Official name Winston Western 500 | ||
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Date November 20, 1983 (1983-November-20) Course Permanent racing facility2.700 mi (4.345 km) Distance 119 laps, 311.8 mi (501.7 km) Weather Chilly with temperatures reaching up to 64.9 °F (18.3 °C); wind speeds up to 8 miles per hour (13 km/h) | ||
The 1983 Winston Western 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that took place on November 20, 1983, at Riverside International Raceway in Riverside, California.
Using the 2015 Chase to the Sprint Cup format, Neil Bonnett would have won the 1983 championship. Bonnett, Darrell Waltrip, Labonte and Petty would have been the "final four" and with two points now going to the driver who leads the most laps and Darrell Waltrip finishing three spots behind Bonnett with Bonnett winning by a single point.
Summary
There were 42 drivers; 40 of them were American-born while Roy Smith and Trevor Boys were born in Canada. Dale Earnhardt defected to Richard Childress Racing right after this racing event while Bobby Allison managed to secure his only Winston Cup Championship during the course of the race.
Jimmy Insolo quit the race on the first lap due to team issues. Bill Elliott would defeat Benny Parsons under the final caution flag in front of 24,000 loyal NASCAR spectators for his first ever Cup Series victory under the rainy conditions. There were 13 lead changes and five caution flags for 26 laps; making the race last three hours and fifteen minutes long. While the average speed of the race was 95.859 miles per hour (154.270 km/h), Darrell Waltrip qualified for the pole position with a top speed of 116.782 miles per hour (187.942 km/h). The regulation length of this race was 119 laps - the equivalent of 311.8 miles (501.8 km).
Jimmy Insolo, Doug Wheeler, Don Waterman, Pat Mintey, and Randy Becker would retire from NASCAR Cup Series racing after this event.