Petty scores controversial win at Charlotte in 1983

When it came to Richard Petty's 200 Cup victories, the most controversial one of all might have been No. 198: the 1983 Miller High Life 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Of all of the superspeedways on NASCAR's schedule, Charlotte had been Petty's bugaboo. He had a top-10 finish taken away when he was disqualified for cutting across the dirt to pit during the inaugural World 600, then finished second to Speedy Thompson in the fall National 400. He did win his World 600 qualifying race the following year -- one that counted in the standings -- but while he dominated nearly everywhere else, he remained winless in either of Charlotte's two major races for a span of 15 years.

Petty

"If I had won the thing [in 1960], it would have prevented me a lot of aggravation," Petty said. "Just think how many times I wouldn't have had to answer questions about when was I going to win at Charlotte and did I think I was jinxed at that track?"

Perhaps it wasn't a jinx, but Petty had to wonder what he had to do to locate Victory Lane. He finished second to Joe Weatherly in the 1961 National 400, runner-up to teammate Jim Paschal in the 1964 World 600, second to Cale Yarborough in the 1973 fall race, and was a bridesmaid twice in 1974.

Petty finally broke through in a big way in 1975, lapping the field to win his first World 600, then completing the season sweep by edging David Pearson with a last-lap move in the final turn five months later. Ironically enough, the two would find themselves in a similar -- and legendary -- finish in the 1976 Daytona 500.

Petty added another Charlotte win in 1977, but his lousy luck returned. He led at least one lap in eight consecutive Charlotte races, only to wind up watching from the garage or running somewhere off the pace. But a second-place effort in the 1983 World 600 gave the No. 43 team hope that perhaps the tide was turning.

However, the King qualified in the middle of the pack and as the race unfolded, he seemed content to run a conservative pace while Bill Elliott, Tim Richmond and Darrell Waltrip battled for the lead. Richmond, who lost a lap in the early going but charged back to the front, seemed to have things well in hand when a series of yellow flags bunched the field and handling trouble doomed him to a fifth-place finish.

Making his final stop under caution, Petty bolted on four fresh tires, and when the field took the green with 35 laps to go, he was third behind Waltrip and Richmond. But it soon became obvious that Petty's car was much faster than anyone else's. He quickly disposed of Richmond and, on Lap 312, harried Waltrip into a bobble coming out of Turn 2.

"I'm not sure what happened to Darrell when I jumped in there beside him to make the pass," Petty said. "It looked like his car got loose and he had to lift or maybe he cut a tire."

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Petty pulled away for a 3-second victory, and it didn't take long for the competition to begin to question the legality of the King's ride. After the race, Waltrip was incredulous.

"Nothing happened to us," Waltrip said. "It's just that [Petty] picked up and ran a lot better than us -- and everybody else -- at the end."

Benny Parsons, who finished third, wondered about that, too.

"We beat the cars we figured we had to beat to win, but along came two cars we never heard of, at least not for the most of this race," Parsons said.

In Victory Lane, Petty pooh-poohed the critics, discounting the idea that he was somehow sandbagging or had a competitive advantage.

"We kept changing and changing the setup of the car throughout the race and we finally got it right during the last caution," Petty said. "The last yellow enabled us to finish it off just right.

"Except for one time when we had a slight tire problem, I was running the same speed as the leaders. I guess no one noticed me much because I usually was on a different part of the race track than them."

Well, NASCAR officials certainly noticed, and the post-race technical inspection uncovered at least two major violations. More than three hours after the race ended, NASCAR director of racing operations Bill Gazaway announced that Petty's engine measured 381.983 cubic inches, more than the maximum 358 allowed by NASCAR. Gazaway also said that left-side tires were found on the right side of Petty's car.

Petty was fined $35,000 and lost 104 points, but was allowed to keep the victory. When Gazaway was pressed about the controversial decision, he replied by saying, "We discussed it and that is our decision and we're not going to discuss it further."

The normally talkative Waltrip was left nearly speechless.

"At Martinsville earlier this year, Tim Richmond was penalized five laps for left-side tires, and that was supposed to be the standard," Waltrip said. "I am not mad at Richard Petty, but I think somebody has failed to do their job.

"There is no question I am the winner."

By then, the King had already left the track, but issued a prepared statement: "We have accepted NASCAR's penalty. I just drive the car. I didn't know anything about the engine or the tires."

Petty would try to add one more Charlotte win to his resume in the next decade, but could only muster a pair of top-five finishes in 1987. Waltrip, a three-time Charlotte winner at that point, would go on to score three more 600-mile triumphs by 1989.

GREAT MOMENTS IN CHARLOTTE HISTORY
Monday, May 11: Financial gamble pays off for 'greatest driver alive'
Tuesday, May 12: Pearson career soars after Dieringer contract dispute
Wednesday, May 13: NASCAR loses one of its stars in 1964 World 600
Thursday, May 14: Earnhardt's LMS debut a modest 22nd-place finish
Friday, May 15: Wheeler's legacy created in three decades at Lowe's
Monday, May 18: Guthrie opens NASCAR to a whole new World in 1976