1984 Winchester 400
The 1984 Winchester 400 motor race, the fifteenth annual (run yearly since 1970), was held under American Speed Association sanction on September 30, 1984, at the Winchester Speedway, in Indiana (USA).
After five-straight wins followed by five-straight years of frustration the undisputed king of the "Winchester 400" reassumed his throne as Bob Senneker scored his sixth win in the closest "400" finish to date. Starting from the pole for the second-straight year, Wisconsin’s Dick Trickle jumped into the lead at the drop of the green. Holding off ASA Championship rivals Jim Sauter and Senneker, Trickle set a torrid pace in the early stages. Trickle made his first appearance on pit road on lap 128, handing the lead to Senneker. The race would continue on a record pace as Senneker led until lap 224 when Mark Martin moved in front.
The race
Racing in the top-five all day, Sauter began encountering steering problems and spun. Senneker reassumed the lead during a round of pit stops, but would give up the lead on lap 242 when he pitted for another set of fresh tires. That would give the lead back to Martin who would stay in front until he pitted on lap 305. Bobby Dotter then assumed the lead, but it would be short-lived as Senneker went back in front on lap 317. After going down a lap early in the event with tire problems, defending race-winner Mike Eddy worked his way back onto the lead lap, only to have a shock absorber fail and send him spinning on lap 336.
Under the resulting caution, Martin made his final pit stop and took on tires to try to chase down his first "400" win. The late stages of the race saw shades of Martin and Eddy in 1980, as Martin once again tried lap-after-lap to pass an ASA legend. Martin was able to pull alongside Senneker on several occasions, but was unable to compete the pass. At the checkers, Senneker held off Martin by four-car lengths (0.650 seconds), with Trickle a mere 12 seconds behind the winner in third. Butch Miller also completed all 400 laps to finish fourth while Dotter was fifth, one lap off the winner’s pace. Senneker collected an event-record $11,670 for his sixth win.
Table of results
| Results of the 15th Annual Winchester 400 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos | Start | Car # | Driver/Hometown | Sponsor/Make | Laps | Winnings (in US$) |
Status | |
| 1 | 5 | 84 |  Bob Senneker / Dorr, MI |
Elk Custom Vans / Pontiac | 400 | $11,670 | running | |
| 2 | 3 | 17 |  Mark Martin / Batesville, AR |
7-Eleven / Ford | 400 | $6,170 | running | |
| 3 | 1 | 99 |  Dick Trickle / Wisconsin Rapids, WI |
Pabst/Prototype Eng. / Pontiac | 400 | $4,920 | running | |
| 4 | 2 | 52 | Butch Miller / Lawton, MI |
Lane Automotive/Golden/Dillon / Pontiac | 400 | $4,270 | running | |
| 5 | 11 | 79 |  Bobby Dotter / Chicago, IL |
Prototype/Hill Ent. / Pontiac | 399 | $2,600 | running | |
| 6 | 6 | 81 | Harold Fair / Livonia, MI |
Hanley Ent./Prototype Eng. / Pontiac | 399 | $2,495 | running | |
| 7 | 18 | 80 | Doug Klein / Fairview Heights, IL |
Roulo Brothers Racing / Pontiac | 397 | $1,700 | running | |
| 8 | 16 | 90 |  Kent Stauffer / Elyria, OH |
Stauffer Racing Ent. / Pontiac | 384 | $2,000 | running | |
| 9 | 19 | 27 | J. Michael Kurkowski / Perry, OH |
LEAP Asphalt / Pontiac | 383 | $1,900 | running | |
| 10 | 13 | 24 |  Dave Jensen / Independence, MO |
Jensen Racing/CAM2 / Pontiac | 378 | $1,550 | running | |
| 11 | 17 | 73 |  Steve Christman / Fort Wayne, IN |
Habegger Racing / Pontiac | 373 | $1,000 | running | |
| 12 | 4 | 28 | Alan Kulwicki / Milwaukee, WI |
Hardee’s / Pontiac | 371 | $2,520 | running | |
| 13 | 21 | 0 | Tom Jones / Northbrook, IL |
Prototype/Left-hander Chassis / Pontiac | 370 | $1,400 | running | |
| 14 | 12 | 71 | John Wilson / Springfield, OH |
Wilson Racing / Pontiac | 357 | $1,100 | running | |
| 15 | 15 | 41 | Tom Harrington / Loveland, OH |
BFI Waste Systems / Chevrolet | 345 | $1,025 | suspension | |
| 16 | 8 | 88 | Mike Eddy / Midland, MI |
Howe Ent./CAM2 / Pontiac | 339 | $3,645 | broken shock | |
| 17 | 10 | 35 | Buddy Schrock / Plain City, OH |
White Castle / Pontiac | 336 | $695 | running | |
| 18 | 7 | 5 | Jim Sauter / Necedah, WI |
Dairyland Transport/LSJ / Pontiac | 318 | $2,045 | running | |
| 19 | 22 | 29 | Ken Harrison / Indianapolis, IN |
Colby Equipment/Indiana Oxygen / Pontiac | 251 | $500 | accident | |
| 20 | 14 | 7 | John Vallo / Miamisburg, OH |
A-1 Auto Service/Shatto / Pontiac | 250 | $1,050 | suspension | |
| 21 | 23 | 4 | Don Collins / Lake Villa, IL |
Dairy Queen / Pontiac | 246 | $725 | engine | |
| 22 | 9 | 22 | Ken Lund / Madison, WI |
Midstate Building Systems/LSJ / Pontiac | 236 | $890 | accident | |
| 23 | 24 | 3 | Dave Heid / White Pigeon, MI |
Landon Engineering / Chevrolet | 121 | $415 | handling | |
| 24 | 20 | 54 | Dave Simko / Clarkston, MI |
Mound Steel Supply / Pontiac | 9 | $660 | accident | |
Race statistics
- Average Speed: 81.028 mph (130.402 km/h)
- Margin of Victory: 4 car lengths
- Time of Race: Two hours, 28 minutes and 5.77 seconds
- Lead Changes: 10 among 6 drivers
- Lap Leaders: Dick Trickle 1-128; Bob Senneker 129-223; Mark Martin 224; Butch Miller 225; Bobby Dotter 226; Harold Fair 227-228; B. Senneker 229-240; Fair 241; Martin 242-305; Dotter 306-316; B. Senneker 229-400.
- Cautions: 12 for 74 laps
- Entries: 25 Qualifiers: 24
External links
| Preceded by 1983 Winchester 400 |
1984 Winchester 400 Winner: Bob Senneker |
Succeeded by 1985 Winchester 400 |
Coordinates: 40°10′31″N 85°1′37″W / 40.17528°N 85.02694°W