View Darrell Waltrip Championships
DW Championships
By Gregg Leary
Category:NASCAR -> Sprint Cup
3 Cup Titles 1981, 82, 85
1981 used the downsized cars (110 vs. 115 inch wheelbase)
DW won the pole for his first start for JJ’s team at Riverside…it was the last race for the full size cars
DW won 2 of his first 4 starts with the Junior Johnson team
Bobby Allison led the points most of the year…by 341 at one point…then DW overtook him with six races to go. In the last 14 races of the year DW won 7 and finished 2nd 5 times…and won the Championship by 53 points.
DW won 12 races to Bobby’s 5
1982
DW takes the Points lead on October 17 by winning Martinsville. Bobby Allison suffers his third straight engine failure and trails DW by 37 Points. In the last 14 races DW wins 7and finishes 3rd three times. DW finishes 3rd at the finale at Riverside and wins the title by 72 points over Bobby Allison, who suffered another engine failure…his 8th of the year. (Bobby drove the #88 for DW’s former team)
DW won 12 races to Bobby’s 8
Junior Johnson won his 5th Championship in 7 Years (Cale 76-78, DW 81-82)
1983
Bobby Allison wins the Championship over DW by 47 Points. Bill Elliott finished 3rd.
1985
DW wins the Championship over Bill Elliott by 101 Points. Elliott won 11 superspeedway races (and the Winston Million) to DW’s 3. Elliott had a 206 point lead after his Million Dollar Win at Darlington… going into the final 2 months of the season. It took DW only 4 races to erase the lead. DW takes the Points lead on 9-29 at N. Wilkesboro. DW led Elliott by 20 points going into the last race. Elliott has transmission problems at the Riverside finale and finished 31st…DW finishes 7th to take his Third Cup Title.
DW said, “There’s not enough incentive for winning a race…with the year Bill had, he deserved to be champion.”
DW’s consistency won him the title. He won only 3 races but had:
6 seconds
6 thirds