1980 CRC Chemicals Rebel 500

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1980 CRC Chemicals Rebel 500
Race details[1][2]
Race 7 of 31 in the 1980 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season
Layout of Darlington Raceway
Layout of Darlington Raceway
Date April 13, 1980 (1980-April-13)
Official name CRC Chemicals Rebel 500
Location Darlington Raceway (Darlington, South Carolina)
Course Permanent racing facility
1.366 mi (2.198 km)
Distance 189 laps, 258.2 mi (415.4 km)
Scheduled Distance 367 laps, 501.3 mi (806.7 km)
Weather Warm with temperatures of 79.9 °F (26.6 °C); wind speeds up to 9.9 miles per hour (15.9 km/h); exactly 0.31 inches (7.9 mm) of rain and hail interrupted the race
Average speed 112.397 miles per hour (180.885 km/h)
Attendance 45,000[3]
Pole position
Driver
Most laps led
Driver David Pearson Ellington Racing
Laps 99
Winner
No. 1 David Pearson Ellington Racing
Television in the United States
Network ABC
Announcers Keith Jackson
Jackie Stewart

The 1980 CRC Chemicals Rebel 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that was held on April 13, 1980, at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina.

The NASCAR Winston Cup Series was also plagued with top teams running big engines and finishing in third place to avoid inspection around the early-1980s.

Forty-five thousand fans would attend the event, interrupted by 0.31 inches or 7.9 millimetres of precipitation, shortened to the shortest race in what is now the Cup Series by percentage in Darlington history (51.50%, 189 laps, which is six laps more than an official race, which would be 184 laps), as the race was shortened because of impending darkness (Darlington did not add lights until the 2004 Southern 500).

Race report[]

There were 36 American-born drivers on the grid for this event. A multiple-car crash where Ricky Rudd and Richard Petty collided in Turn 1 collected numerous cars, with Neil Bonnett never completing the first lap. David Pearson would earn his final victory ever as a NASCAR Cup Series driver as defeated Benny Parsons by three seconds. Lake Speed would finish in the top ten only three races after his Cup Series debut. This would be the seventh Spring Darlington win for Pearson in addition to two victories in a row at Darlington for David Pearson. Hoss Ellington would receive his final NASCAR Winston Cup Series win for the #1 Hawaiian Tropic team.[3]

Most of the cars used in this racing event were Chevrolets. The race took two hours and twenty-three minutes to complete. Almost the entire "top ten" grid were driving Chevrolet vehicles. Harry Gant would achieve his first top five finish in this event; marking a precedence for more than 100 top five finishes. Winnings for this race varied from $21,340 for the winner ($67,028 when adjusted for inflation) to $1,800 for the last-place finisher ($5,654 when adjusted for inflation). [3] The total purse was $173,565 ($545,160 when adjusted for inflation).[4]

would retire from NASCAR Cup Series competition after this race while David Pearson would not win again.[5]

Notable crew chiefs for this event were Junie Donlavey, Joey Arrington, Darrell Bryant, Dale Inman, D.K. Ulrich, Waddell Wilson, Kirk Shelmerdine, Jake Elder among others.[6]

Qualifying[]

Grid[3] No. Driver Manufacturer
1 27 Benny Parsons Chevrolet
2 1 David Pearson Chevrolet
3 11 Cale Yarborough Chevrolet
4 40 Ricky Rudd Chevrolet
5 2 Dale Earnhardt Chevrolet
6 28 Buddy Baker Chevrolet
7 43 Richard Petty Chevrolet
8 71 Dave Marcis Chevrolet
9 44 Terry Labonte Chevrolet
10 47 Harry Gant Chevrolet
11 21 Neil Bonnett Mercury
12 15 Bobby Allison Ford
13 68 Lennie Pond Chevrolet
14 64 Tommy Gale Ford
15 7 Dick Brooks Chevrolet

Finishing order[]

Section reference: [3]

  1. David Pearson (No. 1)
  2. Benny Parsons (No. 27)
  3. Harry Gant (No. 47)
  4. Darrell Waltrip (No. 88)
  5. Dick Brooks (No. 7)
  6. Lennie Pond (No. 68)
  7. Joe Millikan (No. 72)
  8. Lake Speed (No. 66)
  9. Richard Petty (No. 43)
  10. Jody Ridley (No. 90)
  11. Sterling Marlin (No. 5)
  12. Cale Yarborough* (No. 11)
  13. Bobby Wawak (No. 74)
  14. Buddy Arrington (No. 67)
  15. Tommy Gale (No. 64)
  16. Roger Hamby (No. 17)
  17. John Anderson (No. 19)
  18. James Hylton (No. 48)
  19. Ricky Rudd (No. 40)
  20. (No. 75)
  21. Richard Childress (No. 3)
  22. J.D. McDuffie (No. 70)
  23. Dave Marcis* (No. 71)
  24. Dick May (No. 99)
  25. Slick Johnson (No. 53)
  26. Ronnie Thomas* (No. 25)
  27. * (No. 12)
  28. Jimmy Means (No. 25)
  29. Dale Earnhardt* (No. 2)
  30. Bobby Allison* (No. 15)
  31. Baxter Price* (No. 45)
  32. Terry Labonte* (No. 44)
  33. * (No. 59)
  34. Cecil Gordon* (No. 82)
  35. Buddy Baker* (No. 28)
  36. Neil Bonnett* (No. 21)

* Driver failed to finish race

Timeline[]

Section reference: [3]

  • Start of race: David Pearson was leading the racing grid as the green flag was waved.
  • Lap 14: Dale Earnhardt took over the lead from David Pearson.
  • Lap 28: Lennie Pond took over the lead from Dale Earnhardt.
  • Lap 29: Dave Marcis took over the lead from Lennie Pond.
  • Lap 32: Dale Earnhardt took over the lead from Dave Marcis.
  • Lap 33: David Pearson took over the lead from Dale Earnhardt.
  • Lap 87: Lennie Pond took over the lead from David Pearson.
  • Lap 88: Cale Yarborough took over the lead from Lennie Pond.
  • Lap 123: Benny Parsons took over the lead from Cale Yarborough.
  • Lap 135: Darrell Waltrip took over the lead from Benny Parsons.
  • Lap 150: Benny Parsons took over the lead from Darrell Waltrip.
  • Lap 158: David Pearson took over the lead from Benny Parsons.
  • Finish: David Pearson was pronounced the winner of the event.

Standings after the race[]

Pos Driver Points[3] Differential
1 Dale Earnhardt 1106 0
2 Bobby Allison 1013 -93
3 Darrell Waltrip 1002 -104
4 Richard Petty 962 -144
5 Cale Yarborough 927 -179

References[]

  1. ^ 1980 CRC Chemicals Rebel 500 weather information at The Old Farmers' Almanac
  2. ^ Amount of precipitation that ended the 1980 CRC Chemicals Rebel 500 at The Old Farmers' Almanac
  3. ^ a b c d e f g 1980 CRC Chemicals Rebel 500 racing information at Racing Reference
  4. ^ 1980 CRC Chemicals Rebel 500 racing information at Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet
  5. ^ 1980 CRC Chemicals Rebel 500 racing information at Race Database
  6. ^ 1980 CRC Chemicals Rebel 500 crew chiefs at Racing Reference
Preceded by
NASCAR Winston Cup Series Season
1980
Succeeded by
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