DiGard Racing Highlights 1983 NASCAR Winston Cup Champion 43 NASCAR Cup Series wins; still among the top-15 in all-time Cup Series wins for car owners 1982 Daytona 500 winner Second-place in NASCAR Cup Series points in 1979 and 1982 Implemented the first formal long-term written driver contract in NASCAR with Darrell Waltrip in 1975, turning the sport into a business and paving the way for many of the successful owners that are in the sport today Brought first national non-automotive consumer sponsorship to the sport, Gatorade Developed power steering in NASCAR, lengthening the career of drivers First team to hire a Vice President of Marketing, Paul Lufkin DiGard Racing was the first major Cup Team to support a diversity program in 1986 with African-American driver Willy T. Ribbs First team owner to lease engines to other teams; Richard Petty won races 199 and 200 with a DiGard Racing engine (Petty’s 200th winning car and the DiGard engine resides in the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C.) First team to start a dedicated Research and Development team Three cars in the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in Talladega, Ala.: the 1977 Gatorade Chevrolet, nicknamed “Bertha” by Darrell Waltrip, that won 19 races from 1977 through 1980; the 1983 Miller Beer Buick driven by Bobby Allison during DiGard’s 1983 championship season; and the 1985 DiGard Racing Research and Development Chevrolet driven to victory by Greg Sacks at Daytona in 1985.