 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (October 2013) |
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| Owner(s) | Mike DiProspero Bill Gardner |
|---|---|
| Base | Charlotte, North Carolina |
| Series | Winston Cup |
| Race drivers | Donnie Allison, Ricky Rudd, Darrell Waltrip, Bobby Allison |
| Sponsors | Gatorade, Miller High Life |
| Manufacturer | Chevrolet Buick |
| Opened | 1973 |
| Closed | 1987 |
| Career | |
| Debut | 1973 Richmond 500 (Richmond) |
| Latest race | 1987 First Union 400 (North Wilkesboro) |
| Drivers' Championships | 1 |
| Race victories | 43 |
DiGard Racing was a championship-winning race team in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series that had its most success in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The team won the 1983 Winston Cup championship with Bobby Allison at the wheel.
The team was started in 1973 based in a racecar garage near the Daytona speedway.[1] In its history, the team fielded cars for Donnie Allison in 1973 and 1974 before replacing him with Darrell Waltrip in August 1975. Waltrip posted the team's first win in October 1975 at Richmond Fairgrounds Raceway. In 1976 the team negotiated with Stokely-Van Camp's and acquired Gatorade sponsorship, but after a 1976 season where they won just one race and fell out of over ten races, the team opened a shop in Charlotte, NC and closed down the Daytona shop; with closer access to parts suppliers the team became a consistent winner in 1977.
But following the 1983 season where Bobby Allison won his and the team's only Winston Cup championship, the team fell from the top echelon of the sport.[2] and had its last Winston Cup start in 1987.[3] Allison won twice in 1984, but the team struggled in 1985; when DiGard entered a second car at the 1985 Firecracker 400 and won under Greg Sacks, Allison quit the team. Robert Yates, who later founded his eponymous championship-winning NASCAR team, was an important member of the DiGard team as its primary engine builder from August 1976 to January 1986.[1] Yates abruptly left DiGard in 1986 before the Daytona 500.[4] Robin Pemberton also was part of the team.[4]
- ^ a b "Ford Racing: Teams". Archived from the original on 2007-09-29. Retrieved 2009-05-01.
- ^ 403 Forbidden Archived November 22, 2005, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ DiGard Winston Cup Owner Statistics - Racing-Reference.info
- ^ a b "Davey Allison - NASCAR Book Excerpt - Stock Car Racing Magazine". Archived from the original on 2012-06-09. Retrieved 2012-01-04.