 Richmond to make the change to stock car racing on the NASCAR circuit . Richmond made his first NASCAR start two months after winning the Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year award . He debuted at the Coca @-@ Cola 500 at Pocono on July 27 , 1980 , finishing 12th in a D. K. Ulrich @-@ owned Chevrolet . That season , he competed in five events , with two DNFs ( did not finish ) and three 12th @-@ place finishes . Overall , he finished the 1980 season 41st in points .   Richmond raced for three teams in 1981 . He started the season by competing in 15 events for Ulrich . He had his first career top 10 finish , taking sixth place at Talladega Superspeedway , soon followed by a seventh @-@ place finish at Texas World Speedway . After Kennie Childers hired him away from Ulrich mid @-@ season , Richmond had top 10 finishes at Pocono and Bristol . For the final seven races of the season , he drove for Bob Rogers and had a top 10 finish at Dover International Speedway . Overall for the season , Richmond had six top 10 finishes to place 16th in season points .   Richmond started 1982 without a ride before getting a one @-@ race deal to drive for Billie Harvey at the Rockingham track . Richmond completed 112 laps of the 492 @-@ lap event to finish 31st , retiring from the race with engine problems . For the following event , Richmond was hired to drive J.D. Stacy 's No. 2 car . In his first race for the team , Richmond earned his first career top 5 finish when he placed fifth at Darlington Raceway . Returning to Pocono , he finished second , before winning his first race on the road course at Riverside , California the following week . Later that season , he earned his first pole position at Bristol . The tour returned to Riverside for the final race of the season where Richmond won his second race , sweeping both events at the track . Benny Parsons said that " watching Richmond go through the Esses was unbelievable " . For the season , Richmond had twelve top 10s , two wins , and one pole to finish 26th in points .   In 1983 , Richmond began racing for Raymond Beadle whom he had known before he started racing . He returned to the three @-@ cornered Pocono racetrack , earning his first oval victory . During the season , he accumulated four pole positions ( Darlington , Pocono , Charlotte , and Atlanta ) , one win ( Pocono ) , and fifteen top 10s on his way to finishing tenth in season points . He made his first appearance in a NASCAR Busch Series ( now Nationwide Series ) car , but did not finish any of the three races he entered that season .   Esquire magazine named Richmond as one of " the best of the new generation " in 1984 . That year he had one win at North Wilkesboro Speedway and second @-@ place finishes at Dover , Darlington and Riverside . Richmond finished the 1984 season 12th in points , with 11 finishes in the top 10 and in six in the top 5 . In 1985 , the final season that Richmond competed for Beadle , his best finish was a second @-@ place run at Bristol . He ended the season 11th in points with 13 Top 10s in 28 races . In the Busch Series , he qualified at the pole position in the two races he entered , and won the Charlotte race .   Richmond joined Hendrick Motorsports in 1986 , where he teamed up with veteran crew chief Harry Hyde . It took the team until the middle of the season to gel . Richmond had suffered a 64 @-@ race winless streak that was finally broken at the Van Scoy Diamond Mine 500 at Pocono in June 1986 . After two straight second @-@ place finishes at Charlotte and Riverside , Richmond started the Pocono event in third place inside the second row . That race saw a caution for rain with five laps left before the halfway point . NASCAR wanted the cars to get to the halfway point to make the race official , so the sanctioning body had the drivers slowly circle the track . It took the drivers 26 minutes to complete the laps , and the rain was so heavy that some drivers had to look out their side windows because they could not see out their windshields . Two hours later , the track had dried and the race resumed with Richmond in third . After Richmond 's car was adjusted to remove the " push " , the car was more to his liking . Because his radio did not work , he was unable to communicate with his crew chief , Hyde , and he made his final pit stop with 37 laps left . Hyde worried that Richmond had stopped a lap too early to ensure that he would have enough fuel to make it to the end . After Richmond took the lead with 30 laps left in the race , Dale Earnhardt made up three seconds on Richmond 's five @-@ second lead . With four laps to go , Buddy Arrington
ĠRichmond Ġto Ġmake Ġthe Ġchange Ġto Ġstock Ġcar Ġracing Ġon Ġthe ĠNASCAR Ġcircuit Ġ. ĠRichmond Ġmade Ġhis Ġfirst ĠNASCAR Ġstart Ġtwo Ġmonths Ġafter Ġwinning Ġthe ĠIndianapolis Ġ500 ĠRookie Ġof Ġthe ĠYear Ġaward Ġ. ĠHe Ġdebuted Ġat Ġthe ĠCoca Ġ@ - @ ĠCol a Ġ500 Ġat ĠPoc ono Ġon ĠJuly Ġ27 Ġ, Ġ1980 Ġ, Ġfinishing Ġ12 th Ġin Ġa ĠD . ĠK . ĠUl rich Ġ@ - @ Ġowned ĠChevrolet Ġ. ĠThat Ġseason Ġ, Ġhe Ġcompeted Ġin Ġfive Ġevents Ġ, Ġwith Ġtwo ĠD NF s Ġ( Ġdid Ġnot Ġfinish Ġ) Ġand Ġthree Ġ12 th Ġ@ - @ Ġplace Ġfinishes Ġ. ĠOverall Ġ, Ġhe Ġfinished Ġthe Ġ1980 Ġseason Ġ41 st Ġin Ġpoints Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠRichmond Ġraced Ġfor Ġthree Ġteams Ġin Ġ1981 Ġ. ĠHe Ġstarted Ġthe Ġseason Ġby Ġcompeting Ġin Ġ15 Ġevents Ġfor ĠUl rich Ġ. ĠHe Ġhad Ġhis Ġfirst Ġcareer Ġtop Ġ10 Ġfinish Ġ, Ġtaking Ġsixth Ġplace Ġat ĠTall ade ga ĠSup ers peed way Ġ, Ġsoon Ġfollowed Ġby Ġa Ġseventh Ġ@ - @ Ġplace Ġfinish Ġat ĠTexas ĠWorld ĠSpeedway Ġ. ĠAfter ĠKenn ie ĠChild ers Ġhired Ġhim Ġaway Ġfrom ĠUl rich Ġmid Ġ@ - @ Ġseason Ġ, ĠRichmond Ġhad Ġtop Ġ10 Ġfinishes Ġat ĠPoc ono Ġand ĠBristol Ġ. ĠFor Ġthe Ġfinal Ġseven Ġraces Ġof Ġthe Ġseason Ġ, Ġhe Ġdrove Ġfor ĠBob ĠRogers Ġand Ġhad Ġa Ġtop Ġ10 Ġfinish Ġat ĠDover ĠInternational ĠSpeedway Ġ. ĠOverall Ġfor Ġthe Ġseason Ġ, ĠRichmond Ġhad Ġsix Ġtop Ġ10 Ġfinishes Ġto Ġplace Ġ16 th Ġin Ġseason Ġpoints Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠRichmond Ġstarted Ġ1982 Ġwithout Ġa Ġride Ġbefore Ġgetting Ġa Ġone Ġ@ - @ Ġrace Ġdeal Ġto Ġdrive Ġfor ĠBill ie ĠHarvey Ġat Ġthe ĠRock ingham Ġtrack Ġ. ĠRichmond Ġcompleted Ġ112 Ġlaps Ġof Ġthe Ġ49 2 Ġ@ - @ Ġlap Ġevent Ġto Ġfinish Ġ31 st Ġ, Ġretiring Ġfrom Ġthe Ġrace Ġwith Ġengine Ġproblems Ġ. ĠFor Ġthe Ġfollowing Ġevent Ġ, ĠRichmond Ġwas Ġhired Ġto Ġdrive ĠJ . D . ĠStacy Ġ' s ĠNo . Ġ2 Ġcar Ġ. ĠIn Ġhis Ġfirst Ġrace Ġfor Ġthe Ġteam Ġ, ĠRichmond Ġearned Ġhis Ġfirst Ġcareer Ġtop Ġ5 Ġfinish Ġwhen Ġhe Ġplaced Ġfifth Ġat ĠDar lington ĠRac eway Ġ. ĠReturning Ġto ĠPoc ono Ġ, Ġhe Ġfinished Ġsecond Ġ, Ġbefore Ġwinning Ġhis Ġfirst Ġrace Ġon Ġthe Ġroad Ġcourse Ġat ĠRiverside Ġ, ĠCalifornia Ġthe Ġfollowing Ġweek Ġ. ĠLater Ġthat Ġseason Ġ, Ġhe Ġearned Ġhis Ġfirst Ġpole Ġposition Ġat ĠBristol Ġ. ĠThe Ġtour Ġreturned Ġto ĠRiverside Ġfor Ġthe Ġfinal Ġrace Ġof Ġthe Ġseason Ġwhere ĠRichmond Ġwon Ġhis Ġsecond Ġrace Ġ, Ġsweeping Ġboth Ġevents Ġat Ġthe Ġtrack Ġ. ĠBenny ĠParsons Ġsaid Ġthat Ġ" Ġwatching ĠRichmond Ġgo Ġthrough Ġthe ĠEss es Ġwas Ġunbelievable Ġ" Ġ. ĠFor Ġthe Ġseason Ġ, ĠRichmond Ġhad Ġtwelve Ġtop Ġ10 s Ġ, Ġtwo Ġwins Ġ, Ġand Ġone Ġpole Ġto Ġfinish Ġ26 th Ġin Ġpoints Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠIn Ġ1983 Ġ, ĠRichmond Ġbegan Ġracing Ġfor ĠRaymond ĠB ead le Ġwhom Ġhe Ġhad Ġknown Ġbefore Ġhe Ġstarted Ġracing Ġ. ĠHe Ġreturned Ġto Ġthe Ġthree Ġ@ - @ Ġcor nered ĠPoc ono Ġrac etr ack Ġ, Ġearning Ġhis Ġfirst Ġoval Ġvictory Ġ. ĠDuring Ġthe Ġseason Ġ, Ġhe Ġaccumulated Ġfour Ġpole Ġpositions Ġ( ĠDar lington Ġ, ĠPoc ono Ġ, ĠCharlotte Ġ, Ġand ĠAtlanta Ġ) Ġ, Ġone Ġwin Ġ( ĠPoc ono Ġ) Ġ, Ġand Ġfifteen Ġtop Ġ10 s Ġon Ġhis Ġway Ġto Ġfinishing Ġtenth Ġin Ġseason Ġpoints Ġ. ĠHe Ġmade Ġhis Ġfirst Ġappearance Ġin Ġa ĠNASCAR ĠBus ch ĠSeries Ġ( Ġnow ĠNationwide ĠSeries Ġ) Ġcar Ġ, Ġbut Ġdid Ġnot Ġfinish Ġany Ġof Ġthe Ġthree Ġraces Ġhe Ġentered Ġthat Ġseason Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠEs quire Ġmagazine Ġnamed ĠRichmond Ġas Ġone Ġof Ġ" Ġthe Ġbest Ġof Ġthe Ġnew Ġgeneration Ġ" Ġin Ġ1984 Ġ. ĠThat Ġyear Ġhe Ġhad Ġone Ġwin Ġat ĠNorth ĠWil kes boro ĠSpeedway Ġand Ġsecond Ġ@ - @ Ġplace Ġfinishes Ġat ĠDover Ġ, ĠDar lington Ġand ĠRiverside Ġ. ĠRichmond Ġfinished Ġthe Ġ1984 Ġseason Ġ12 th Ġin Ġpoints Ġ, Ġwith Ġ11 Ġfinishes Ġin Ġthe Ġtop Ġ10 Ġand Ġin Ġsix Ġin Ġthe Ġtop Ġ5 Ġ. ĠIn Ġ1985 Ġ, Ġthe Ġfinal Ġseason Ġthat ĠRichmond Ġcompeted Ġfor ĠB ead le Ġ, Ġhis Ġbest Ġfinish Ġwas Ġa Ġsecond Ġ@ - @ Ġplace Ġrun Ġat ĠBristol Ġ. ĠHe Ġended Ġthe Ġseason Ġ11 th Ġin Ġpoints Ġwith Ġ13 ĠTop Ġ10 s Ġin Ġ28 Ġraces Ġ. ĠIn Ġthe ĠBus ch ĠSeries Ġ, Ġhe Ġqualified Ġat Ġthe Ġpole Ġposition Ġin Ġthe Ġtwo Ġraces Ġhe Ġentered Ġ, Ġand Ġwon Ġthe ĠCharlotte Ġrace Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠRichmond Ġjoined ĠHend rick ĠMotors ports Ġin Ġ1986 Ġ, Ġwhere Ġhe Ġteamed Ġup Ġwith Ġveteran Ġcrew Ġchief ĠHarry ĠHyde Ġ. ĠIt Ġtook Ġthe Ġteam Ġuntil Ġthe Ġmiddle Ġof Ġthe Ġseason Ġto Ġgel Ġ. ĠRichmond Ġhad Ġsuffered Ġa Ġ64 Ġ@ - @ Ġrace Ġwin less Ġstreak Ġthat Ġwas Ġfinally Ġbroken Ġat Ġthe ĠVan ĠSc oy ĠDiamond ĠMine Ġ500 Ġat ĠPoc ono Ġin ĠJune Ġ1986 Ġ. ĠAfter Ġtwo Ġstraight Ġsecond Ġ@ - @ Ġplace Ġfinishes Ġat ĠCharlotte Ġand ĠRiverside Ġ, ĠRichmond Ġstarted Ġthe ĠPoc ono Ġevent Ġin Ġthird Ġplace Ġinside Ġthe Ġsecond Ġrow Ġ. ĠThat Ġrace Ġsaw Ġa Ġcaution Ġfor Ġrain Ġwith Ġfive Ġlaps Ġleft Ġbefore Ġthe Ġhalfway Ġpoint Ġ. ĠNASCAR Ġwanted Ġthe Ġcars Ġto Ġget Ġto Ġthe Ġhalfway Ġpoint Ġto Ġmake Ġthe Ġrace Ġofficial Ġ, Ġso Ġthe Ġsanction ing Ġbody Ġhad Ġthe Ġdrivers Ġslowly Ġcircle Ġthe Ġtrack Ġ. ĠIt Ġtook Ġthe Ġdrivers Ġ26 Ġminutes Ġto Ġcomplete Ġthe Ġlaps Ġ, Ġand Ġthe Ġrain Ġwas Ġso Ġheavy Ġthat Ġsome Ġdrivers Ġhad Ġto Ġlook Ġout Ġtheir Ġside Ġwindows Ġbecause Ġthey Ġcould Ġnot Ġsee Ġout Ġtheir Ġwindshield s Ġ. ĠTwo Ġhours Ġlater Ġ, Ġthe Ġtrack Ġhad Ġdried Ġand Ġthe Ġrace Ġresumed Ġwith ĠRichmond Ġin Ġthird Ġ. ĠAfter ĠRichmond Ġ' s Ġcar Ġwas Ġadjusted Ġto Ġremove Ġthe Ġ" Ġpush Ġ" Ġ, Ġthe Ġcar Ġwas Ġmore Ġto Ġhis Ġliking Ġ. ĠBecause Ġhis Ġradio Ġdid Ġnot Ġwork Ġ, Ġhe Ġwas Ġunable Ġto Ġcommunicate Ġwith Ġhis Ġcrew Ġchief Ġ, ĠHyde Ġ, Ġand Ġhe Ġmade Ġhis Ġfinal Ġpit Ġstop Ġwith Ġ37 Ġlaps Ġleft Ġ. ĠHyde Ġworried Ġthat ĠRichmond Ġhad Ġstopped Ġa Ġlap Ġtoo Ġearly Ġto Ġensure Ġthat Ġhe Ġwould Ġhave Ġenough Ġfuel Ġto Ġmake Ġit Ġto Ġthe Ġend Ġ. ĠAfter ĠRichmond Ġtook Ġthe Ġlead Ġwith Ġ30 Ġlaps Ġleft Ġin Ġthe Ġrace Ġ, ĠDale ĠEarn hardt Ġmade Ġup Ġthree Ġseconds Ġon ĠRichmond Ġ' s Ġfive Ġ@ - @ Ġsecond Ġlead Ġ. ĠWith Ġfour Ġlaps Ġto Ġgo Ġ, ĠBuddy ĠAr rington