1983 NASCAR Cup Series Head-to-Head Playoff Results

Originally published on Aug. 13, 2024

By Zane Miller

First round

(8) #44 Terry Labonte v. (1) #22 Bobby Allison

(7) #15 Dale Earnhardt v. (2) #11 Darrell Waltrip

(6) #75 Neil Bonnett v. (3) #9 Bill Elliott

(5) #43 Richard Petty v. (4) #33 Harry Gant

In the first race of the playoffs at Darlington, Bobby Allison quickly showed why he had the #1 seed, taking the race win after leading the most laps. Darrell Waltrip also claimed a solid third-place finish to take the win over Dale Earnhardt, while Bill Elliott finished runner-up to go ahead of a hard-charging Neil Bonnett in fourth. Both Richard Petty and Harry Gant had rough afternoons, though Petty came out on top with a 12^th-place result, while Gant ended up multiple laps down in 22^nd. At Richmond, Allison continued his winning ways, leading over half the laps to grab back-to-back race wins, knocking out Labonte in the process. Waltrip again followed up with another third-place result, while Earnhardt fell out with a busted rear end gear to end his championship hopes. Elliott finished fourth to eliminate Bonnett despite an eighth-place result, while Petty completed the full first-round playoff sweep after Gant was caught up in a crash. With the next event at Dover being skipped over, the second round commenced at Martinsville.

Semifinal

(5) #43 Richard Petty v. (1) #22 Bobby Allison

(3) #9 Bill Elliott v. (2) #11 Darrell Waltrip

In the Old Dominion state, Allison’s shot at four wins in a row would be thwarted by Ricky Rudd, though he still captured a runner-up finish to set himself up in a good position for the rest of the round. Waltrip nailed down another third-place finish while Elliott blew an engine just over 30 laps from the finish. At North Wilkesboro, the trend of playoff sweeps would continue as Waltrip earned the race victory, dominating with 252 laps led to punch his ticket to another championship final series. Meanwhile, Allison disposed of Petty after taking third, while Petty struggled to a 12^th-place finish to set up a rematch of the 1981 championship final.

Final

(2) #11 Darrell Waltrip v. (1) #22 Bobby Allison

With the championship battle raging on in Rockingham, Allison’s quest for a third title would get off to a rocky start as he finished 55 laps down in 16^th thanks to an early accident, while Waltrip took a respectable fifth-place finish to claim the early series lead. However, he would be unable to finish the job in Atlanta, as he only managed a ninth-place result while Allison led the most laps and took home the third spot to force the title to be won out west.

In the season finale on the road course of Riverside, Allison proved he had a strong car in the early laps, remaining up near the front and even leading a lap. However, Waltrip clearly had the upper hand in the early going as he started from the pole and led the opening 31 laps. Both machines stayed in contention for the win throughout the afternoon, though Waltrip maintained just enough pace to keep Allison at bay. As the checkered flag waved for Bill Elliott’s first career win, it would be Waltrip winning the war with a sixth-place run, with Allison trailing just out of reach in ninth. Just as in 1981, Waltrip got the better of Allison, scoring his third career Cup Series championship in the process.

Darrell Waltrip’s stats for 1983 were six wins, 22 top-fives and 25 top-10s in 30 starts, finishing second in the real-life standings to actual champion Bobby Allison.