1982 NASCAR Winston Cup Series

(Redirected from 1982 in NASCAR) 34th season of NASCAR stock-car racing 1982 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Previous 1981 Next 1983

The 1982 NASCAR Winston Cup Series was the 34th season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 11th modern-era Cup series. The season began on February 14 at the Daytona International Speedway and concluded on November 21 at Riverside International Raceway. Darrell Waltrip took his second straight championship driving for Junior Johnson by 72 points over Bobby Allison.

Teams and drivers

Team	Make	No.	Driver	Car Owner	Crew Chief
Arrington Racing	Dodge Mirada	67	Buddy Arrington	Buddy Arrington
Benfield Racing	Buick Regal	98	Morgan Shepherd	Ron Benfield	Buddy Parrott
Bud Moore Engineering	Ford Thunderbird	15	Dale Earnhardt	Bud Moore	Bud Moore
Cliff Stewart Racing	Pontiac Grand Prix	50	Geoff Bodine (R)	Cliff Stewart
DiGard Motorsports	Chevrolet Monte Carlo 14 Buick Regal 14	88	Bobby Allison	Bill Gardner	Gary Nelson
Donlavey Racing	Ford Thunderbird	90	Jody Ridley	Junie Donlavey
Hagan Racing	Buick Regal	44	Terry Labonte	Billy Hagan	Jake Elder
Hamby Motorsports	Buick Regal 20 Pontiac Grand Prix 9	17	Lowell Cowell 1	Roger Hamby
Hamby Motorsports	Buick Regal 20 Pontiac Grand Prix 9	17	Lake Speed 29	Roger Hamby
Hylton Racing	Pontiac Grand Prix	48	James Hylton	James Hylton
Jim Stacy Racing	Buick Regal	2	Tim Richmond (R)	Jim Stacy	Dale Inman
Johnny Hayes Racing	Buick Regal	55	Benny Parsons	Johnny Hayes
Junior Johnson & Associates	Buick Regal	11	Darrell Waltrip	Junior Johnson	Jeff Hammond
Langley Racing	Ford Thunderbird	64	Tommy Gale	Elmo Langley
M. C. Anderson Racing	Buick Regal	27	Cale Yarborough	M. C. Anderson	Tim Brewer
Mach 1 Racing	Buick Regal	33	Harry Gant	Hal Needham	Travis Carter
Marcis Auto Racing	Chevrolet Monte Carlo	71	Dave Marcis	Dave Marcis
Martin Racing	Buick Regal 18 Pontiac Grand Prix 13	02	Mark Martin (R)	Bud Reeder
McDuffie Racing	Pontiac Grand Prix	70	J. D. McDuffie	J. D. McDuffie
Means Racing	Buick Regal	52	Jimmy Means	Jimmy Means
Melling Racing	Ford Thunderbird	9	Bill Elliott 21	Harry Melling	Ernie Elliott
Petty Enterprises	Pontiac Grand Prix	42	Kyle Petty 23	Richard Petty	Mike Beam
Petty Enterprises	Pontiac Grand Prix	43	Richard Petty	Richard Petty	Maurice Petty
Race Hill Farm Team	Buick Regal	47	Ron Bouchard	Jack Beebe	David Ifft
RahMoc Enterprises	Buick Regal	75	Joe Ruttman	Bob Rahilly	Bob Rahilly
Ranier-Lundy Racing	Chevrolet Monte Carlo	28	Buddy Baker	Harry Ranier	Waddell Wilson
Richard Childress Racing	Pontiac Grand Prix	3	Ricky Rudd	Richard Childress	Kirk Shelmerdine
Thomas Racing	Pontiac Grand Prix	25	Ronnie Thomas	Ronnie Thomas
Ulrich Racing	Buick Regal	6	D. K. Ulrich	D. K. Ulrich
Wawak Racing	Buick Regal	94	Bobby Wawak	Bobby Wawak
Wood Brothers Racing	Ford Thunderbird	21	Neil Bonnett	Glen Wood	Leonard Wood

Schedule

No.	Race Title	Track	Date
	Busch Clash	Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach	February 7
	UNO Twin 125 Qualifiers		February 11
	Daytona 500 Consolation Race		February 12
1	Daytona 500		February 14
2	Richmond 400	Richmond Fairgrounds Raceway, Richmond	February 21
3	Valleydale 500	Bristol International Raceway, Bristol	March 14
4	Coca-Cola 500	Atlanta International Raceway, Hampton	March 21
5	Carolina 500	North Carolina Motor Speedway, Rockingham	March 28
6	CRC Chemicals Rebel 500	Darlington Raceway, Darlington	April 4
7	Northwestern Bank 400	North Wilkesboro Speedway, North Wilkesboro	April 18
8	Virginia National Bank 500	Martinsville Speedway, Ridgeway	April 25
9	Winston 500	Alabama International Motor Speedway, Talladega	May 2
10	Cracker Barrel Country Store 420	Nashville Speedway, Nashville	May 8
11	Mason-Dixon 500	Dover Downs International Speedway, Dover	May 16
12	World 600	Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord	May 30
13	Van Scoy Diamond Mine 500	Pocono International Raceway, Long Pond	June 6
14	Budweiser 400	Riverside International Raceway, Riverside	June 13
15	Gabriel 400	Michigan International Speedway, Brooklyn	June 20
16	Firecracker 400	Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach	July 4
17	Busch Nashville 420	Nashville Speedway, Nashville	July 10
18	Mountain Dew 500	Pocono International Raceway, Long Pond	July 25
19	Talladega 500	Alabama International Motor Speedway, Talladega	August 1
20	Champion Spark Plug 400	Michigan International Speedway, Brooklyn	August 22
21	Busch 500	Bristol International Raceway, Bristol	August 28
22	Southern 500	Darlington Raceway, Darlington	September 6
23	Wrangler Sanfor-Set 400	Richmond Fairgrounds Raceway, Richmond	September 12
24	CRC Chemicals 500	Dover Downs International Speedway, Dover	September 19
25	Holly Farms 400	North Wilkesboro Speedway, North Wilkesboro	October 3
26	National 500	Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord	October 10
27	Old Dominion 500	Martinsville Speedway, Ridgeway	October 17
28	Warner W. Hodgdon American 500	North Carolina Motor Speedway, Rockingham	October 31
29	Atlanta Journal 500	Atlanta International Raceway, Hampton	November 7
30	Winston Western 500	Riverside International Raceway, Riverside	November 21

Bolded races indicate a NASCAR Crown Jewel race

1982 Non-Points Results (Cup Series Speedweeks)

Busch Clash

The 1982 season unofficially kicked off on February 7 with the non-points fourth annual Busch Clash, open to all pole winners from the 1981 season in a 20 lap (50 mi (80 km)) dash. Terry Labonte drew pole position

Top Five

Time of Race: 15 minutes, 39 seconds
Caution Flags: None
Margin Of Victory: 1.5 car lengths

Of the 13 drivers that started this race, 11 finished the race and all of those finishers were on the lead lap.
Bobby Allison became the fourth different winner of this annual race. He took home $50,000.

UNO Twin 125 Qualifiers

On February 11 the Uno Twin 125 Mile Qualifiers were held. Benny Parsons was on the pole for race 1 with a speed of 196.317 mph and Harry Gant was on the pole for race 2 with a speed of 195.609 mph.

Race 1 Top Five

Time of Race: 55 minutes, 26 seconds
Caution Flags: 5 for 17 Laps
Margin Of Victory: 2 car lengths

Race 2 Top Five

Time of Race: 51 minutes, 54 seconds
Caution Flags: 2 for 12 Laps
Margin Of Victory: Under Caution

Daytona 500 Consolation Race

On February 12, NASCAR allowed all 14 cars that failed to qualify for the Daytona 500 to race in a consolation race at a 30 lap (75 mi (121 km)) distance. Slick Johnson was on the pole.

Top Five

Time of Race: 31 minutes, 17 seconds
Caution Flags: 1 for 6 Laps
Margin Of Victory: 0.21 seconds

1982 Season Results

Daytona 500

Main article: 1982 Daytona 500

The 1982 season officially kicked off on February 14 with the Daytona 500 held at the Daytona International Speedway. Benny Parsons won the pole with a speed of 196.317 mph.

Top Ten

Time of Race: 3 hours 14 minutes 49 seconds
Caution Flags: 5 for 34 Laps
Margin Of Victory: 22.87 seconds

Bobby Allison, who had won the Busch Clash on February 7, would dominate the race leading 147 of 200 laps and cruise to victory. Buick would take seven of the first eight finishing spots. There was controversy in Allison's victory as his bumper fell off early in the race.
This also would be the first time since 1971 that no Chevrolets were in the field.

Richmond 400

The Richmond 400 was run on February 21 at the Richmond Fairgrounds Raceway. Darrell Waltrip won the pole with a speed of 93.256 mph.

Top Ten

Time of Race: 1 hour 51 minutes 30 seconds.
Caution Flags: 6 for 33 laps.
Margin of Victory: Under Caution
Race shortened to 250 of 400 laps due to rain.

Dave Marcis captured the final win of his career and the only victory with his own team.

Valleydale 500

The Valleydale 500 was held on March 14 at the Bristol International Raceway. Darrell Waltrip won the pole with a speed of 111.068 mph.

Top Ten

Time of Race: 2 hours 49 minutes 52 seconds
Caution Flags: 3 for 25 laps
Margin of Victory: 13.2 seconds

Darrell Waltrip would go on to win his first race of the season. He and Dale Earnhardt would combine to lead 477 of 500 laps.

Coca-Cola 500

Main article: 1982 Coca-Cola 500

The Coca-Cola 500 was held on March 21 at the Atlanta International Raceway. Dale Earnhardt won the pole with a speed of 163.774 mph.

Top Ten

Time of Race: 3 hours 29 minutes 58 seconds
Caution Flags: 7 for 47 laps
Margin of Victory: Under Caution
Race shortened to 287 of 328 laps due to rain.

Darrell Waltrip led 33 laps and when rain hit in the final laps he beat Richard Petty by inches to the race-ending yellow. It was Waltrip's second win of the 1982 Winston Cup season.
Dale Earnhardt led 155 laps but finished 28th.
Gary Balough scored his best ever finish of 7th .
This race provided footage for the motion picture Six Pack.

Warner W. Hodgdon Carolina 500

The Carolina 500 was originally scheduled for March 21 but due to rain it was postponed and held on March 28 at the North Carolina Motor Speedway. Benny Parsons won the pole with a speed of 141.577 mph.

Top Ten

Time of Race: 4 hours 3 minutes 27 seconds
Caution Flags: 9 for 86 laps
Margin of Victory: 1 lap

Cale Yarborough led 51 laps on way to his first Winston Cup victory of 1982.
Darrell Waltrip led 148 laps and finished 7th.
Neil Bonnett led 128 laps and finished 19th.
Gary Balough whom brought out the races final caution flag for a crash ended up finishing 12th. It was his last Cup Series race until 1991 as he was shortly after this event sentenced to prison for drug trafficking charges as was Billie Harvey, Tim Richmond's car owner.
Last Top 10 finish for J. D. McDuffie.

CRC Chemicals Rebel 500

Main article: 1982 CRC Chemicals Rebel 500

The CRC Chemicals Rebel 500 was held on April 4 at the Darlington Raceway. Buddy Baker won his 1st pole since 1980 with a speed of 153.979 mph.

Top Ten

Time of Race: 4 hours 3 minutes 27 seconds
Caution Flags: 8 for 53 laps
Margin of Victory: 3 feet

Unfortunately pole sitter Buddy Baker would finish last (37th) due to flywheel problems.
Dale Earnhardt led 181 laps on way to his only Winston Cup victory of 1982, his first victory since the October 5th 1980 National 500 at Charlotte, and his first victory in a Ford.

Northwestern Bank 400

The Northwestern Bank 400 was held on April 18 at the North Wilkesboro Speedway. Darrell Waltrip won the pole with a speed of 114.801 mph .

Top Ten

Time of Race: 2 hours 33 minutes 37 seconds
Caution Flags: 6 for 34 laps
Margin of Victory: Under Caution

Darrell Waltrip led 345 of 400 laps on way to his third Winston Cup victory of 1982.

Virginia National Bank 500

Main article: 1982 Virginia National Bank 500

The Virginia National Bank 500 was held on April 25 at the Martinsville Speedway. Terry Labonte won the pole with a speed of 89.988 mph.

Top Ten

Time of Race: 3 hours 30 minutes 1 seconds
Caution Flags: 9 for 46 laps
Margin of Victory: 1 lap

Harry Gant led 167 laps on way to his first ever Winston Cup victory after finishing in 2nd place 9 different times.

Winston 500

Main article: 1982 Winston 500

The Winston 500 was held on May 2 at the Alabama International Motor Speedway. Benny Parsons won the pole with a speed of 200.176 mph.

Top Ten

Time of Race: 3 hours 11 minutes 19 seconds
Caution Flags: 8 for 39 laps
Margin of Victory: 3 car lengths

The lead changed 53 times among 13 drivers. Parsons drafted into the lead with three laps to go; on the final lap he swung low to break the draft, but Waltrip, Labonte, and Petty drafted past on the high side; Parsons edged Petty while Labonte's last-second bid for the win fell short. Darrell Waltrip led 54 laps on way to his fourth Winston Cup victory of 1982.
The race is also remembered for the bizarre story of the mysterious L. W. Wright, a con-artist pretending to be a NASCAR veteran. Wright started and finished near the back, then after the race disappeared after the checks for a NASCAR license and car bounced, going in hiding for almost 40 years until resurfacing for an interview with The Scene Vault's Rick Houston

Cracker Barrel Country Store 420

The Cracker Barrel Country Store 420 was held on May 8 at the Nashville Speedway. Darrell Waltrip won the pole with a speed of 102.773 mph.

Top Ten

Time of Race: 2 hours 59 minutes 52 seconds
Caution Flags: 5 for 39 laps
Margin of Victory: 1 lap

Darrell Waltrip led 419 of 420 laps on way to his fifth Winston Cup victory of 1982.

Mason-Dixon 500

The Mason-Dixon 500 was held on May 16 at the Dover Downs International Speedway. Darrell Waltrip won the pole with a speed of 139.308 mph .

Top Ten

Time of Race: 4 hours 9 minutes 43 seconds
Caution Flags: 6 for 32 laps
Margin of Victory: 3 laps

Allison led 488 of 500 laps for the first Winston Cup win by a car equipped with power steering and his second Winston Cup victory of 1982.

World 600

Main article: 1982 World 600

The World 600 was held on May 30 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. David Pearson won the pole with a speed of 162.511 mph.

Top Ten

Time of Race: 4 hours 36 minutes 48 seconds
Caution Flags: 10 for 62 laps
Margin of Victory: 2 car lengths

Neil Bonnett won his only Winston Cup race of 1982. It was his final victory with Wood Brothers Racing.

Van Scoy Diamond Mine 500

The inaugural Van Scoy Diamond Mine 500 was held on June 6 at the Pocono International Raceway. Terry Labonte was on the pole because qualifying was rained out so the line up was set by the current Winston Cup points standings. This was the only time in 1982 that qualifying was rained out.

Top Ten

Time of Race: 4 hours 24 minutes 8 seconds
Caution Flags: 7 for 51 laps
Margin of Victory: Under Caution

Bobby Allison led the most laps (75 of 200) in route to his third Winston Cup victory of 1982.
Darrell Waltrip led 10 laps and finished 13th.

Budweiser 400

The Budweiser 400 was held on June 13 at the Riverside International Raceway. Terry Labonte won the pole with a speed of 162.511 mph.

Top Ten

Time of Race: 2 hours 23 minutes 51 seconds
Caution Flags: 1 for 7 laps
Margin of Victory: 3.82 seconds

Rookie Tim Richmond led just 10 laps for his first ever Winston Cup victory.
Darrell Waltrip had a dismal day falling out of the race after 28 laps with a piston failure finishing 32nd with no laps led.
Bobby Allison didn't fare much better falling out of the race after 47 laps with engine failure but he led 15 laps.
Terry Labonte padded to his points lead by finishing 2nd and leading the most laps (64). Labonte now led by 144 points over Allison, 210 points over Waltrip.

Gabriel 400

The Gabriel 400 was held on June 20 at the Michigan International Speedway. Ron Bouchard won the pole (his second ever of a total three) with a speed of 162.404 mph.

Top Ten

Time of Race: 3 hours 23 minutes 13 seconds
Caution Flags: 3 for 42 laps
Margin of Victory: 3 car lengths

Cale Yarborough led 73 laps for his second Winston Cup victory of 1982.

Firecracker 400

Main article: 1982 Firecracker 400

The Firecracker 400 was held on July 4 at the Daytona International Speedway. Rookie Geoff Bodine won the first Winston Cup pole of his career (he would win 37 in his career) with a speed of 194.721 mph.

Top Ten

Time of Race: 2 hours 27 minutes 9 seconds
Caution Flags: 5 for 25 laps
Margin of Victory: 2 car lengths

Bobby Allison won his fourth Winston Cup race of 1982. He also led the most laps (112 of 160).

Busch Nashville 420

The Busch Nashville 420 was held on July 10 at the Nashville Speedway. Morgan Shepherd won the first Winston Cup pole of his career (he would win 7 in his career) with a speed of 103.959 mph.

Top Ten

Time of Race: 2 hours 53 minutes 35 seconds
Caution Flags: 5 for 24 laps
Margin of Victory: 1 lap

Darrell Waltrip led 400 of 420 laps for his sixth Winston Cup victory of 1982.

Mountain Dew 500

Main article: 1982 Mountain Dew 500

The Mountain Dew 500 was held on July 25 at the Pocono International Raceway. Cale Yarborough won the pole with a speed of 150.764 mph.

Top Ten

Time of Race: 4 hours 19 minutes 45 seconds
Caution Flags: 6 for 43 laps
Margin of Victory: 17 seconds

Bobby Allison only led 16 laps but picked up his fifth Winston Cup victory of 1982.
Richard Petty led some 70 laps as the lead changed 46 times but had to pit for fuel with four laps remaining. Darrell Waltrip ran out of fuel coming out of turn one on the final lap.
The race saw a 23 lap caution period when Dale Earnhardt and Tim Richmond blasted the first turn boilerplate wall and track crews had to weld it back in place.

Talladega 500

The Talladega 500 was held on August 1 at the Alabama International Motor Speedway. Geoff Bodine won the second Winston Cup pole of his career with a speed of 199.4 mph.

Top Ten

Time of Race: 2 hours 58 minutes 26 seconds
Caution Flags: 5 for 25 laps
Margin of Victory: 1 car length

Darrell Waltrip led 107 of 188 laps to pick up his seventh Winston Cup victory of 1982.

Champion Spark Plug 400

Main article: 1982 Champion Spark Plug 400

The Champion Spark Plug 400 was held on August 22 at the Michigan International Speedway. Just over a year after he won his first ever pole, Bill Elliott won the second Winston Cup pole of his career with a speed of 162.995 mph.

Top Ten

Time of Race: 2 hours 45 minutes 53 seconds
Caution Flags: 5 for 29 laps
Margin of Victory: 2 car lengths

Bobby Allison picked up his sixth Winston Cup victory of 1982.
Buddy Arrington's 6th place finish (and 5th place start) would be his best finish of the season.

Busch 500

Main article: 1982 Busch 500

The Busch 500 was held on August 28 at the Bristol International Raceway. Rookie Tim Richmond won the first Winston Cup pole of his career at a speed of 112.507 mph.

Top Ten

Time of Race: 2 hours 49 minutes 32 seconds
Caution Flags: 3 for 15 laps
Margin of Victory: 0.70 seconds

Darrell Waltrip picked up his eighth Winston Cup victory of 1982. Bobby Allison would lead 169 laps but finish second.

Southern 500

The Southern 500 was held on September 6 at the Darlington Raceway. David Pearson won the final pole of his Hall of Fame career with a speed of 155.739 mph.

Top Ten

Time of Race: 4 hours 21 minutes 32 seconds
Caution Flags: 14 for 87 laps
Margin of Victory: 0.79 seconds

Cale Yarborough picked up his third Winston Cup victory of 1982. It was his last victory with the M.C. Anderson Racing team.
The lead changed 41 times among 17 drivers, the most competitive running in the event's history.

Wrangler Sanfor-Set 400

The Wrangler Sanfor-Set 400 was held on September 12 at the Richmond Fairgrounds Raceway. Bobby Allison won the pole with a speed of 93.435 mph.

Top Ten

Time of Race: 2 hours 37 minutes 6 seconds
Caution Flags: 2 for 12 laps
Margin of Victory: 17 seconds

Bobby Allison led the most laps (265 of 400) and picked up his seventh Winston Cup victory of 1982.

CRC Chemicals 500

The CRC Chemicals 500 was held on September 19 at the Dover Downs International Speedway. Ricky Rudd won the pole with a speed of 139.384 mph.

Top Ten

Time of Race: 4 hours 38 minutes 43 seconds
Caution Flags: 9 for 67 laps
Margin of Victory: 2 car lengths

Darrell Waltrip led the most laps (287 of 500) and picked up his ninth Winston Cup victory of 1982.

Holly Farms 400

The Holly Farms 400 was held on October 3 at the North Wilkesboro Speedway. Darrell Waltrip won the pole with a speed of 113.86 mph.

Top Ten

Time of Race: 2 hours 32 minutes 57 seconds
Caution Flags: 4 for 26 laps
Margin of Victory: 13.8 seconds

Darrell Waltrip for the second race in a row led the most laps (329 of 400 laps) and picked up the victory, his tenth Winston Cup victory of 1982.
The only other lap leader was Bobby Allison who led 71 laps but only completed 141 laps before having an engine problem.

National 500

The National 500 was held on October 10 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. Darrell Waltrip won the pole with a speed of 164.694 mph.

Top Ten

Time of Race: 3 hours 39 minutes 5 seconds
Caution Flags: 6 for 34 laps
Margin of Victory: 2.93 seconds

Harry Gant won his second Winston Cup victory of 1982 (also second win of his career) after Bobby Allison, who led the most laps (280 of 334 laps), blew his engine with ten laps remaining.
This was Gant's first victory from pole position.
This was also David Pearson's 300th Winston Cup top five finish.
This was also Jody Ridley's 100th Winston Cup start.
Richard Petty finished eighth despite damage in a ten-car crash started by Dale Earnhardt; Petty was unusually angry when Earnhardt blamed Petty for the crash.

Old Dominion 500

The Old Dominion 500 was held on October 17 at the Martinsville Speedway. Ricky Rudd won the pole with a speed of 89.132 mph.

Top Ten

Time of Race: 3 hours 41 minutes 5 seconds
Caution Flags: 10 for 70 laps
Margin of Victory: 2 seconds

Darrell Waltrip led the most laps (238 of 500) and picked up his eleventh Winston Cup victory of 1982.
Bobby Allison blew an engine after leading 98 laps and finished 19th.
Waltrip came into this race trailing Allison by 37 points. His victory and Allison's retirement meant Waltrip took over the points lead for the first time all season. Waltrip left Martinsville holding a 37-point lead over Allison.

Warner W. Hodgdon American 500

The Warner W. Hodgdon American 500 was held on October 31 at the North Carolina Motor Speedway. Cale Yarborough won the pole with a speed of 143.22 mph.

Top Ten

Time of Race: 4 hours 20 minutes 47 seconds
Caution Flags: 8 for 55 laps
Margin of Victory: 9.5 seconds

Darrell Waltrip won his twelfth Winston Cup victory of 1982.
Bobby Allison led the most laps (127 of 492 laps) but spun out of the pits on Lap 450. He recovered for a 2nd place finish but the difference between he & Waltrip would remain unchanged at 37 points.
Wood Brothers Racing with Neil Bonnett led 108 laps. Wood Brothers prepared cars would not lead 100 laps or more in a Cup Series race again until 2017 when Ryan Blaney led for 148 laps at Texas.

Atlanta Journal 500

The Atlanta Journal 500 was held on November 7 at the Atlanta International Raceway. Morgan Shepherd won the pole with a speed of 166.779 mph.

Top Ten

Time of Race: 3 hours 48 minutes 51 seconds
Caution Flags: 10 for 56 laps
45 lead changes among 14 drivers
Margin of Victory: 0.5 seconds

Bobby Allison led the most laps (100 of 328) and won his eighth Winston Cup victory of 1982.
This was the final Winston Cup race for country singer Marty Robbins before his death in December 1982.
Rodney Combs made his first NASCAR start in this race.
Heading into the season finale at Riverside, Waltrip had a 22 point lead over Allison.
This was Cale Yarborough's last race in the M. C. Anderson #27. He would complete 73 laps before blowing an engine finishing 35th. He would join Mizlou as the Driver Expert for the season finale at Riverside.

Winston Western 500

Main article: 1982 Winston Western 500

The Winston Western 500 was held on November 21 at the Riverside International Raceway. He had already locked up the season long pole award for winning the most poles but Darrell Waltrip added one more to his tally for his seventh pole of 1982 with a speed of 114.995 mph.

Top Ten

Time of Race: 3 hours 7 minutes 24 seconds
Caution Flags: 3 for 16 laps
Margin of Victory: 7 seconds

Tim Richmond led the most laps (92 of 119) and won his second Winston Cup victory of 1982. It was his final victory with the J. D. Stacy team.
Bobby Allison's title hopes ended on lap 111 of 119 when his engine failed - the fourth time in the last six races where engine trouble ended his race - and he finished 16th. It was Allison's last race with the number 88 and the last with sponsor Gatorade. Next season he would use number 22 and retain Miller High Life for sponsorship while staying with DiGard Racing.
Waltrip won his second straight title by 72 points over Allison.
By virture of finishing 8th & Dale Earnhardt finishing last (42nd), Morgan Shepherd was able to get to 10th in points while Earnhardt fell to 12th in the final standings. Jimmy Means finishing 12th in the race was the other reason for the 12th place final points standings as Means took 11th in the final standings, a career-best in the standings.
Conversely; Dale Earnhardt's 12th place finish in the standings would be the worst points finish of his career. A feat he would match in 1992, also recording only one victory that season as well.
This would be the last full time (entire season) race for Mark Martin in the Cup Series until 1988.
For the second straight season, Terry Labonte failed to win a race. However his consistency paid off with 3rd place in the final drivers points standings.
For the first time since the 1978 season, Richard Petty would fail to win a race.

Full Drivers' Championship

Further information: List of NASCAR points scoring systems

(key) Bold – Pole position awarded by time. Italics – Pole position set by owner's points. * – Most laps led.

Pos.	Driver	DAY	RCH	BRI	ATL	CAR	DAR	NWS	MAR	TAL	NSV	DOV	CLT	POC	RSD	MCH	DAY	NSV	POC	TAL	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	NWS	CLT	MAR	CAR	ATL	RSD	Pts
1	Darrell Waltrip	20	27	1*	1	7*	23	1*	5	1	1*	15	22	13	32	2	36	1*	6	1*	7	1	24	3	1*	1*	14	1*	1	3	3	4489
2	Bobby Allison	1*	8	5	22	4	25	8	17	13	6	1*	3	1	27	4	1*	19	1	10	1*	2*	20	1*	10	23	9*	19	2*	1*	16	4417
3	Terry Labonte	4	5	4	8	2	6	2	20	2	2	4	34	5	2*	28	27	2	3	5	21	4	35	6	27	3	16	4	4	8	27	4211
4	Harry Gant	7	30	6	5	8	19	6	1*	14	29	30	13	4	35	10	24	3	22	38	3	3	11	7	12	2	1	8	32	2	26	3877
5	Richard Petty	27	2	7	2	30	31	5	15	27	9	24	8	7	36	26	25	7	2*	3	2	26	2	13	30	4	8	3	6	15	31	3814
6	Dave Marcis	24	1	10	12	21	27	29	6	30	8	2	9	10	30	14	10	11	8	13	8	21	10	8	6	11	32	28	11	6	29	3666
7	Buddy Arrington	15	14	15	14	9	8	16	8	11	14	11	11	12	15	15	12	22	9	20	6	16	9	16	7	21	22	10	23	14	35	3642
8	Ron Bouchard	6	9	8	36	16	34	13	19	36	3	6	10	31	9	12	3	10	4	34	10	12	26	15	8	7	35	14	8	32	6	3545
9	Ricky Rudd	35	22	27	25	15	29	9	4	24	19	22	7	6	29	5	7	4	31	9	14	7	31	4	11	25	31	2	28	7	2	3537
10	Morgan Shepherd	19	10	3	6	5	30	7	26	5	15	7	19	35		8	4	26	28	8	32	5	36	12	24	13	30	18	5	25	8	3451
11	Jimmy Means	17	18	16	16	17	11	18	13	9	23	31	14	24	18	20	21	14	17	17	11	14	23	19	17	14	11	9	15	13	12	3423
12	Dale Earnhardt	36	4	2*	28	25	1*	3	23	8	10	3	30*	34	4	7	29	9	25	35	30	6	3	27	20	20	25	27	14	34	42	3402
13	Jody Ridley	9	13	20	17	33	22	17	12	38	13	17	6	9	7	27	15	8	36	14	26	8	28	25	25	9	7	7	31	28	9	3333
14	Mark Martin (R)	30	26	14	19	32	7	25	7	10	12	5	27	26	8	33	31	15	10	12	34	11	22	26	33	12	38	20	24	10	5	3042
15	Kyle Petty	23	20	11	26	27	18	14	27	4	27	29	17	11	12	6	38	23	15	39	15	30	14	14	2	10	29	21	29	31		3024
16	Joe Ruttman	3	15	18	29	24		12	14	22	4	18	41	30	26	13	40	12	7	11	38	24	13	31	18	6	4	5	18	5	40	3021
17	Neil Bonnett	25	7	22	27	19	24	10	3	19	5	19	1		5	11	32			16	9		34	5	21		28	22	3	11	4	2966
18	Benny Parsons	26	3*	9	4	3	4	4	29	3*	22	20	39	3	23	32	28				5		8		5		5		34	20	7	2892
19	J. D. McDuffie	13	23	19	38	10	36	20	16	18	18	27	33	33	25	37	11	25	16	22	16	22	16	30	13	30	18	15	22	30	18	2886
20	Lake Speed	41	19	29	33	34	17	24	24	34	30	10	12	20	31	34	9	13	33	21	12	13	6	10	22	8	21	29	33	29	32	2850
21	Tommy Gale	16	21	17	37	11	12	DNQ		16	16	13	23	18	Wth	18	14	18	23	29	20	19	29	21	14	19	36	17	16	26		2698
22	Geoff Bodine (R)	42						15	25	33	21	21	25	8	3	9	6	6	11	15	4	10	7	28	4	5	13	11	27	19	11	2654
23	Buddy Baker	8			30	14	37		28	25			5	22		31	8	24	5	2	25	9	5	9	29	24	6	6	7	21		2591
24	D. K. Ulrich		29	26	32	26	15	19	31	15	26	14	28	15	16	22		17				18	27	20	19	15	15	12	10	23	15	2566
25	Bill Elliott	5	12		21	23	3			26	11		2	19		3	2	21	30	6	27		4		3		2		12	24	25	2558
26	Tim Richmond	DNQ				31	5	11	18	7	7	9	40	2	1	25	23	5	24	7	23	25	30	2	9	22	19	13	17	4	1*	2497
27	Cale Yarborough	2			3	1	2			37			4	28		1*	22		26	4	28		1*				33		25	35		2022
28	James Hylton	DNQ									17	12				23	19	20	12	25	22	23	18	17	15	17		16				1514
29	Slick Johnson	DNQ	17	21		18	26	30	10	12	25	16	18	29	Wth	30	34	28		32			32				DNQ		19			1261
30	Ronnie Thomas	DNQ		25		20	13	23			24	23		23		35			32		17	28	38	23	31	29	37	25	30			1093
31	Bobby Wawak	32		DNQ		28	21						20	14					19	26	DNQ		21				DNQ		13	17		1002
32	Brad Teague (R)	DNQ		12	13			22	11		20	25	24	25								15										966
33	Lennie Pond		24			Wth	10	26	22	31			31		Wth		16	27		36			40	DNQ			20		9	12		756
34	Rick Wilson	18			9					32			36				33			27							10			27		731
35	Joe Millikan	40	6	13	24	6	16																QL					QL	26			678
36	Rick Newsom	Wth					14	DNQ						17					13			29	19	DNQ	35		DNQ	31	35	DNQ		619
37	David Pearson												21			36	5				31		37				3		Wth			613
38	Gary Balough	11	32	23	7	12																										564
39	Lowell Cowell	14								21				21			13			18												554
40	Philip Duffie									17							18			23			17				DNQ			16		542
41	H. B. Bailey						35						26			21					35		29				26					462
42	Butch Lindley							28	2															24				26				435
43	Dean Combs												38			17					13					26	34					431
44	Delma Cowart	33			23								32				17			30							DNQ					410
45	Donnie Allison	34			11	22	9		30	6		8	37		Wth															38		406
46	Bobby Hillin Jr.							21						36		16	20			19												379
47	Roy Smith	10													6																24	375
48	Dick Brooks	38		28	34	Wth	32																				24					347
49	Connie Saylor	DNQ			31								15				39			37		20	12				39					335
50	Darryl Sage																	16				17		18				30		22		324
51	Travis Tiller	Wth															26			28							40			18		316
52	Bob Schacht		16					27	21		DNQ																					297
53	Tom Sneva	22	31		15	QL																										285
54	Rick McCray														14																34	282
55	Dick May	Wth		30	20	13	20	DNQ								19							15		23					37		282
56	Jim Bown														17																10	246
57	Jim Reich														10																19	240
58	John Callis											32							27						26		DNQ			DNQ		234
59	Steve Moore	Wth			18					35			35														DNQ			40		230
60	Jimmy Walker											28		37												28						210
61	Jocko Maggiacomo											26		32					34						28					DNQ		207
62	Jim Sauter	12			10		33																									201
63	Don Waterman														11																33	199
64	Bill Schmitt														24																21	191
65	Rusty Wallace	37			35								29																			186
66	Jim Robinson														28																20	182
67	John Krebs														19																37	158
68	Elliott Forbes-Robinson	28			40					29																						155
69	Jim Lee														34																23	155
70	A. J. Foyt	21			39																											146
71	Rodney Combs																													9		143
72	Mark Stahl														22																39	143
73	Hershel McGriff														33																28	143
74	Robin McCall												DNQ			29					33						DNQ					140
75	Tommy Ellis	DNQ	11																					11								130
76	Rick Baldwin																										12					127
77	Scott Miller														13																	124
78	Glenn Francis																														14	121
79	Marty Robbins																37				DNQ									33		116
80	Jeff McDuffie																									16	DNQ					115
81	Al Loquasto													16					29	24	36	27										115
82	Cecil Gordon			DNQ															14						16	18		QL		DNQ	17	109
83	John Anderson						28			20			42														17					103
84	Randy Baker																												20			103
85	Don Puskarich														20																	103
86	Trevor Boys																														22	97
87	John McFadden			24																							DNQ			DNQ		91
88	Tommy Houston		25																													88
89	Richard Brickhouse																										27		21	DNQ		82
90	Steve Gray													27																		82
91	Joe Fields		28																					22				24		DNQ		79
92	Bob Jarvis							DNQ			28						35															79
93	Bill Scott	DNQ								28											DNQ											79
94	Ernie Cline					29																										76
95	Blackie Wangerin	DNQ															30										DNQ					73
96	Stan Barrett	31																														70
97	Mike Potter																		20				33				DNQ			DNQ		64
98	Bob Slawinski	DNQ																		33	DNQ											64
99	Gil Roth																				DNQ				34							61
100	Tom Hessert Jr.																		35													58
101	Derrike Cope																														36	55
102	Earle Canavan																				37		39									52
103	Randy Becker														21																38	49
104	Billie Harvey	39																														46
105	Glenn Jarrett																													39		46
106	David Simko	DNQ								40											29											43
107	Kevin Terris																														41	40
108	Jimmy Hensley								9															29				23
109	Charlie Baker																		18	31	19						DNQ
110	Joe Booher	DNQ																	21		18									DNQ
111	Terry Herman																														13
112	Bosco Lowe												16
113	Ferrel Harris	DNQ								23
114	Sterling Marlin	DNQ																									23
115	Tony Bettenhausen Jr.																				24
116	Dennis DeVea															24														DNQ
117	Joel Stowe	DNQ																								27
118	Tighe Scott	29
119	Jimmy Insolo																														30
120	J. R. Charbonneau																								32
121	Jerry Bowman																													36
122	L. W. Wright									39	DNQ
123	Jim Hurlbert																			40
124	Dick Skillen	DNQ
125	Bob Riley	DNQ
126	Ronnie Sanders	DNQ
127	John Haver	DNQ																									DNQ
128	Bill Meazel	DNQ																												DNQ
129	Bob Kennedy														DNQ
130	Ed Baugess																										DNQ
131	Billy McGinnis																													DNQ
132	Paul Simms																													DNQ
133	Clive Skilton																														DNQ
134	Don Whittington	Wth
135	Joey Arrington	Wth
136	Bill Hollar	Wth
137	Alan West
138	Steve Pfeifer														Wth
139	Don Stanley														Wth
140	Sam Ard																											Wth
Pos.	Driver	DAY	RCH	BRI	ATL	CAR	DAR	NWS	MAR	TAL	NSV	DOV	CLT	POC	RSD	MCH	DAY	NSV	POC	TAL	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	NWS	CLT	MAR	CAR	ATL	RSD	Pts

Rookie of the year

Geoff Bodine won the rookie of the year even though he only started 25 of the 30 races. However, he had 4 top fives, 10 top tens, 2 poles, and 118 laps led, he had a season long average finishing position of 15.16. Mark Martin, his closest competitor for the award, did start all 30 races but he only had 2 top fives, 8 top tens, 0 poles, and 4 laps led, he had a season long average finishing position of 19.47.