1983 Goody's Sportsman 300 (partially found footage of NASCAR Budweiser Late Model Sportsman Series race; 1983)

Program for the 1983 Daytona 500, which also promoted the 1983 Goody's Sportsman 300.

Status: Partially Found

The 1983 Goody's Sportsman 300 was the inaugural race of the 1983 NASCAR Budweiser Late Model Sportsman Series. Occurring on 19th February at the Daytona International Speedway, the race would ultimately be won by Darrell Waltrip, after he fended off fellow Pontiac driver Neil Bonnett via harnessing the presence of Dale Earnhardt's Pontiac.

Background

The 1983 Goody's Sportsman 300 was the second running of the race, with the annual event typically lasting 300 miles. The only 1983 NASCAR Budweiser Late Model Sportsman Series race to take place at Daytona International Speedway, the race has ties to the modern Beef. It's What's for Dinner. 300, having dropped the Goody's title from 1997 onwards.

Prior to the race, qualifying commenced with Sam Ard winning the pole position in an Oldsmobile. Directly behind him was Pontiac's Joe Ruttman, with Oldsmobile's Morgan Shepherd lining up third. Darrell Waltrip qualified fifth out of 40 competitors.

The Race

With the starting order decided, the 1983 Goody's Sportsman 300 commenced on 19th February. Shepherd shot into the lead on the first lap, but was passed by Ruttman on the next. Ard regained the first position on lap 3 however, and was able to maintain it for 22 consecutive laps. Meanwhile, after seven laps, Rodney Howard crashed his Pontiac heavily into the inside wall coming out of Turn 4, resulting in his vehicle flipping multiple times. The impact forced him to be taken to the Halifax Hospital, where ultimately it was revealed he suffered no broken bones.

When Ard lost the lead to Bobby Allison in a Pontiac, the race for the first position became an open affair, with few of the 22 lead changes lasting ten laps or more. Shepherd however would move into the first position on lap 73, defending it for the longest duration of the race at 23 laps, dropping it to Waltrip on lap 96. The end of the race was a battle between Waltrip, Pontiac's Geoffrey Bodine, Neil Bonnett, Pontiac's Phil Parsons, and Shepherd. On the second-to-last lap, Waltrip passed Parsons for the first position, but faced intense pressure from Bodine. On Turn 3 of the final lap, Bonnett attempted a move on Waltrip, dropping low to do so. However, this would be thwarted by Earnhardt, whose Pontiac was seven laps down from the leaders because of a broken fan blade. Instead of following Bonnett, he moved to a higher position and dropped behind Waltrip as the leaders negotiated Turns 3 and 4. Earnhardt's presence would provide a boost for Waltrip, enabling him to fend off Bodine, Bonnett, and Parsons to claim victory and $16,100 in prize money. Bodine finished second a car length behind, with Bonnett taking third, Parsons fourth, and Shepherd fifth after a close finish.

Post-race, Waltrip revealed that his overtake of Parsons was actually a tactical mistake, but reckoned it ultimately contributed to him winning. He stated "I guess my mind just went blank. I thought the next-to-last lap was the last lap. So I decided to pass Parsons in the third turn of the next-to-last lap. Thank goodness Neil Bonnett followed me. In hindsight it probably won the race for me, because the rest of those guys sitting back there were probably very surprised at what I did. It probably messed up their thinking. Instead of being able to carry out their plans for the last lap, they had to go to something else."

Availability

According to nascarman History's Top 10 LOST NASCAR TV Broadcasts, the race received coverage from the USA Network, as the previous event did. However, this broadcast has yet to resurface, although footage of Howard's accident is publicly viewable. Photos and newspaper clippings of the event can also be accessed.

Gallery

Videos

Footage of Rodney Howard's crash.

Top 10 LOST NASCAR TV Broadcasts detailing the USA Network broadcast of the 1982-1984 Goody's Sportsman 300 races (3:53-4:28).

Images

• 

  Bonnett with his Pontiac at the event.

• 

  Howard's car flips over.

See Also

• 1960 Daytona 500 (partially found footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1960)
• 1960 Daytona Races (lost CBS and NBC televised footage of NASCAR prelude events to Daytona 500; 1960)
• 1961 Firecracker 250 (lost ABC footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1961)
• 1962 Daytona 500 (partially found footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1962)
• 1962 Firecracker 250 (lost ABC footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1962)
• 1963 Firecracker 400 (partially found footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1963)
• 1963 Richmond 250 (partially found footage of NASCAR Grand National Series qualifying session and race; 1963)
• 1964 Atlanta 500 (partially found footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1964)
• 1964 National 400 (lost footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1964)
• 1964 Richmond 250 (lost footage of NASCAR Grand National Series qualifying session; 1964)
• 1965 Daytona 500 (partially found footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1965)
• 1965 Rebel 300 (partially found footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1965)
• 1966 National 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1966)
• 1966 Southern 500 (partially found footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1966)
• 1967 Firecracker 400 (partially found footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1967)
• 1967 Rebel 400 (partially found footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1967)
• 1970 Alabama 500 (found footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1970)
• 1970 National 500 (partially found footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1970)
• 1970 Wilkes 400 (lost footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1970)
• 1970 World 600 (lost footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1970)
• 1971 Atlanta 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1971)
• 1971 Medal of Honor Firecracker 400 (partially found footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1971)
• 1971 Myers Brothers 250 (lost footage and official documents of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1971)
• 1971 National 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1971)
• 1971 Rebel 400 (partially found footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1971)
• 1971 Twin 125s (lost footage of NASCAR Daytona 500 qualifying races; 1971)
• 1972 Atlanta 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1972)
• 1972 Bowman-Gray 100 (lost footage of NASCAR Grand American Series race; 1972)
• 1972 Carolina 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1972)
• 1972 Daytona 500 (partially found footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1972)
• 1972 Firecracker 400 (lost ABC footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1972)
• 1972 National 500 (partially found footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1972)
• 1972 Rebel 400 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1972)
• 1973 Atlanta 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1973)
• 1973 Medal of Honor Firecracker 400 (partially found footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1973)
• 1974 Mason-Dixon 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1974)
• 1974 National 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1974)
• 1974 Twin 125s (lost footage of NASCAR Daytona 500 qualifying races; 1974)
• 1975 Champion Spark Plug 400 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1975)
• 1975 Dixie 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1975)
• 1975 Firecracker 400 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1975)
• 1975 National 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1975)
• 1975 Twin 125s (lost footage of NASCAR Daytona 500 qualifying races; 1975)
• 1975 World 600 (partially found footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1975)
• 1976 Atlanta 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1976)
• 1976 Champion Spark Plug 400 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1976)
• 1976 Dixie 500 (lost CBS footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1976)
• 1976 Firecracker 400 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1976)
• 1976 National 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1976)
• 1976 Rebel 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1976)
• 1976 Riverside 400 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1976)
• 1976 Talladega 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1976)
• 1976 Winston 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1976)
• 1976 World 600 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1976)
• 1978 NAPA National 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1978)
• 1979 Daytona ARCA 200 (lost footage of ARCA Racing Series race; 1979)
• 1979 Dixie 500 (lost ABC footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; existence unconfirmed; 1979)
• 1979 Southeastern 500 (partially found footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1979)
• 1981 Coca-Cola 500 (partially found footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1981)
• 1981 CRC Chemicals 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1981)
• 1982 CRC Chemicals 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1982)
• 1982 Eastern 150 (lost footage of NASCAR Budweiser Late Model Sportsman Series race; 1982)
• 1982 Goody's Sportsman 300 (partially found footage of NASCAR Budweiser Late Model Sportsman Series race; 1982)
• 1982 Twin 125s race 1 (lost footage of NASCAR Daytona 500 qualifying race; existence unconfirmed; 1982)
• 1982 Winston Western 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; existence unconfirmed; 1982)
• 1983 Mason-Dixon 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1983)
• 1983 Southern 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; existence unconfirmed; 1983)
• 1984 Delaware 500 (partially found footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1984)
• 1984 Goody's Sportsman 300 (lost footage of NASCAR Busch Grand National Series race; 1984)
• 1984 Warner W. Hodgdon Carolina 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; existence unconfirmed; 1984)‎
• 1985 Twin 125s (lost footage of NASCAR Daytona 500 qualifying races; existence unconfirmed; 1985)
• 1986 Twin 125s (lost footage of NASCAR Daytona 500 qualifying races; existence unconfirmed; 1986)
• 1989 Busch Clash (lost footage of pre-season NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1989)
• 1992 Atlanta 300 (lost footage of NASCAR Busch Grand National Series race; 1992)
• 1996 DeVilbiss SuperFinish 200 (partially found televised footage of NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race; 1996)
• Jeff Gordon's 2008 UAW-Dodge 400 crash (lost on-board footage of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race crash; 2008)
• NASCAR (partially found uncut footage of stock car races; 1960-present)