NASCAR Cup Series’ best by car number: 80-89
No. 83 (1951-2017)
Since 1951, the No. 83 has hit the racetrack 645 times, with 22 top-five finishes, 93 top-10 finishes and two wins. Lake Speed, who had 92 races, took the first win in 1988 and Brian Vickers took the other win in 2009.
Brian Vickers (@BrianLVickers) won Red Bull Racing’s first Cup race at Michigan in 2009 from the pole.
Vickers led only 12 laps in his No. 83 Red Bull Toyota but pulled off the victory. #NASCAR #Toyota #RedBull pic.twitter.com/nGsnAgBeFd
— Mark's Random NASCAR Facts (@FactsNascar) December 3, 2018
Vickers is by far the most successful driver of the No. 83 as he led in races (141), top-five finishes (11) and top-10 finishes (34) and nearly doubled in laps (39,326) compared to Speed.
While Tommy Thompson, Bill Miller, Jimmy Ayers and Red Byron were the first to ride the 83 car in its inaugural season, it was Byron who made the most impact as a top five-finisher. Vickers was the last driver to have a top-five finish in the car which he accomplished in 2011. In its last year, the No. 83 had six different drivers ending with Joey Gase’s lone ride at Homestead in 2017.
