Originally published on Sept. 4, 2024
By Zane
Miller
First
round
(8) #15
Ricky Rudd v. (1) #44 Terry Labonte
(7) #12
Neil Bonnett v. (2) #3 Dale Earnhardt
(6) #22
Bobby Allison v. (3) #9 Bill Elliott
(5) #33
Harry Gant v. (4) #11 Darrell Waltrip
In the
opening round at Darlington, Harry Gant proved his status as a playoff
contender, grabbing the race win after leading 277 laps. Meanwhile, Ricky Rudd
scored an early upset as the #8 seed, taking fifth while Terry Labonte settled
for eighth. Neil Bonnett also pulled off an upset against Dale Earnhardt
despite both drivers having horrible races, as Earnhardt blew an engine just 57
laps in before Bonnett’s engine also went kaput 67 laps later. Bill Elliott
appeared to have a strong car, leading a handful of laps in the early going, before
he was collected in a five-car pileup just 40 laps from the finish. This
allowed Bobby Allison to scoot by Elliott in the results with a 10th-place
finish, nine laps down.
After the
chaos at The Track Too Tough to Tame, the playoff competitors headed to
Richmond, where Waltrip spanked the field by leading 321 of the race’s 400 laps
en route to victory. However, the biggest story of the day was Rudd completing
the massive upset over Labonte, as he led 68 laps and finished second, while
Labonte again came in eighth to bring an end to what had been a promising
season. Earnhardt had a strong performance as well, grabbing the third spot ahead
of Bonnett in seventh to tie up the series, while Elliott and Allison struggled
as they both finished outside the top 20, though Elliott’s title hopes would
survive as he finished five laps ahead of Allison.
With three
of the first-round series still up for grabs in Dover, Gant continued his run
of dominance by grabbing the race win, leading 281 laps in the process to
eliminate Waltrip. The tight battle between Earnhardt and Bonnett would come
down to the final lap, though it would be Earnhardt coming across the line in
fifth with Bonnett trailing in sixth. However, in the Allison-Elliott series
that it seemed neither driver wanted to win, Allison crashed on lap 121, giving
Elliott the advantage before he too would wreck out near the midway point of
the race. Still, Allison was not able to have his car repaired to go back out
on track, enabling Elliott to advance to the semifinals.
Semifinal
(8) #15
Ricky Rudd v. (2) #3 Dale Earnhardt
(5) #33
Harry Gant v. (3) #9 Bill Elliott
At
Martinsville, despite leading 46 laps, Gant would fall behind in the series
after finishing fourth, while Elliott came home third, one lap down. Meanwhile,
playing the role of the underdog, Rudd sustained a crucial blow to his chances after
his engine let go just 58 laps in, while Earnhardt maintained a steady 12th-place
run. With the schedule taking the teams back home to Charlotte, Gant again finished
a respectable fourth, but it wouldn’t be enough. Elliott led the final 60 laps to
take the race win, moving on to the finals for the first time in his career. However,
Earnhardt would fail to do the same, as he suffered a blown engine while Rudd
pushed the series to North Wilkesboro with an eighth-place run.
At the
legendary short track, all eyes were focused on the battle of the two
Wrangler-sponsored cars. With just 17 laps to go, Rudd overtook Earnhardt for
the sixth position, and began to pull away. Despite making a desperate effort
to catch up, which nearly resulted in spinning out Terry Labonte, Earnhardt would
run out of time as Rudd moved on to face Elliott in the final round.
Final
(8) #15
Ricky Rudd v. (3) #9 Bill Elliott
The final
round got underway at Rockingham, Elliott was more than happy to rain on Rudd’s
parade, winning the event on a last-lap pass of Harry Gant while Rudd fell out just
over 100 laps from the finish due to engine woes. With the series heading back
to Elliott’s home track of Atlanta, “Awesome Bill” capitalized on the friendly environment,
leading 55 laps on the way to a runner-up finish to earn his first career
championship, while Rudd’s Cinderella run came to an end as he finished just
behind in third.
Bill
Elliott’s stats for 1984 were three victories, 13 top-fives and 24 top-10s in
30 races, finishing third in the real-life standings to actual champion Terry
Labonte.
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