NASCAR HISTORY HIGHLIGHTS BY YEAR - 1980's
1980 - The 1980 NASCAR Winston Cup season began with a refreshing outlook for a sport that had endured a tumultuous trek through peaks and valleys in the preceding 10 years. Through a complex, shifting panorama, NASCAR overcame innumerable obstacles in the 1970s, and emerged in 1980 with one of the most thrilling championship chases in NASCAR history, between sophomore Dale Earnhardt and veteran Cale Yarborough.
1981 - New NASCAR guidelines for the 1981 NASCAR Winston Cup season resulted in cars that twitched frighteningly at high speeds and had to be stabilized with large spoilers. The Daytona 500 featured 49 lead changes, and set the tone for the rest of the exciting 1981 campaign. Over the course of the 31-race season in 1981, fans witnessed 772 lead changes -- a mark that still stands despite the fact that five races have been added to the annual schedule. A record five races were also determined by a last-lap pass, another standard that still stands.
1982 - By the 1982 NASCAR Winston Cup season, the importance of team sponsorship had become paramount. Costs were rising sharply, and teams had to perform well to secure and keep sponsorship. Winning races was a prerequisite, and crews often challenged the savvy of the NASCAR technical inspectors in their efforts to gain a "competitive edge." The tradition was as old as stock car racing itself, and was considered part of the game.
1983 - In the early part of the 1983 NASCAR Winston Cup campaign, NASCAR began cracking down on teams that were stepping beyond the rules. Early in the season, such disallowed items as illegal fuel cans, unapproved fuel cells, and other ingenious "modifications" were confiscated by NASCAR officials. But threats failed to curtail the imagination of the sport's top mechanics. Throughout the season, a number of violations were detected and confiscated. The controversy came to a head in October, when seven-time champ Richard Petty won the Miller High Life 500, but was then found to be using illegal tires and a too-large engine. The scandal destroyed Petty's decades-long relationship with Petty Enterprises, and dogged him long after.
1984 - The 1984 NASCAR Winston Cup season got off to a quick start with Cale Yarborough's win at the Daytona 500. But an even higher point came at the July 4 Firecracker 400. With President Reagan in attendance, Richard Petty won his magical 200th NASCAR Winston Cup race. The finish awed the president. It was the second and final victory of the 1984 season for the King of NASCAR -- and it turned out to be the final win of his career. At season's close, Terry Labonte parlayed consistency to win the championship on the strength of just two wins, but 17 top-five finishes. Petty finished a distant 10th in the final standings.
1985 - Bill Elliott emerged as a bona fide super speedway hero in the 1985 NASCAR Winston Cup season. Elliott won 11 super speedway races in 1985, still a single-season record. He gobbled up every laurel and post-season award possible, yet didn't win the NASCAR Winston Cup championship. That honor went to Darrell Waltrip, who won three races. The intricacies of the NASCAR points system rewarded consistency in 1985. The 1985 All-Star race was a big bonus to the drivers and fans of NASCAR Winston Cup racing. The inaugural running of the event, which was open to all drivers who won races in 1984, was staged at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The event was "on the house" for NASCAR enthusiasts who had paid to see a race the day before.
1986 - Dale Earnhardt, NASCAR's darling youngster in the early 1980s, rebounded during the 1986 NASCAR Winston Cup season from a few sluggish years after his electrifying championship as a sophomore in 1980. Earnhardt's Wrangler Jeans machine ran up front every week. Along the way, Earnhardt ruffled a few feathers, crumpled some sheet metal, shoved rivals out of the way, and acquired the nickname "The Intimidator." Earnhardt's thrilling driving style made the 1986 NASCAR Winston Cup season a joy to watch.
1987 - Like the 1986 season, Dale Earnhardt was at center stage during the 1987 NASCAR Winston Cup campaign. Many of Earnhardt's adversaries claimed his aggressive driving style led to unnecessary incidents -- and there was plenty of damaged sheet metal along the way. The season-long controversy came to a head during The Winston, NASCAR's all-star race, on May 17, 1987. Earnhardt, Bill Elliott, and Geoff Bodine bumped, scraped, and blocked each other to the end in one of the most memorable finishes in stock car racing history. Earnhardt, Elliott, and Bodine were all fined and placed on probation after the fracas. The Winston of 1987 is still regarded as one of the most energized and spectacular thrill shows in NASCAR Cup Series history, though cooler heads prevailed for the remainder of the year. Bill Elliott posted the fastest qualifying speed to date as he lapped the 2.66 Talladega Speedway at an average speed of 212.809. During the race, Bobby Allison had a series blow-over crash on the front stretch and almost flew up into the grandstands. The crash was the reason for NASCAR to start the use of restrictor plates to slow the cars. It is hard to see Elliott's qualifying record being broken as long as NASCAR uses restrictor plates or aero modification to slow the cars down and keep then on the ground.
1988 - By the end of the 1988 NASCAR Winston Cup season, a number of time-honored icons were hanging up their helmets. NASCAR Winston Cup champions Cale Yarborough, David Pearson, Benny Parsons, and Bobby Allison retired -- Allison due to debilitating injuries suffered at Pocono in the 1988 Miller High Life 500. The retirement of these legends made way for a new generation of leaders.
1989 - The 1989 NASCAR Winston Cup season was in the midst of an upsurge. As the 1980s drew to a close, the popularity of NASCAR stock car racing was spiraling upward dramatically. Sponsorship from corporate America was strong, the dynamic heroes behind the wheel were becoming household names, and all of the NASCAR Winston Cup events were being televised live. Track side attendance was running at record levels and promoters were adding new grandstands to accommodate the demand for tickets. On a sad note, Tim Richmond, an energized and immensely popular driver, had electrified the audience with his brazen displays of courage only to die prematurely of the AIDS virus in 1989. Richmond was Winston Cup racing's top winner in 1986, but had to sit out most of the 1987 campaign as he concealed the identity of his illness.