| Race details[1] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 12 of 30 in the1984 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season | |||
 Layout of Charlotte Motor Speedway | |||
| Date | May 27, 1984 (1984-05-27) | ||
| Official name | World 600 | ||
| Location | Charlotte Motor Speedway,Concord, North Carolina | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 1.500 miles (2.414 km) | ||
| Distance | 400 laps, 600 mi (965 km) | ||
| Weather | Very hot with temperatures of 87.1 °F (30.6 °C); wind speeds of 11.1 miles per hour (17.9 km/h) | ||
| Average speed | 129.707 miles per hour (208.743 km/h) | ||
| Attendance | 149,000[2] | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Mach 1 Racing | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Bobby Allison | DiGard Motorsports | |
| Laps | 156 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 22 | Bobby Allison | DiGard Motorsports | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | Mizlou | ||
| Announcers | Mike Joy Donnie Allison | ||
The1984 World 600, the 25th running of theevent, was aNASCARWinston Cup Series racing event that took place on May 27, 1984. A souvenir program from this race cost $4 ($12.11 when adjusted for inflation).
Charlotte Motor Speedway was designed and built byBruton Smith and partner and driverCurtis Turner in 1959. The firstWorld 600NASCAR race was held at the 1.5 mi (2.4 km) speedway on June 19, 1960. On December 8, 1961, the speedway filed bankruptcy notice. Judge J.B. Craven of US District Court for Western North Carolina reorganized it under Chapter 10 of the Bankruptcy Act; Judge Craven appointed Robert "Red" Robinson as the track's trustee until March 1962. At that point, a committee of major stockholders in the speedway was assembled, headed by A.C. Goines and furniture store owner Richard Howard. Goines, Howard, and Robinson worked to secure loans and other monies to keep the speedway afloat.[3]
By April 1963 some $750,000 was paid to twenty secured creditors and the track emerged from bankruptcy; Judge Craven appointed Goines as speedway president and Howard as assistant general manager of the speedway, handling its day-to-day operations. By 1964 Howard become the track's general manager, and on June 1, 1967, the speedway's mortgage was paid in full; a public burning of the mortgage was held at the speedway two weeks later.[4]
Smith departed from the speedway in 1962 to pursue other business interests, primarily in banking and auto dealerships from his new home of Rockford, IL. He became quite successful and began buying out shares of stock in the speedway. By 1974 Smith was more heavily involved in the speedway, to where Richard Howard by 1975 stated, "I haven't been running the speedway. It's being run from Illinois."[5] In 1975 Smith had become the majority stockholder, regaining control of its day-to-day operations. Smith hiredH.A. "Humpy" Wheeler as general manager in October 1975, and on January 29, 1976, Richard Howard resigned as president and GM of the speedway.
The actorBurt Young (Paulie from the popularRocky film series) was the official starter. There were 42 drivers on the grid;Benny Parsons received the last-place finish due to an ignition issue on the sixth lap out of the 400. Racing legend David Pearson was the lowest earner in this race, making $800 for his ninth-place finish. The next lowest earner was Doug Heveron, who was paid $1,275 for being 248 laps behind in 40th.[2][6]
Trevor Boys was the only driver notAmerican-born.[2] Notable drivers that competed included:Terry Labonte,Sterling Marlin,Bill Elliott,Darrell Waltrip,Cale Yarborough, andRusty Wallace.[2][6]Harry Gant would earn the pole position for this race with a speed of 162.496 miles per hour (261.512 km/h).[2][6] Nearly 150000 fans would seeBobby Allison defeatDale Earnhardt after five caution periods; marking the last win for the G-body Buick Regal in a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race.[2][6] The entire race lasted more than four and a half hours.[2][6] Twenty-two different changes in the first-place position were observed during the race.[2][6]
There was rain between lap 248 and 256 which was caused by a cold front which attempted to simmer down the very hot temperatures during the race; it subsided until lap 281.[2][6] There WERE officially 48 caution laps during the race; with most of them being caused by accidents and engine failures caused by the constant pressures of high-speed racing.[2][6]
Kyle Petty and his fatherRichard also competed at this race. The younger Petty charged from 41st starting position to seventh in the races first 100 miles but dropped out on lap 193 due to a blown engine.[2][6] SenatorJesse Helms was a genuine fan of Richard Petty and had the opportunity to meet him during the event.[7]
Allison would end up in a slump and not win another race until the1986 Winston 500 atAlabama International Motor Speedway inTalladega,Alabama.
| Pos[2] | Grid | No. | Driver | Manufacturer | Laps | Laps led | Points | Time/Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 16 | 22 | Bobby Allison | Buick | 400 | 156 | 185 | 4:38:34 |
| 2 | 19 | 3 | Dale Earnhardt | Chevrolet | 400 | 91 | 175 | +17 seconds |
| 3 | 18 | 47 | Ron Bouchard | Buick | 399 | 0 | 165 | +1 lap |
| 4 | 1 | 33 | Harry Gant | Chevrolet | 399 | 1 | 165 | +1 lap |
| 5 | 13 | 5 | Geoffrey Bodine | Chevrolet | 399 | 0 | 155 | +1 lap |
| 6 | 17 | 1 | Lake Speed | Chevrolet | 398 | 0 | 150 | +2 laps |
| 7 | 6 | 21 | Buddy Baker | Ford | 398 | 0 | 146 | +2 laps |
| 8 | 3 | 84 | Jody Ridley | Chevrolet | 398 | 0 | 142 | +2 laps |
| 9 | 5 | 16 | David Pearson | Chevrolet | 397 | 0 | 138 | +3 laps |
| 10 | 21 | 27 | Tim Richmond | Pontiac | 396 | 0 | 134 | +4 laps |
| Pos | Driver | Points[2] | Differential |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | Darrell Waltrip | 1777 | 0 |
2 | Dale Earnhardt | 1735 | -42 |
| 3 | Ricky Rudd | 1730 | -47 |
4 | Terry Labonte | 1712 | -65 |
| 5 | Bill Elliott | 1675 | -102 |
| 6 | Harry Gant | 1638 | -139 |
| 7 | Richard Petty | 1607 | -170 |
| 8 | Ron Bouchard | 1580 | -197 |
| 9 | Bobby Allison | 1569 | -208 |
| 10 | Neil Bonnett | 1554 | -223 |
| Preceded by | NASCAR Winston Cup Series races 1984 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | World 600 races 1984 | Succeeded by none |