The 1983 Miller High Life 500 was a NASCAR

NASCAR

The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...

 Winston Cup Series racing event that took place at Charlotte Motor Speedway

Charlotte Motor Speedway

Charlotte Motor Speedway is a motorsports complex located in Concord, North Carolina, United States 13 miles from Charlotte, North Carolina. The complex features a quad oval track that hosts NASCAR racing including the prestigious Coca-Cola 600 on Memorial Day weekend and the Sprint All-Star Race...

 in Concord

Concord, North Carolina

Concord is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. According to Census 2010, the city has a current population of 79,066. It is the largest city in Cabarrus County and is the county seat. In terms of population, the city of Concord is the second largest city in the Charlotte Metropolitan Area...

, North Carolina

North Carolina

North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...

, U.S.

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 on October 9, 1983.

Summary

There were 40 drivers at the grid; 39 of them were American while Trevor Boys

Trevor Boys

Trevor Boys , is a Canadian race car driver. He raced in 102 Winston Cup races from 1982 to 1993, posting two top-ten finishes, and ran six races in the Craftsman Truck Series in 2003, his best finish a 22nd at Memphis Motorsports Park...

 was the only Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. Sterling Marlin

Sterling Marlin

Sterling Marlin is a retired NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver. He is the son of late NASCAR driver Coo Coo Marlin. He is married to Paula and has a daughter, Sutherlin, and a son, Steadman, who sometimes races in the Nationwide Series....

 would rack up a last-place finish due to an engine

Engine

An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert energy into useful mechanical motion. Heat engines, including internal combustion engines and external combustion engines burn a fuel to create heat which is then used to create motion...

 failure on lap 53 out of the 334 being raced that day. Richard Petty

Richard Petty

Richard Lee Petty is a former NASCAR driver who raced in the Strictly Stock/Grand National Era and the NASCAR Winston Cup Series...

 defeated Darrell Waltrip

Darrell Waltrip

Darrell Lee Waltrip is a 3-time NASCAR Cup Series champion , 3-time runner-up , winner of the 1989 Daytona 500 and 5-time winner of the prestigeous Coca-Cola 600 ,...

 by 3.1 seconds in front of 118,000 spectators in a time of three hours and thirty-four minutes. There were 30 different lead changes and eight caution periods for 35 laps. Tim Richmond

Tim Richmond

Tim Richmond was an American race car driver from Ashland, Ohio. He competed in IndyCar racing before transferring to NASCAR's Winston Cup Series . Richmond was one of the first drivers to change from open wheel racing to NASCAR stock cars full-time, which has since become an industry trend...

 acquired the pole position

Pole position

The term "pole position", as used in motorsports, comes from the horse racing term where the number one starter starts on the inside next to the inside pole. The term made its way, along with several other customs, to auto racing. In circuit motorsports, a driver has pole position when he or she...

 with a top speed of 163.073 miles per hour (262.4 km/h) in qualifying while the average race speed was 139.998 miles per hour (225.3 km/h). J.D. McDuffie

J.D. McDuffie

John Delphus McDuffie was a NASCAR Winston Cup driver. He raced in the top division of NASCAR from 1963 to 1991. McDuffie had 106 top-tens in his Cup Series career...

 would fail to qualify for this race along with four other drivers.

Petty was later penalized 104 points for his oversized engine. His engine was also 24 cubic inch

Cubic inch

The cubic inch is a unit of measurement for volume in the Imperial units and United States customary units systems. It is the volume of a cube with each of its 3 sides being one inch long....

es more powerful than the other drivers. Petty's left-side tires were also seen on the right side of the car. Mark Martin

Mark Martin

Mark Martin may refer to:* Mark Martin , American racecar driver* Mark Martin , American cartoonist* Mark Martin , American judge* Mark Martin , British murderer...

 would make his final race in a Chevrolet

Chevrolet

Chevrolet , also known as Chevy , is a brand of vehicle produced by General Motors Company . Founded by Louis Chevrolet and ousted GM founder William C. Durant on November 3, 1911, General Motors acquired Chevrolet in 1918...

 until the 2007 Daytona 500

2007 Daytona 500

The 2007 Daytona 500 was the first race of the 2007 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series season, taking place on February 18, 2007 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. Kevin Harvick won the race by .02 second over Mark Martin in the closest finish since the first race at Daytona...

. He would also take a hiatus until 1986.