July 16, 1983 - 250 Miles - Purse $138,770


Busch Nashville 420 winner Dale Earnhardt holds the trophy in victory lane.

This would be Earnhardt's second victory at the historic 5/8 Nashville Fairground Speedway.

The win would be Dale Earnhardt's first since his victory at Darlington in April 1982.  It would also be his first short track win since his October 1980 triumph at Martinsville.




   Ron Bouchard won the third pole of his career by turning a lap of 103.02 mph around the 5/8 mile speedway.  He exited the race on lap 209 due to a blown engine. "We just can't seem to finish one lately," stated the Fitchburg, Massachusetts based driver.

This would be the last start at Nashville for Henley Gray’s team.  The team had 20 starts at Nashville with three top-ten finishes.   Gray Racing’s best finish would be a seventh place in the 1972 Nashville 420.  Driver Henley Gray piloted a school bused sized 1971 Ford Thunderbird in the race.  Second-generation driver Steve Gray would pilot the team’s Buick Regal to a 21st place finish in the 1983 event.

This would the last NASCAR Winston Cup series race at the track with included "Nashville" in the race name. 



Fan Favorite Bobby Allison waves to the crowd during driver introductions.		  

The Advance Auto Pontiac of Ronnie Thomas.


Steve Thomas makes the 20th and final start at Nashville for Gray Racing.
  

Darrell Waltrip and Neil Bonnett battle into turn three.


Trevor Boys and his Hylton Motorsports Chevrolet lead the field down the back straight.		  

Crew Chief Jeff Hammond and team push the Chevrolet of Darrell Waltrip onto the starting grid.
Average Speed:   85.726 mph Time of Race:      2:55:12 Margin:      15 second
Pole Winner:        Ron Bouchard / 103.02 Attendance:         22,000 Cautions:     4 for 25
Lap Leaders:       Darrell Waltrip 1 - 66, Neil Bonnett 67 - 85,  Dave Marcis 86, Neil Bonnett 87 - 116, Dave Marcis 117 - 120,
Bobby Allison 121 - 144, Darrell Waltrip 145 -172, Dale Earnhardt 173 - 181, Darrell Waltrip 182 - 216, Dale Earnhardt 217 - 272,
Neil Bonnett 276, Dale Earnhardt 277 - 420 (12 Lead Changes)
 
Driver Fin Str Car Team  /  Owner Car Laps Money Status Led
Dale Earnhardt 1 3 15 Wrangler
Bud Moore 		Ford 420 23,125 Running 212
Darrell Waltrip 2 2 11 Pepsi Challenger
Junior Johnson 		Chevrolet 420 16,425 Running 129
Tim Richmond 3 13 27 Old Milwaukee
Raymond Beadle 		Pontiac 419 8,030 Running 0
Bobby Allison 4 11 22 Miller High Life
DiGard  Racing		 Buick 419 9,400 Running 24
Ricky Rudd 5 6 3 Piedmont Airlines
Richard Childress  		Chevrolet 417 4,770 Running 0
Neil Bonnett 6 4 75 Hodgdon
RahMoc Enterprises 		Chevrolet 417 6,800 Running 50
Bill Elliott 7 9 9 Melling Oil Pumps
Harry Melling 		Ford 416 3,850 Running 0
Harry Gant 8 10 33 Skoal Bandit
Hal Needham 		Buick 416 8,200 Running 0
Dave Marcis 9 7 71 W.H. Bolin
Dave Marcis 		Chevrolet 416 7,600 Running 5
Morgan Shepherd 10 8 2 ACM Equipment Sales
Jim Stacy 		Buick 414 8,010 Running 0
Terry Labonte 11 15 44 Budweiser
Billy Hagan 		Chevrolet 412 3,190 Running 0
Jimmy Means 12 21 52 Broadway Motors
Jimmy Means 		Chevrolet 412 3,020 Running 0
Trevor Boys 13 23 48 Hylton-McCaig
James Hylton 		Chevrolet 411 3,360 Running 0
Dick Brooks 14 20 90 Chameleon Sunglasses
Junie Donlavey 		Ford 411 2,800 Running 0
Sterling Marlin 15 18 17 Hesco Exhaust
Roger Hamby 		Pontiac 409 3,315 Running 0
Geoff Bodine 16 14 88 Gatorade
Cliff Stewart 		Pontiac 406 3,950 Running 0
J.D. McDuffie 17 24 70 J.D. McDuffie Pontiac 399 2,250 Running 0
Al Elmore 18 26 6 World Cup
D.K. Ulrich 		Buick 393 2,025 Running 0
Richard Petty 19 16 43 STP
Petty Enterprises 		Pontiac 392 5,575 Running 0
Kyle Petty 20 12 7 7-Eleven
Petty Enterprises 		Pontiac 389 1,950 Running 0
Steve Gray 21 28 19 Henley Gray Buick 376 825 Running 0
Joe Ruttman 22 5 98 Levi Garrett
Ron Benfield 		Pontiac 348 1,300 Running 0
Ronnie Thomas 23 22 41 Advance Auto Parts
Ronnie Thomas 		Pontiac 344 775 Running 0
Buddy Arrington 24 30 67 Buddy Arrington Chrysler 269 1,250 Engine 0
Don Satterfield 25 27 18 Leon Satterfield Buick 227 725 Engine 0
Darryl Sage 26 17 86 Lee Sage Chevrolet 209 720 Engine 0
Ron Bouchard 27 1 47 Race Hill Farm
Jack Beebe 		Buick 148 2,415 Engine 0
Tommy Gale 28 29 64 Sunny King Ford
Elmo Langley 		Ford 77 1,210 Engine 0
Jimmy Walker 29 19 96 Will Cronkrite Ford 50 705 Over
Heating		 0
D.K. Ulrich 30 25 02 Bud Reeder Buick 3 1,200 Piston 0