
Bristol
|
April 1
|
6
|
Northwestern Bank 400
|
North Wilkesboro Speedway
,
North Wilkesboro
|
April 8
|
7
|
TranSouth 500
|
Darlington Raceway
,
Darlington
|
April 15
|
8
|
Sovran Bank 500
|
Martinsville Speedway
,
Ridgeway
|
April 29
|
9
|
Winston 500
|
Alabama International Motor Speedway
,
Talladega
|
May 6
|
10
|
Coors 420
|
Nashville Speedway
,
Nashville
|
May 12
|
11
|
Budweiser 500
|
Dover Downs International Speedway
,
Dover
|
May 20
|
12
|
World 600
|
Charlotte Motor Speedway
,
Concord
|
May 27
|
13
|
Budweiser 400
|
Riverside International Raceway
,
Riverside
|
June 3
|
14
|
Van Scoy Diamond Mine 500
|
Pocono International Raceway
,
Long Pond
|
June 10
|
15
|
Miller High Life 400
|
Michigan International Speedway
,
Brooklyn
|
June 17
|
16
|
Firecracker 400
|
Daytona International Speedway
,
Daytona Beach
|
July 4
|
17
|
Pepsi 420
|
Nashville Speedway
,
Nashville
|
July 14
|
18
|
Like Cola 500
|
Pocono International Raceway
,
Long Pond
|
July 22
|
19
|
Talladega 500
|
Alabama International Motor Speedway
,
Talladega
|
July 29
|
20
|
Champion Spark Plug 400
|
Michigan International Speedway
,
Brooklyn
|
August 12
|
21
|
Busch 500
|
Bristol International Raceway
,
Bristol
|
August 25
|
22
|
Southern 500
|
Darlington Raceway
,
Darlington
|
September 2
|
23
|
Wrangler Sanfor-Set 400
|
Richmond Fairgrounds Raceway
,
Richmond
|
September 9
|
24
|
Delaware 500
|
Dover Downs International Speedway
,
Dover
|
September 16
|
25
|
Goody's 500
|
Martinsville Speedway
,
Ridgeway
|
September 23
|
26
|
Miller High Life 500
|
Charlotte Motor Speedway
,
Concord
|
October 7
|
27
|
Holly Farms 400
|
North Wilkesboro Speedway
,
North Wilkesboro
|
October 14
|
28
|
Warner W. Hodgdon American 500
|
North Carolina Motor Speedway
,
Rockingham
|
October 21
|
29
|
Atlanta Journal 500
|
Atlanta International Raceway
,
Hampton
|
November 11
1
|
30
|
Winston Western 500
|
Riverside International Raceway
,
Riverside
|
November 18
|
- ^
Originally scheduled for November 4, but postponed due to rain.
Bold
denotes
NASCAR Crown Jewel
event
Races
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Daytona 500
[
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]
Cale Yarborough
completed a lap of 201.848 mph (324.828 km/h), officially breaking the 200 mph barrier at Daytona. He drafted past
Darrell Waltrip
on the final lap, winning for the second year in a row, and fourth time in his career.
Richard Petty
, making his debut with
Curb Racing
, stormed from 34th to lead over 20 laps before a camshaft broke.
Richmond 400
[
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Ricky Rudd
, still sporting swelling in his face from his bad Daytona crash, ran down
Darrell Waltrip
for his first win with
Bud Moore Engineering
.
Carolina 500
[
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]
Bobby Allison
grabbed his first win of the season, while a vicious four-car crash swept up rookie
Rusty Wallace
on Lap 372; the guardrail was damaged to where it took half an hour to repair it. Before the race controversy erupted between the track and sponsor Warner Hodgdon over late payment of sponsorship fees; the fees were paid in full March 19.
Atlanta 500
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Benny Parsons
fought off
Dale Earnhardt
and
Cale Yarborough
in a three-car race; the win was Parsons' final Winston Cup win.
Darrell Waltrip
was dropped from fifth to 10th after the race when NASCAR ruled he'd passed illegally to get a lap back late in the race.
Valleydale 500
[
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Waltrip passed
Tim Richmond
with 44 laps to go for his seventh-straight
Bristol International Raceway
win. He was pressured by
Bobby Allison
, who led 190 laps to Waltrip's 205; Allison faltered with 57 laps to go and finished 19th.
Northwestern Bank 400
[
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]
Ricky Rudd
led 290 laps but
North Wilkesboro Speedway
would not see him win as he faltered in the final 28 laps.
Tim Richmond
pounced to the win, what would be his last with
Raymond Beadle
's team.
TranSouth 500
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Two thunderstorms and multiple crashes permeated Darlington's annual spring race as
Darrell Waltrip
took his fourth Rebel 500 win. Pole-sitter
Benny Parsons
hit the wall on the opening lap; on Lap Three a three-abreast stack-up for second led to a four-car crash involving
Bobby Allison
,
Richard Petty
(who led seven laps and still finished seventh),
Geoff Bodine
, and
Dick Brooks
. Around Lap 137 following a
Bobby Hillin Jr.
crash
Joe Ruttman
,
Terry Labonte
,
Buddy Baker
, and
Rusty Wallace
crashed on the backstretch on the yellow. In a later five-car melee in the second turn
D. K. Ulrich
climbed over
Greg Sacks
's hood;
Tim Richmond
crashed twice while
Dave Marcis
crashed while leading (he still finished 13th) after being sideswiped by
Buddy Baker
. In all some thirty cars were involved in wrecks.
Sovran Bank 500
[
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Ricky Rudd
led 121 laps and
Bobby Allison
led 266 laps, but both were knocked out of contention in the final 60 laps as
Geoff Bodine
took his first career Winston Cup win and gave Charlotte car dealer
Rick Hendrick
his first win as owner.
Ron Bouchard
, a longtime adversary of Bodine on NASCAR's Modified Tour, finished second. Bodine's victory saved All-Star Racing from shutting down as they were able to secure sponsorship from Northwestern Security Life for the rest of the season.
Winston 500
[
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The Winston 500 at Talladega was the 2nd most competitive race in the history of NASCAR Winston Cup. The race had 75 different lead changes, a record that stood until the 2010
Aaron's 499
with 88 changes, which was matched in 2011.
Cale Yarborough passed
Harry Gant
in the final lap to take the win.
Coors 420
[
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]
Nashville's Fairgrounds race track had seen numerous controversies over the years, but 1984's controversy may have topped all of them. On lap 418 three cars crashed on the backstretch;
Darrell Waltrip
led laps 418 and 419 but
Junior Johnson
teammate
Neil Bonnett
passed him on the final lap under yellow;
Dick Beaty
of NASCAR initially ruled Bonnett the race winner; the following Monday, however, NASCAR reversed the decision since the yellow had flown before the last lap pass.
Budweiser 500
[
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]
Richard Petty
had not won at
Dover Downs International Speedway
since 1979 and had not won the track's spring/early summer race since 1969. But he battled
Bill Elliott
,
Tim Richmond
, and
Harry Gant
to the win, his 199th Winston Cup win. Gant led 218 laps but fell out while running in the top five 108 laps from the end, while Elliott cut a tire while running second with 40 to go. It was Petty's first win not with
Petty Enterprises
since driving a Don Robertson Plymouth to two wins in 1970.
Because of the
1971 Myers Brothers 250
controversy and NASCAR rules regarding combination races of the time (compared to modern rules), there is a dispute if this was his 200th win. (Petty, the highest-placed Grand National car in the combination Grand National and Grand American race, would be credited with a Grand National, or as it is called as of 2022, the NASCAR Cup Series, win under combination race regulations in play.)
World 600
[
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]
Cale Yarborough's engine failure sealed a win for
Bobby Allison
; it proved to be his final win for
DiGard Motorsports
.
Budweiser 400
[
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]
Terry Labonte
passed
Bobby Allison
and led the final 23 laps for his first win of the season and first win at
Riverside International Raceway
barely two years after a very serious crash there.
Van Scoy Diamond Mine 500
[
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]
Cale Yarborough
outlasted his competitors to take the win at
Pocono Raceway
.
David Pearson
drove
Neil Bonnett
's Chevrolet in qualifying and won the pole; he relieved Bonnett and finished 14th; ironically David finished just behind arch-rival
Richard Petty
, who led early before finishing 13th.
Yarborough led 67 laps but faltered late as
Bill Elliott
achieved a breakthrough win, his second career win but first on a superspeedway and first with
Coors
sponsorship.
Firecracker 400
[
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]
Richard Petty's
last win. In the
1984 Firecracker 400
, Richard Petty edged out
Cale Yarborough
by about 8 inches to visit Victory Lane for the 200th and what turned out to be the final time.
Pepsi 420
[
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]
Geoff Bodine
led 327 laps to the win at Nashville - it would turn out to be the final Winston Cup race at the Fairgrounds as
Warner W. Hodgdon
's racing empire began cracking.
Richard Petty
started third but fell out after 212 laps with engine failure; it was his first race having to get engines from suppliers other than the DiGard team after the Gardners ended their engine deal with
Curb Motorsports
.
Like Cola 500
[
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]
At Pocono
Harry Gant
burst past pole-sitter
Bill Elliott
on the opening lap and edged
Cale Yarborough
and Elliott at the stripe after leading 107 laps.
Bobby Allison
led one lap but climbed the wall hard in the Tunnel Turn (one of nine yellows during the day) and finished a distant 28th.
Talladega 500
[
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]
Dale Earnhardt fought off a ten car pack, passing
Terry Labonte
on the last lap to win his second consecutive Talladega 500. The race featured 68 lead changes among 16 drivers.
Champion Spark Plug 400
[
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]
Terry Labonte
led 117 laps as he,
Darrell Waltrip
, and pole-sitter
Bill Elliott
led 194 of 200 laps at
Michigan International Speedway
. With no yellows, pitstops became the key as Waltrip stretch his fuel mileage for the win.
Darrell Waltrip
led 144 laps but after halfway he fell out and finished 12th, ending his win streak at
Bristol International Raceway
.
Terry Labonte
led the final 124 laps but had to withstand a challenge from
Bobby Allison
to grab the win, his fourth career win and first on a short track.
Southern 500
[
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]
Amid numerous crashes
Harry Gant
led 277 laps to an easy win. He thus moved into second place in points behind
Terry Labonte
.
Capital City 400
[
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]
Darrell Waltrip
, despite more wins than any other driver, found himself a distant fifth in points; he led 321 laps for the win but was still 185 points out of the lead.
Dale Earnhardt
grabbed third in the race and second in points behind Labonte (eighth at the end) while
Harry Gant
finished ninth.
Delaware 500
[
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]
Harry Gant
and
Terry Labonte
combined to lead 385 of 500 laps at
Dover Downs International Speedway
en route to a 1-2 finish, Gant's third win of the season, as numerous crashes thinned the field; among those involved in wrecks were
Bill Elliott
,
Rusty Wallace
,
Tim Richmond
, and defending race champ
Bobby Allison
.
Dale Earnhardt
led 35 laps but finished three laps down;
Ron Bouchard
led 68 laps but finished five laps down.
Richard Petty
, winner at Dover in May, fell out with oil pump failure.
Goody's 500
[
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]
Despite leading 313 laps to the win,
Darrell Waltrip
was now 215 points out of the lead following Martinsville's early-autumn race.
Terry Labonte
finished second and held a 91-point lead over
Harry Gant
(fourth). Pole-sitter
Geoff Bodine
led the first 37 laps before his oil pump failed.
Joe Ruttman
fell out with engine failure and left
Ron Benfield
's team after two potent but ultimately futile seasons.
Miller High Life 500
[
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]
Benny Parsons
and
Bill Elliott
claimed the front row and combined to lead 284 of 334 laps.
Cale Yarborough
and point leaders
Harry Gant
and
Terry Labonte
led 37 laps between them and finished 3-4-5 at the end. Elliott grabbed the lead with 60 to go and pulled away to his second win of the season. Gant finished fourth and stood 86 points behind Labonte.
Holly Farms 400
[
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]
Junior Johnson
's Chevrolets led 305 of 400 laps as
Darrell Waltrip
took his seventh win of the season and
Neil Bonnett
finished fifth. But he was 246 points out of the lead and realistically was eliminated from the championship; the story fell to
Harry Gant
as he finished a close second in the race; combined with a ninth-place finish by
Terry Labonte
the finish helped Gant close to 59 points out.
Warner W. Hodgdon American 500
[
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]
North Carolina Motor Speedway
saw its final race under Warner Hodgdon sponsorship as the racing magnate's business empire was deteriorating more and more. Numerous crashes erupted; a multicar melee on a restart eliminated
Geoff Bodine
and
Tim Richmond
. The most spectacular crash came when
Jerry Bowman
flipped over and slid on his roof down the backstretch.
Bill Elliott
and
Harry Gant
combined to lead 299 laps; in the final 55 laps Gant ran down Elliott and took the lead with two to go, but Elliott dove back under Gant and the two raced abreast the final two miles; they hit the stripe abreast and Elliott won by less than a wheel. Labonte finished third and held a 49-point lead on Gant with two races to go.
Geoff Bodine
stormed into the lead on the opening lap and led 125 laps before his engine failed with 36 laps to go; this put
Dale Earnhardt
into the lead for his second win of the season, while pole-sitter
Bill Elliott
finished second.
Terry Labonte
and
Harry Gant
fell out with engine failures and the points race stood with Labonte holding a 42-point lead on Gant. Tragedy blackened the event when
Terry Schoonover
crashed some 200 miles in and was killed.
Geoff Bodine
grabbed his third win of the season as
Terry Labonte
won the pole and finished third, finally clinching the Winston Cup title.
Harry Gant
finished eighth and finished second in points. Lame duck series champ
Bobby Allison
led 56 laps but slid off the track with four to go and finished seventh; arch-rival
Darrell Waltrip
led 33 laps but blew his engine and finished 34th. Bodine referenced budding rumors about
Riverside International Raceway
's future when he said he was glad to have won as "they're going to tear this place down." Open-wheel driver
Bobby Rahal
made his only NASCAR start in this race, driving for
Wood Brothers Racing
. Rahal would drop out of the race on lap 44 due to mechanical problems.
Race Results
[
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Bold
denotes
NASCAR Crown Jewel
event.
Full Drivers' Championship
[
edit
]
(
key
)
Bold
? Pole position awarded by time.
Italics
? Pole position set by owner's points. * ? Most laps led.
Rookie of the year
[
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]
Rusty Wallace
, a future hall of famer (
see Class of 2013 hall of fame
), beat out Dean Combs, Clark Dwyer, Tommy Ellis, Doug Heveron, Phil Parsons, and Greg Sacks to win the award in 1984. Only Wallace competed in all 30 races. Dean Combs competed in 12 races. Clark Dwyer competed in 26 races (he skipped rounds 25-27). Tommy Ellis competed in 20 races (he skipped rounds 1-4, 11, 13-14, and 28-30). Doug Heveron competed in 16 races (he failed to qualify for the spring Richmond race and the Southern 500). Phil Parsons competed in 23 races (He skipped rounds 3-4, 10-11, 13, 23-24, and 28). Greg Sacks competed in 29 races only skipping the spring Bristol race.
See also
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References
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External links
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1940s
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1950s
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1960s
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1970s
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1980s
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1990s
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2000s
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2010s
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2020s
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