1980 NASCAR Winston Cup Series

The 1980 NASCAR Winston Cup Series began on Sunday, January 13 and ended on Sunday, November 15. Dale Earnhardt won his first Winston Cup championship, winning by 19 points over Cale Yarborough. Jody Ridley was crowned NASCAR Rookie of the Year.

Teams and drivers

Season recap

Notable races

Sprint Cup Series

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (often shortened to Sprint Cup or the Cup Series) is the top racing series of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). The series is named for its current sponsor, the Sprint Corporation, and has been known by other names in the past. It was originally known as the Strictly Stock Series (1949) and shortly became the Grand National Series (1950–1970). While leasing its naming rights to R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, it was known as the Winston Cup Series (1971–2003). A similar deal was made with Nextel in 2003, becoming the Nextel Cup Series (2004–2007) and it became the Sprint Cup after Sprint acquired Nextel in 2005. The name "Sprint" refers specifically to the subsidiary of Japanese telecommunications company SoftBank which is the entitlement sponsor; sprint car racing is a separate racing discipline.

The drivers' champion is determined by a point system where points are given according to finishing placement and laps led. The season is divided into two segments. After the first 26 races, 16 drivers, selected primarily on the basis of wins during the first 26 races, are seeded based on their total number of wins and compete in the last 10 races with the difference in points greatly minimized. This is called the Chase for the Championship.

1982 NASCAR Winston Cup Series

The 1982 NASCAR Winston Cup season began on February 14 At the Daytona International Speedway and concluded on November 21 at Riverside International Raceway. Darrell Waltrip took his second straight championship driving for Junior Johnson by 72 points over Bobby Allison.

Teams and drivers

1982 race results

Daytona 500

The 1982 Season kicked off on February 14 with the Daytona 500 held at the Daytona International Speedway. Bobby Allison, who had won the Busch Clash on February 7, would dominate the race leading 147 of 200 laps and cruise to victory. Buick would take seven of the first eight finishing spots. There was controversy in Allison's victory as his bumper fell off early in the race.

Top Ten

Benny Parsons won the pole with a speed of 196.317 mph. Cale Yarborough and Buddy Baker won the Uno Twin 125 Mile Qualifiers on February 11.
Time of Race: 3 hours 14 minutes 49 seconds
5 Cautions for 34 Laps
Margin Of Victory: 22.87 seconds

2001 NASCAR Winston Cup Series

The 2001 NASCAR Winston Cup season began on February 11, 2001, at Daytona International Speedway and ended on November 23, 2001, at New Hampshire International Speedway. Jeff Gordon of Hendrick Motorsports was declared as the series champion for the 4th time in seven years. The season was marred by a two-car collision at the end of the season-opening Daytona 500, which claimed the life of seven-time Series champion Dale Earnhardt. The accident resulted in safety upgrades being instituted. It also was the first year to have a unified television contract with FOX/FX and NBC Sports/TNT broadcasting the season's races; previous seasons saw each racetrack negotiate their own TV coverage, creating a patchwork of broadcast companies covering races throughout the season. Dodge returned to the sport for the first time since 1985. Chevrolet captured the NASCAR Manufacturers' Championship with 16 wins and 248 points.

Teams and drivers

Complete schedule

Limited schedule

1995 NASCAR Winston Cup Series

The 1995 NASCAR Winston Cup Season began on February 12 and concluded November 12. Jeff Gordon of Hendrick Motorsports won his first career championship.

Overview

The major story heading into the 1995 season was Dale Earnhardt's attempt to make history. After winning his seventh Winston Cup Championship in 1994, Earnhardt tied Richard Petty's record for Cup Championships. Going into the 1995 season, Earnhardt had won four of the last five Winston Cup points titles, and was considered the favorite to win his eighth in 1995.

As the season progressed, the race for the series championship became a battle between Earnhardt, Sterling Marlin and Jeff Gordon. The majority of the spotlight soon shifted on the 24-year-old Gordon. Gordon, who had won two of 1994’s biggest races (Coca Cola 600 and the Inaugural Brickyard 400), visited victory lane in three of the first six races of 1995. Gordon would become the most consistent driver of the season. During one stretch of the season, he rattled off 14 straight top ten finishes, winning four times during that stretch. Despite a late season challenge by Earnhardt, Gordon would win the season’s championship by 34 points. In doing so, he became the youngest Winston Cup Champion of the modern era (post 1971). Gordon made light of this at the season ending banquet, toasting Earnhardt with a glass of milk instead of champagne.