1982 Virginia National Bank 500
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 8 of 30 in the 1982 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season | |||
 A map showing the layout of Martinsville Speedway | |||
| Date | April 25, 1982 | ||
| Location | Martinsville Speedway (Martinsville, Virginia) | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility 0.525 mi (0.844 km) | ||
| Distance | 500 laps, 262.5 mi (442.4 km) | ||
| Weather | Temperatures reaching up to 74.8 °F (23.8 °C); wind speeds up to 12.8 miles per hour (20.6 km/h)[1] | ||
| Average speed | 75.073 miles per hour (120.818 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Terry Labonte | 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 is a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that was set on April 25, 1982, at Martinsville Speedway in the American community of Martinsville, Virginia.
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. Only manual transmission vehicles were allowed to participate in this race; a policy that NASCAR has retained to the present day.
Summary
A total starting grid of 31 drivers competed for three and a half hours in this 500-lap racing competition. D.K. Ulrich was involved in a crash on lap 14; leading to his last-place finish. An audience consisting of 36,500 live spectators eventually got to see Harry Gant defeat Butch Lindley by a distance of slightly more than a lap.[2]
The majority of the field was driving Buick vehicles while participating in the event. 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 an outstanding 144-lap lead over everyone else. Joe Ruttman would become the lowest finishing driver to complete the race; albeit more than 50 laps behind the only driver on the lead lap, who was Harry Gant.[2] This would be his first victory ever in the NASCAR Cup Series.[3]
The pole position earned was Terry Labonte with his amazing solo qualifying speed of 89.998 miles per hour (144.838 km/h); actual racing speeds for this event averaged around 75.073 miles per hour (120.818 km/h).[2] National sponsors for this race included: Piedmont Airlines, Mountain Dew, Food Country USA, Gatorade and Wrangler Jeans.[2] Winnings for this event ranged from the winner's share of $26,795 ($65,481.44 when adjusted for inflation) to the last-place finisher's share of $1,300 ($3,176.93 when adjusted for inflation). The overall prize purse for this racing event added up to $170,500 ($416,666.72 when adjusted for inflation).[4]
Top ten finishers
- Harry Gant – #33
- Butch Lindley – #01
- Neil Bonnett – #21
- Ricky Rudd – #3
- Darrell Waltrip – #11
- Dave Marcis – #71
- Mark Martin – #02
- Buddy Arrington – #67
- Jimmy Hensley – #40
- Slick Johnson – #48
Standings after the race
| Pos | Driver | Points[2] |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Terry Labonte | 1235 |
| 2 | Darrell Waltrip | 1155 |
| 3 | Benny Parsons | 1134 |
| 4 | Harry Gant | 1122 |
| 5 | Bobby Allison | 1069 |
References
- ↑ Weather information for the 1982 Virginia National Bank 500 at The Old Farmers' Almanac
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Race information for the 1982 Virginia National Bank 500 at Racing Reference
- ↑ 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
| Preceded by 1982 Northwest Bank 400 |
NASCAR Winston Cup Series Season 1982 |
Succeeded by 1982 Winston 500 |