1982 Virginia National Bank 500
| Race details[1] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 8 of 30 in the 1982 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season | |||
 A map showing the layout of Martinsville Speedway | |||
| Date | April 25, 1982 | ||
| Official name | Virginia National Bank 500 | ||
| Location | Martinsville Speedway, Martinsville, Virginia | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 0.525 miles (0.844 km) | ||
| Distance | 500 laps, 262.5 mi (442.4 km) | ||
| Weather | 74.8 °F (23.8 °C); wind speeds of 12.8 miles per hour (20.6 km/h) | ||
| Average speed | 75.073 miles per hour (120.818 km/h) | ||
| Attendance | 36,500[2] | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Hagan Enterprises | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Harry Gant | Mach 1 Racing | |
| Laps | 167 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 33 | Harry Gant | Mach 1 Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | untelevised | ||
| Announcers | none | ||
The 1982 Virginia National Bank 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that was set on April 25, 1982, at Martinsville Speedway in Martinsville, Virginia.
Background
[edit]Martinsville Speedway is one of five short tracks to hold NASCAR races.[3] The standard track at Martinsville Speedway is a four-turn short track oval that is 0.526 miles (0.847 km) long.[4] The track's turns are banked at eleven degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, is banked at zero degrees. The back stretch also has a zero degree banking.[4]
Race report
[edit]A starting grid of 31 drivers competed for three and a half hours in this 500-lap race. D.K. Ulrich was involved in a crash on lap 14; leading to his last-place finish. An audience of 36,500 saw Harry Gant defeat Butch Lindley by a distance of slightly more than a lap.[2]
The majority of the field was driving Buick vehicles. Terry Labonte and Ricky Rudd would dominate the first one hundred laps of this race while Harry Gant would monopolize the closing laps of this race with a 1-lap lead over everyone else. Joe Ruttman would be the lowest finishing driver to complete the race; albeit more than 50 laps behind the only driver on the lead lap, Gant.[2] This would be his first victory ever in the NASCAR Cup Series.[5]
The pole position was won by Terry Labonte with his a qualifying speed of 89.998 miles per hour (144.838 km/h); racing speeds for this event averaged 75.073 miles per hour (120.818 km/h).[2] Brad Teague's 11th place finish in this race was also the highest finishing position in the Cup series for team owner, Charlie Henderson.[2] Winnings for this event ranged from the winner's share of $26,795 ($89,394 when adjusted for inflation) to the last-place finisher's share of $1,300 ($4,337 when adjusted for inflation). The overall prize purse for this race was $170,500 ($568,823 when adjusted for inflation).[6]
Qualifying
[edit]| Grid[2] | No. | Driver | Manufacturer | Owner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 44 | Terry Labonte | Chevrolet | Billy Hagan |
| 2 | 28 | Benny Parsons | Pontiac | Harry Ranier |
| 3 | 33 | Harry Gant | Buick | Hal Needham |
| 4 | 3 | Ricky Rudd | Pontiac | Richard Childress |
| 5 | 50 | Geoffrey Bodine | Pontiac | Cliff Stewart |
| 6 | 98 | Morgan Shepherd | Buick | Ron Benfield |
| 7 | 88 | Bobby Allison | Chevrolet | DiGard Racing |
| 8 | 2 | Tim Richmond | Buick | Jim Stacy |
| 9 | 21 | Neil Bonnett | Ford | Wood Brothers |
| 10 | 02 | Mark Martin | Pontiac | Bud Reeder |
| 11 | 75 | Joe Ruttman | Buick | RahMoc Enterprises |
| 12 | 11 | Darrell Waltrip | Buick | Junior Johnson |
| 13 | 47 | Ron Bouchard | Buick | Jack Beebe |
| 14 | 01 | Butch Lindley | Buick | Emanuel Zervakis |
| 15 | 15 | Dale Earnhardt | Ford | Bud Moore |
Top 10 finishers
[edit]| Pos[2] | Grid | No. | Driver | Manufacturer | Laps | Laps led | Points | Time/Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | 33 | Harry Gant | Buick | 500 | 167 | 185 | 3:30:01 |
| 2 | 14 | 01 | Butch Lindley | Buick | 499 | 163 | 175 | +1 lap and 1 second |
| 3 | 9 | 21 | Neil Bonnett | Ford | 497 | 0 | 165 | +3 laps |
| 4 | 4 | 3 | Ricky Rudd | Pontiac | 496 | 55 | 165 | +4 laps |
| 5 | 12 | 11 | Darrell Waltrip | Buick | 496 | 25 | 160 | +4 laps |
| 6 | 16 | 71 | Dave Marcis | Chevrolet | 494 | 0 | 150 | +4 laps |
| 7 | 10 | 02 | Mark Martin | Pontiac | 492 | 0 | 146 | +8 laps |
| 8 | 24 | 67 | Buddy Arrington | Dodge | 489 | 0 | 142 | +11 laps |
| 9 | 21 | 40 | Jimmy Hensley | Buick | 485 | 0 | 138 | +15 laps |
| 10 | 28 | 48 | Slick Johnson | Pontiac | 484 | 0 | 134 | +16 laps |
Standings after the race
[edit]| Pos | Driver | Points[2] | Differential |
|---|---|---|---|
1  |
Terry Labonte | 1235 | 0 |
2  |
Darrell Waltrip | 1155 | -80 |
3  |
Benny Parsons | 1134 | -101 |
| 4 |
Harry Gant | 1122 | -113 |
| 5 |
Bobby Allison | 1069 | -139 |
| 6 |
Dale Earnhardt | 1039 | -199 |
| 7 |
Morgan Shepherd | 1029 | -206 |
| 8 | Richard Petty | 1019 | -216 |
| 9 |
Buddy Arrington | 1015 | -220 |
| 10 |
Dave Marcis | 950 | -285 |
References
[edit]- ↑ Weather information for the 1982 Virginia National Bank 500 at The Old Farmers' Almanac
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Race information for the 1982 Virginia National Bank 500 at Racing Reference
- ↑ "NASCAR Race Tracks". NASCAR. Archived from the original on September 12, 2010. Retrieved October 26, 2012.
- 1 2 "NASCAR Tracks—The Martinsville Speedway". Martinsville Speedway. Archived from the original on October 7, 2010. Retrieved October 26, 2012.
- ↑ Racing information for the 1982 Virginia National Bank 500 at Race Database
- ↑ Racing information for the 1982 Virginia National Bank 500 at Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet
