Labonte Nets Title
The 1984 NASCAR Cup Serie season featured two very popular drivers battling for their first series championship, as two relatively small teams bested the larger powerhouse organizations throughout the 30-race schedule.
The season began at Daytona International Speedway and ended on the road course in Riverside, California. The quiet, yet popular Terry Labonte, a native of Corpus Christi, Texas, relied on the expertise of Dale Inman, NASCAR’s only eight-time Cup Series championship-winning crew chief.
Chevrolet drivers led the win column at 13 with Labonte, Harry Gant, Dale Earnhardt, Darrell Waltrip, Bobby Allison and Benny Parsons going to Victory Lane. Among them, Waltrip won the most races with seven but finished sixth in points after suffering various problems throughout the season.
Cale Yarborough took Ford Motor Co. to Victory Lane three times with Tim Richmond giving Pontiac its lone win on the season.
Even though Labonte only collected victories at Riverside International Raceway on June 3 and Bristol Motor Speedway on Aug. 25, consistency in the form of 24 top-10 finishes placed him at the top of the point standings by season’s end.
The championship came down to Labonte and Gant, driver of Mach One Racing Chevrolet owned by actor Burt Reynolds and stuntman Hal Needham. Aside from finishing 29th at Riverside in June and 26th in the next to last race at Atlanta, Gant put together a string of 17 top-10 finishes that included wins at Pocono, Darlington and Doverto climb within striking distance of Labonte. Gant’s eighth-place finish in the season finale was well back of Labonte’s third-place effort, however, sending the title in the Texan’s direction.
PRESIDENT: Ronald Reagan
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GALLON OF GAS: $1.21
DARRELL WALTRIP, driver of the Junior Johnson and Associates No. 11 Chevrolet, collected seven of his 84-career victories during the 30- race schedule. Victories at Bristol, Darlington, Nashville, Michigan, Richmond, Martinsville and North Wilkesboro offered promise toward claiming a third Cup Series title. However, Waltrip suffered through several poor finishes due to blown engines and mechanical issues that erased hopes of unseating Labonte’s title run. Waltrip returned to win his third-career NASCAR Cup Series championship in 1985.
ON JULY 29, 1984, DALE Earnhardt, driver of the Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, led a pack of cars 10 strong in a close finish at Talladega Superspeedway. In a race that featured 68 lead changes among 17 drivers, Earnhardt mastered the 2.66-mile track and held the lead on the final lap when Terry Labonte and Buddy Baker engaged in a fierce battle for second. It was Earnhardt’s first win of 1984 and the 10th of his career.
TERRY LABONTE, driver of the No. 44 Chevrolet owned by Billy Hagan, was crowned champion with two wins and 24 top-10 finishes. Harry Gant, driver of the No. 33 Mach One Racing Chevrolet, finished second in points on the strength of three victories.
DATE | LOCATION | WINNER
Feb. 19 | Daytona International Speedway | Cale Yarborough
Feb. 26 | Richmond International Raceway | Ricky Rudd
March 4 | Rockingham Speedway | Bobby Allison
March 18 | Atlanta Motor Speedway | Benny Parsons
April 1 | Bristol Motor Speedway | Darrell Waltrip
April 8 | North Wilkesboro Speedway | Tim Richmond
April 15 | Darlington Raceway | Darrell Waltrip
April 29 | Martinsville Speedway | Geoff Bodine
May 6 | Talladega Superspeedway | Cale Yarborough
May 12 | Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville | Darrell Waltrip
May 20 | Dover International Speedway | Richard Petty
May 27 | Charlotte Motor Speedway | Bobby Allison
June 3 | Riverside International Raceway | Terry Labonte
June 10 | Pocono Raceway | Cale Yarborough
June 17 | Michigan International Speedway | Bill Elliott
July 4 | Daytona International Speedway | Richard Petty
July 14 | Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville | Geoff Bodine
July 22 | Pocono Raceway | Harry Gant
July 29 | Talladega Superspeedway | Dale Earnhardt
Aug. 12 | Michigan International Speedway | Darrell Waltrip
Aug. 25 | Bristol Motor Speedway | Terry Labonte
Sept. 2 | Darlington Raceway | Harry Gant
Sept. 9 | Richmond International Raceway | Darrell Waltrip
Sept. 16 | Dover International Speedway | Harry Gant
Sept. 23 | Martinsville Speedway | Darrell Waltrip
Oct. 7 | Charlotte Motor Speedway | Bill Elliott
Oct. 14 | North Wilkesboro Speedway | Darrell Waltrip
Oct. 21 | Rockingham Speedway | Bill Elliott
Nov. 11 | Atlanta Motor Speedway | Dale Earnhardt
Nov. 18 | Riverside International Raceway | Geoff Bodine
ON JULY 29, 1984 , DALE Earnhardt, driver of the Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, led a pack of cars 10 strong in a close finish at Talladega Superspeedway. In a race that featured 68 lead changes among 17 drivers, Earnhardt mastered the 2.66-mile track and held the lead on the final lap when Terry Labonte and Buddy Baker engaged in a fierce battle for second. It was Earnhardt’s first win of 1984 and the 10th of his career.
TERRY LABONTE, driver of the No. 44 Chevrolet owned by Billy Hagan, was crowned champion with two wins and 24 top-10 finishes. Harry Gant, driver of the No. 33 Mach One Racing Chevrolet, finished second in points on the strength of three victories.
