1982 Daytona 500

Race details[1]
Race 1 of 30 in the1982 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season
1982 Daytona 500 program cover
Date	February 14, 1982 (1982-02-14)
Location	Daytona International Speedway,Daytona Beach, Florida
Course	Permanent racing facility 2.5 mi (4.02336 km)
Distance	200 laps, 500 mi (804.672 km)
Weather	Temperatures of 72 °F (22 °C); wind speeds of 13 miles per hour (21 km/h)
Average speed	153.991 miles per hour (247.824 km/h)
Attendance	120,000[2]
Pole position
Driver	Benny Parsons	Harry Ranier
Most laps led
Driver	Bobby Allison	DiGard Motorsports
Laps	147
Winner
No. 88	Bobby Allison	DiGard Motorsports
Television in the United States
Network	CBS
Announcers	Ken Squier David Hobbs Ned Jarrett Larry Nuber

The1982 Daytona 500, the 24th running of theevent, was the first race of the 1982NASCARWinston Cup season. It was the first time that the Daytona 500 was the first race of the season.^[3]

Bobby Allison would take the win in the #88Gatorade-sponsored Buick Regal.^[2] Allison holds the distinction of leading the most laps in consecutiveDaytona 500s in 1981 and 1982, and then win the next year. A live audience of 120,000 patrons was there for the 194-minute race in which five cautions would slow the field for 34 laps; there were a total of 31 lead changes over the course of the 200 laps. Allison's margin of victory over Cale Yarborough was 23 seconds, more than half a lap.^[2]

No Chevrolet vehicles were in this race; the last time this happened was at the1971 Space City 300 atMeyer Speedway in Texas.^[4]

This event marked the first Daytona 500 starts for Joe Ruttman, Ron Bouchard, Jim Sauter, Rick Wilson, Tom Sneva, Mark Martin, Delma Cowart, Rusty Wallace, and Lake Speed,^[2] the only Daytona 500 start for Lowell Cowell,^[2] and the last Daytona 500 starts for Roy Smith, Gary Balough, Tighe Scott, Stan Barrett, Bobby Wawak, Donnie Allison, Billie Harvey, and Joe Millikan.^[2]

Allison's win drew controversy after his rearbumper fell off very early in the race. On lap 4,Harry Gant ledTerry Labonte, withBobby Allison andCale Yarborough battling nose-to-tail for third. Going through turns three and four, Allison's rear bumper fell off and flew high into the air before landing back on the racing surface. Several cars took evasive action to avoid it, before it was run over byJoe Millikan (running in 20th position), causing him to veer to the outside wall coming out of turn four. This triggered a much larger crash, involving several cars towards the back of the pack, and brought out the first caution of the race. Three cars were out of the race (Millikan,Lake Speed, andGeoffrey Bodine), while others suffered minor damage.

After the bumper was off Allison's car, it was consistently faster than the competition allowing him to pull away to a significant lead despite other drivers working together in the draft. Yarborough's crew chief,Tim Brewer, later intimated that Allison's team had intended for the bumper to come off because they knew it would offer a major aerodynamic advantage, either using hollow bolts or very thin wire to attach it superficially to the car. Other observers also believed that the bumper was manipulated by the team to intentionally fall off, possibly by using simpletack welds, because the result would have the car underweight and give the car improved handling.^[5] Allison's crew chiefGary Nelson denied that and continues to deny it to this day. OnThe Dale Jr. Download, Nelson stated that crew members pop-riveted the bumper to the fenders due to the NASCAR officials stating that the bumper needed to be lower on the car instead of welding brackets to hold it on. Allison himself also denied the allegations until his death in 2024.

Fourteen cars competed in aconsolation race for non-qualifiers.Slick Johnson started from the pole in the event; he finished second, withTim Richmond winning the 30-lap race.Ronnie Thomas,Bill Meazel andJames Hylton rounded out the top five.^[7]

Richmond's race-winning car would later be used as a throwback scheme driven byTyler Reddick in the2024 Goodyear 400.

• 1982 in sports in Florida
• 1982 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
• February 1982 sports events in the United States
• NASCAR races at Daytona International Speedway
• NASCAR controversies

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use mdy dates from February 2024