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.

DiGard Racing
Owner(s)Mike DiProspero
Bill Gardner
BaseCharlotte, North Carolina
SeriesWinston Cup
Race driversDonnie Allison, Ricky Rudd, Darrell Waltrip, Bobby Allison
SponsorsGatorade, Miller High Life
ManufacturerChevrolet
Buick
Opened1973
Closed1987
Career
Debut1973 Richmond 500 (Richmond)
Latest race1987 First Union 400 (North Wilkesboro)
Drivers' Championships1
Race victories43

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]

Opening history

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The team was founded in part by Mike DiProspero and Bill Gardner, who were brothers-in-law.[5] The team name came from combining their last names: DiProspero and Gardner.[5] Donnie Allison, already established on the circuit, was their first driver.[3] After failing to qualify for the 1973 Daytona 500, the team made its debut at the 1973 Richmond 500, finishing 25th.

Allison had an invested stock in the team,[5] and at the 1974 Daytona 500 he led 41 laps but a backmarker's blown engine with eleven laps to go blew out both front tires; Donnie finished sixth. He won two poles and finished second at Nashville, but failed to finish eleven races; the 88 nonetheless ended 1974 finishing third at Martinsville, fourth after leading forty laps at Charlotte, and sixth at Rockingham.

The team held an open house for media at their Daytona shop before the 1975 500 and team president Bill Gardner stated the team had spent one million dollars in the 1973–74 seasons.

But the 1975 season began badly with another engine failure, this time in the 500. Donnie Allison managed only four top ten finishes in the first half of 1975 and in July that year Donnie Allison was let go, Jim Gardner - Bill's brother and the team's secretary-treasurer) - was given more authority in running the team. Darrell Waltrip was named the new driver.[6]

The No. 88 Gatorade car and Darrell Waltrip

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DiGard Gatorade Chevrolet Monte Carlo that Waltrip drove to victory in the 1978 World 600, Concord, NC, May 28, 1978

Waltrip drove twelve of the last thirteen races in the 1975 season, posting the team's first victory, at Richmond. The Gatorade brand then signed on board as a sponsor beginning in 1976.[7] For the 1976 season Waltrip won at Martinsville and posted ten other top five finishes but only finished fourteen times. Long time crew chief Mario Rossi and engine men Carroll “Stump” Davis and Keith Harlan were fired that August, and engine builders Marion “Ducky” Newman and Robert Yates were hired.

The team moved to a new Charlotte shop before the 1977 season and surged to the fore of NASCAR, winning the Rebel 500 and the Winston 500 in dramatic fashion. Waltrip posted six wins in 1977, four of them on superspeedways. He posted six more wins in 1978, but this time four of his wins came on short tracks. Waltrip became disenchanted with team ownership and publicly stated he would join the Ranier Racing team then driven by Lennie Pond. Team owner Bill Gardner, however, refused to let Waltrip out of his contract, and driver and ownership met to iron out their differences. To the surprise of the sport's followers, Waltrip signed a four-year contract with DiGard before the 1979 season.

Waltrip nearly won the 1979 championship, coming second and losing by 11 points to Richard Petty in the championship. Waltrip and DiGard had led for most of the season that year, leading the championship by a wide margin until the last races.[8]

The impact of the loss angered Waltrip and his contract situation with the team became an issue again. Darrell attempted to sign a contract with Penske Enterprises to drive for them, but the deal fell through after Roger Penske was told of Waltrip's agreement with DiGard. Crew chief Buddy Parrott was fired at the end of 1979 but then rehired in 1980. Waltrip and Parrott won four of the 1980 season's first sixteen races but was fired in June; Parrott finished the season with the Ranier team.[9]

By the time autumn 1980 had happened, Waltrip had several engine failures that put him out of sight of a championship. He constantly blamed the team in the press for his struggles to progress to a higher level, comparing himself to the Iranian hostages. He also publicly said he would never win a championship as long as he drove for them. The team responded by alleging that Waltrip purposely overdrove some of their engines, costing them their chances at the title, and vowing that if performance did not improve, they would put Waltrip in their secondary car to Don Whittington until his 5-year contract ran out. During the 1980 season, several key team members made an exodus from the team, tired of the constant drama between driver and ownership. Gatorade was not too pleased with the controversies surrounding the team, putting DiGard in a win-or-die situation.

Looking to get out, Waltrip set up his own contract buyout out of his own pocket to leave DiGard, landing at Junior Johnson Racing.[10] Waltrip would later say in a 2020 podcast with Jayski.com that the team was a championship-caliber team and the employees were great people. However, he "wasn't happy" working for them and that "it wasn't anybody's fault. We just weren't meant for each other." Gardner, in an interview with the same podcast, would say in response that the team was willing to let Waltrip move on, but he was trying to leave the team in a way that was unfair for the team's sponsor, and the contract he signed required a financial settlement if he was going to move on; once that happened, "we let him go."

No. 88 car post-Darrell Waltrip

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The No. 88 Gatorade car was driven by Ricky Rudd for 1981, garnering three pole positions that season. Rudd posted fourteen top five finishes but failed to win.[11]

Bobby Allison, who had been recruited by the team years before, joined the team in 1982. He exploded to eight victories in 1982 and finished second to Darrell Waltrip in the points championship. During this season, Allison encountered the same money problems in the team that Waltrip had witnessed; he signed a new contract with DiGard in large part thinking it would get him back payments the team had withheld during the season. In spite of his differences with leadership, Allison would win the 1983 Winston Cup championship after barely having a slightly better season than former driver, Waltrip. It was both DiGard and Allison's first championship in NASCAR competition.

For 1983 the Gatorade colors adorned a new Chevrolet Monte Carlo, but just before the season Miller High Life beer sponsorship joined the team and the car number was changed to No. 22. Gatorade and the number 88 then switched to Cliff Stewart's Pontiac and driver Geoff Bodine.[7]

The No. 22 Miller car and Bobby Allison

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Allison raced with the team, driving the Miller High Life car, and won the 1983 NASCAR Winston Cup championship. He began driving Chevrolets in the first three races; in March, the team was denied access to nose pieces for their Monte Carlos as the Junior Johnson team was given primary access to parts.[citation needed] The team switched to Buicks it had run the previous season. In all, the No. 22 won six races in the 1983 season.

But the team's finances continued to deteriorate. Allison won twice in 1984, but the team was inconsistent; it was involved supplying engines to the Curb Racing team driven by Richard Petty and the two teams were at loggerheads over provision of engines and payments; the team's deal with Curb ended after the 1984 Firecracker 400.

The team entered a second car, for Greg Sacks, for the 1985 Firecracker 400. In what was a huge upset for the sport, Sacks won the race, but the entry of two cars violated Allison's contract with the team. The win resulted in Allison's departure, and was the beginning of the end for the team's time in Winston Cup competition.

1985 Firecracker 400 win

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In 1985, DiGard had Allison battling for the championship in the No. 22 Miller High Life car. For the Firecracker 400 at Daytona, DiGard set up and raced what is called a Research & Development car (a one-off unsponsored car numbered 10 entered to a race primarily for team improvement) with Greg Sacks at the helm.[12] Instead of simply doing its intended purpose — running a small number of laps and collecting data about the track that DiGard could use for Allison's car — Sacks drove the car to an unexpected victory. It was later alleged that the car snuck through inspection with an oversized engine, and thus the team cheated.[2] NASCAR did not find anything wrong with the No. 10 in post-race inspection, however, and Sacks' win stood.

The impact of the R&D car's victory was significant. Reportedly angered that the team was focusing its attention elsewhere, Allison, who had won the 1983 championship driving for the team, quit[13] and Sacks was hired to race for the rest of the year, but did not capture another Top-5 finish in 1985.[14] Allison went on to drive for Stavola Brothers Racing and took the Miller sponsorship with him following the season.

End in NASCAR

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The allegations of cheating — combined with reported money troubles — shook the team, and some say imploded it.[2] Bobby Allison left the team midseason in 1985, engine builder Robert Yates left during the 1986 season,[1] and the team ran a limited schedule and a myriad of drivers during their final seasons.[3]

The team's last NASCAR Winston Cup entry was in 1987 with Rodney Combs.[3] The team's final three starts were with Combs early in the 1987 season, including entries without sponsorship.[15]

During that offseason, Keene, New Hampshire businessman Bob Whitcomb bought the assets and the points to the team and rechristened it as Bob Whitcomb Racing.[9]

Bill Gardner today is a part of an effort to make a racetrack in Oregon a success.[16] His brother, Jim Gardner, died.[17] Mike DiProspero died in 2017 following a lengthy illness.

Team statistics

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Main Car results

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NASCAR Winston Cup Series results
Year Driver No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 Owners Pts
1973 Donnie Allison 59 Chevy RSD DAY
DNQ
RCH
25
CAR BRI
24
ATL NWS
9
DAR 35th 1755.75
88 MAR
27
DOV
38
TWS RSD MCH
7
DAY
28
BRI ATL
3
TAL
26
NSV DAR RCH DOV
12
NWS MAR
34
CLT
32
CAR
6
08 TAL
2
NSV CLT
1974 88 RSD
6
DAY
6
RCH
17
CAR
27
BRI
5
ATL
5
DAR
4
NWS
7
MAR
23
TAL
36
NSV
2
DOV
30
CLT
30
RSD MCH
20
DAY
33
BRI NSV ATL
30
POC TAL
40
MCH DAR RCH DOV
31
NWS MAR
3
CLT
4
CAR
6
ONT 17th 728.8
1975 RSD DAY
28
RCH CAR
28
BRI ATL
6
NWS DAR
3
MAR
21
TAL
42
NSV DOV
28
CLT
9
RSD MCH
35
DAY
5
NSV POC 22nd 2236
Darrell Waltrip TAL
42
MCH
7
DAR
34
DOV
27
NWS
3
MAR
17
CLT
24
RCH
1
CAR
32
BRI
3
ATL
36
ONT
1976 RSD
21
DAY
32
CAR
2
RCH
24
BRI
2
ATL
5
NWS
22
DAR
31
MAR
1*
TAL
33
NSV
12
DOV
30
CLT
11
RSD
6
MCH
29
DAY
39
NSV
3
POC
26
TAL
37
MCH
27
BRI
3
DAR
3
RCH
4
DOV
31
MAR
2
NWS
24
CLT
11
CAR
3
ATL
7
ONT
40
8th 3505
1977 RSD
9
DAY
7
RCH
2
CAR
2
ATL
7
NWS
7
DAR
1
BRI
19
MAR
21
TAL
1
NSV
3
DOV
4
CLT
6
RSD
26
MCH
35
DAY
2
NSV
1
POC
3
TAL
22
MCH
1
BRI
2
DAR
6*
RCH
7
DOV
5
MAR
10
NWS
1
CLT
5
CAR
3
ATL
1
ONT
29
4th 4498
1978 RSD
23
DAY
28
RCH
4
CAR
21
ATL
35
BRI
1
DAR
2
NWS
1*
MAR
1*
TAL
22
DOV
6*
CLT
1*
NSV
26
RSD
16
MCH
28*
DAY
3
NSV
2
POC
1*
TAL
34
MCH
3
BRI
3
DAR
2
RCH
1
DOV
5
MAR
2
NWS
2*
CLT
2
CAR
3
ATL
28
ONT
5
3rd 4362
1979 RSD
1*
CAR
17
RCH
3
ATL
3
NWS
5
BRI
3
DAR
1*
MAR
3
NSV
21
DOV
18
CLT
1*
TWS
1*
RSD
2
MCH
13
NSV
1*
POC MCH
19
BRI
1
DAR
11*
RCH
2
DOV
29
MAR
11
CLT
3
NWS
13
CAR
6
ATL
5
ONT
8
2nd 4819
Olds DAY
2
TAL
2
DAY
4
TAL
1*
1980 Chevy RSD
1*
RCH
1*
CAR
4
ATL
28
BRI
2
DAR
4
NWS
12
MAR
1*
NSV
4
DOV
20
CLT
2*
TWS
4
RSD
1
MCH
26
NSV
4
POC
26
BRI
3
DAR
25*
RCH
6
DOV
1*
NWS
2
MAR
21
CLT
18
CAR
3
ATL
26
ONT
25*
5th 4239
Olds DAY
40
TAL
42
DAY
31
TAL
11
MCH
1981 Ricky Rudd Chevy RSD
19
NSV
4
POC
6
MCH
3
BRI
2
DAR
23
RCH
12
DOV
5
MAR
8
NWS
25
CLT
3
CAR
18
6th 3988
Olds DAY
3
RCH
2
CAR
31
BRI
2
TAL
4
TWS
24
DAY
40
Buick ATL
22
NWS
6
DAR
11
MAR
3
NSV
5*
DOV
5
CLT
4
RSD
5
MCH
30
TAL
23
ATL
38
RSD
40
1982 Bobby Allison Buick DAY
1*
ATL
22
TAL
13
CLT
3
POC
1*
MCH
4
DAY
1*
POC
1
MCH
1*
DAR
20
DOV
10
CLT
9*
ATL
1*
2nd 4417
Chevy RCH
8
BRI
5
CAR
4
DAR
25
NWS
8
MAR
17
NSV
6
DOV
1*
RSD
27
NSV
19
BRI
2*
RCH
1*
NWS
23
MAR
19
CAR
2*
Pontiac TAL
10
RSD
16
1983 22 Chevy DAY
9
RCH
1
CAR
10
1st 4667
Buick ATL
25
DAR
8
NWS
2
MAR
3
TAL
10
NSV
2
DOV
1*
BRI
2
CLT
3*
RSD
22
POC
1*
MCH
2
DAY
14
NSV
4
POC
3*
TAL
9*
MCH
34
BRI
3
DAR
1*
RCH
1*
DOV
1*
MAR
2
NWS
3
CLT
7
CAR
16
ATL
3*
RSD
9
1984 DAY
34
RCH
30
CAR
1
ATL
5
BRI
19
NWS
22
DAR
20
MAR
4*
TAL
4
NSV
12
DOV
12
CLT
1*
RSD
3
POC
7
MCH
6
DAY
4
NSV
5
POC
28
TAL
4
MCH
11
BRI
2
DAR
10
RCH
25
DOV
36
MAR
23
CLT
10
NWS
3
CAR
5
ATL
5
RSD
7*
6th 4094
1985 DAY
33
RCH
16
CAR
31
ATL
5
BRI
13
DAR
10
NWS
3
MAR
4
TAL
4
DOV
13
CLT
3
RSD
3
POC
9
MCH
6
DAY
18
14th 3284
Greg Sacks 77 POC
34
TAL
15
MCH
33
BRI
28
DAR
35
RCH
20
DOV
29
MAR
14
NWS
16
CLT
11
CAR
10
ATL
9
RSD
21
1986 10 Pontiac DAY
35
RCH
19
CAR
37
TAL
10
DOV 40th 631
Chevy ATL
25
BRI DAR NWS MAR CLT
39
RSD POC MCH DAY
39
POC TAL GLN MCH
38
BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT
Trevor Boys CAR
37
ATL RSD
1987 Rodney Combs Olds DAY
19
CAR RCH ATL 35th 1098
Chevy DAR
37
NWS
20
BRI MAR TAL CLT DOV POC RSD MCH DAY POC TAL GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT CAR RSD ATL

R&D Car results

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NASCAR Winston Cup Series results
Year Driver No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 Owners Pts
1975 Johnny Rutherford 08 Chevy RSD DAY
27
RCH CAR BRI ATL NWS DAR MAR TAL NSV DOV CLT RSD MCH DAY NSV POC TAL MCH DAR DOV NWS MAR CLT RCH CAR BRI ATL ONT NA -
1980 Don Whittington 55 RSD
9
DAY
DNQ
RCH CAR ATL BRI DAR NWS MAR TAL NSV DOV CLT TWS RSD MCH DAY NSV POC TAL MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV NWS MAR CLT CAR ATL ONT 41st 67
1983 Jimmy Insolo 12 Buick DAY RCH CAR ATL DAR NWS MAR TAL NSV DOV BRI CLT RSD POC MCH DAY NSV POC TAL MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT CAR ATL RSD
42
104th 37
1985 Greg Sacks 10 Pontiac DAY RCH CAR ATL BRI DAR NWS MAR TAL DOV CLT RSD POC MCH DAY
1
POC TAL 47th 401
Dick Trickle Pontiac MCH
8
BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS
Ken Ragan Ford CLT
28
CAR ATL RSD
1986 Willy T. Ribbs 30 Chevy DAY RCH CAR ATL BRI
DNQ
DAR NWS
22
MAR TAL DOV CLT
DNQ
MCH
39
DAY POC TAL GLN
37
MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT CAR ATL RSD 65th 219
64 RSD
29
POC

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Ford Racing: Teams". Archived from the original on 2007-09-29. Retrieved 2009-05-01.
  2. ^ a b c 403 Forbidden Archived November 22, 2005, at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ a b c d DiGard Winston Cup Owner Statistics - Racing-Reference.info
  4. ^ a b "Davey Allison - NASCAR Book Excerpt - Stock Car Racing Magazine". Archived from the original on 2012-06-09. Retrieved 2012-01-04.
  5. ^ a b c Allison, Donnie (2005), As I Recall..., Sports Publishing LLC, ISBN 1-59670-060-2.
  6. ^ Myers, Bob, “Racer Waltrip”, STOCK CAR RACING MAGAZINE November 1976, p. 71
  7. ^ a b Rovell, Darren (1 December 2005), Darren Rovell's Gatorade blog: Interview with former Gatorade driver Darrell Waltrip, retrieved 2007-08-24
  8. ^ McCarter, Mark (2004-04-19). "The final conquest: late in a pivotal NASCAR season 25 years ago, Richard Petty enhanced his status as The King by chasing down and edging Darrell Waltrip for his last title". The Sporting News.
  9. ^ a b 403 Forbidden[permanent dead link]
  10. ^ "NASCAR - CUP: Darrell Waltrip's Long Ride Ends in Hall". Archived from the original on 2012-01-19. Retrieved 2012-07-20.
  11. ^ Ricky Rudd 1981 Winston Cup Results - Racing-Reference.info
  12. ^ Tom Higgins' Scuffs: Sakes, Er, Sacks Alive! Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine
  13. ^ "Greg Sacks Fans". Archived from the original on 2007-08-07. Retrieved 2007-08-25.
  14. ^ Greg Sacks 1985 Winston Cup Results - Racing-Reference.info
  15. ^ Rodney Combs 1987 Winston Cup Results - Racing-Reference.info
  16. ^ Press release, "Welcome to Oregon International Speedway". Archived from the original on 2007-09-29. Retrieved 2007-08-25.
  17. ^ "DiGard Racing in Memory of Family and Friends". Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-08-25.
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