1985 Winston 500

Last updated
1985 Winston 500
Race details [1]
Race 9 of 28 in the 1985 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season
Elliott1985Winston500Win.PNG
Bill Elliott in victory lane after winning the 1985 Winston 500
Date May 5, 1985 (1985-May-05)
Official name Winston 500
Location Alabama International Motor Speedway, Talladega, Alabama
Course Permanent racing facility
2.660 mi (4.280 km)
Distance 188 laps, 500.1 mi (804.8 km)
Weather Very hot with temperatures of 81 °F (27 °C); wind speeds of 4.1 miles per hour (6.6 km/h)
Average speed 186.288 mph (299.801 km/h)
2 hours, 41 minutes, 04 seconds
Attendance 122,000 [2]
Pole position
Driver
 Melling Racing
Most laps led
Driver Cale Yarborough Ranier-Lundy Racing
Laps 97
Winner
No. 9Bill ElliottMelling Racing
Television in the United States
Network NBC
Announcers Paul Page
Gary Gerould
Johnny Rutherford

The 1985 Winston 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that took place on May 5, 1985, at Alabama International Motor Speedway in Talladega, Alabama as race number 9 of 28 of the 1985 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season.

Contents

Prior to this event, two-time Winston Cup champion Darrell Waltrip complained to NASCAR about how Bill Elliott was ruining the parity of the sport and he needed to be slowed down. [3] As a result, NASCAR raised the height of the Ford vehicles by half an inch. [3] The roof of the GM race cars was lowered by the same amount in order to improve their speed performance. [3]

Background

Talladega Superspeedway, originally known as Alabama International Motor Superspeedway (AIMS), is a motorsports complex located north of Talladega, Alabama. It is located on the former Anniston Air Force Base in the small city of Lincoln. The track is a Tri-oval and was constructed by International Speedway Corporation, a business controlled by the France Family, in the 1960s. Talladega is most known for its steep banking and the unique location of the start/finish line - located just past the exit to pit road. The track currently hosts the NASCAR series such as the Sprint Cup Series, Xfinity Series, and the Camping World Truck Series. Talladega Superspeedway is the longest NASCAR oval with a length of 2.66 miles (4.28 km), and the track at its peak had a seating capacity of 175,000 spectators. [4]

Bill Elliott dominated the early part of the 1985 season, including winning the Daytona 500, the first race of the Winston Million promotion. The Winston 500 was the second. Later in the season at the Southern 500, Elliott would go on to become the first Winston Million winner. [5]

Race report

There were 40 drivers who qualified for this race with 1 driver withdrawing (Greg Sacks due to a blown engine); the pole position winner was Bill Elliott who qualified at a then-track record speed of 209.398 miles per hour (336.993 km/h) in a Ford Thunderbird. [3] [2] [6] He would go on to beat Kyle Petty by nearly two seconds at a then-record average speed of 186.288 miles per hour (299.801 km/h) for the race; [2] [6] a record that stood until broken in the 1997 Winston 500 by Mark Martin.

More than 100,000 live spectators saw more than two and a half hours of racing with two cautions periods (lasting for only eight laps). [2] This relatively clean race would see 28 different lead changes. [2] [6] Canadian driver Trevor Boys would finish in last place due to a problem with the engine on lap 6. [2] [6] Bosco Lowe and Dick Skillen would exit NASCAR after this race while Geoff Bodine would lose the championship points lead to Terry Labonte. [6]

Some of the drivers were complaining (most notably Bobby Allison and Darrell Waltrip) about how it was difficult to draft off the back end of the '85 Thunderbird's in general and Elliot in specific. They commented that they felt the shape of the rear of the car was the reason why the average NASCAR driver found it difficult to draft off of Elliott.

Early in the race, a broken oil fitting would put Elliott nearly two laps out of the lead before he managed a comeback. Elliott would return to the track and begin consistently running laps near 205 mph, making up the two laps lost without the aide of a yellow flag or the draft. [7]

The Ford Thunderbird's placed 1-2-3 with Kyle Petty beating Cale Yarborough in a photo finish for second place behind Elliott. The Ford trio were the only drivers to finish on the lead lap. [2] [6]

Full Results

[8] Average speed:186.288 mph (299.801 km/h)
Pole speed:209.398 mph (336.993 km/h)
Attendance: 122,000

Box Score

PosGridNo.DriverManufacturerLapsLaps
led		PointsTime/Status
119 Bill Elliott Ford Thunderbird 18860180*2:41:04
247 Kyle Petty Ford Thunderbird 1889175*-1.72 seconds
3228 Cale Yarborough Ford Thunderbird 18897175**Flagged
41722 Bobby Allison Buick Regal 1873165*-1 lap
51515 Ricky Rudd Ford Thunderbird 187155-1 lap
63288 Buddy Baker Oldsmobile Cutlass 185150-3 laps
7344 Terry Labonte Chevrolet Monte Carlo 1852151*-3 laps
81871 Dave Marcis Chevrolet Monte Carlo 185142-3 laps
978 Bobby Hillin, Jr. Chevrolet Monte Carlo 184138-4 laps
102075 Lake Speed Pontiac Grand Prix 183134-5 laps
11145 Geoffrey Bodine Chevrolet Monte Carlo 182130-6 laps
122452 Jimmy Means Chevrolet Monte Carlo 181127-7 Laps
132238 Morgan Shepherd Chevrolet Monte Carlo 180124-8 Laps
142867 Buddy Arrington Ford Thunderbird 175121-13 Laps
153870 J.D. McDuffie Pontiac Grand Prix 174118-14 Laps
162727 Tim Richmond Pontiac Grand Prix 171115-17 Laps
173717 Bosco Lowe Chevrolet Monte Carlo 171-17 Laps
183979 Dick Skillen Chevrolet Monte Carlo 167109-21 Laps
19316 Eddie Bierschwale Chevrolet Monte Carlo 161106Engine
202190 Ken Schrader Ford Thunderbird 159103-29 Laps
21133 Dale Earnhardt Chevrolet Monte Carlo 15512105*Engine
222699 Connie Saylor Chevrolet Monte Carlo 15597Ignition
232964 Clark Dwyer Ford Thunderbird 15094Ignition
24511 Darrell Waltrip Chevrolet Monte Carlo 137196*Piston
251095 Sterling Marlin Chevrolet Monte Carlo 11388Engine
261212 Neil Bonnett Chevrolet Monte Carlo 106190*Water Leak
27943 Richard Petty Pontiac Grand Prix 94187*Valve
281947 Ron Bouchard Buick Regal 8579Suspension
291655 Benny Parsons Chevrolet Monte Carlo 74281*Driveshaft
3064 Joe Ruttman Chevrolet Monte Carlo 7073Transmission
312384 Mike Alexander Chevrolet Monte Carlo 7070Engine
323474 Bobby Wawak Chevrolet Monte Carlo 6167Wheel
333649 Don Hume Chevrolet Monte Carlo 3564Vibration
341166 Phil Parsons Chevrolet Monte Carlo 3361Wheel Bearing
353300 Phil Barkdoll Chevrolet Monte Carlo 3358Engine
36821 David Pearson Chevrolet Monte Carlo 2655Carburetor
37352 Rusty Wallace Pontiac Grand Prix 752Engine
382533 Harry Gant Chevrolet Monte Carlo 749Engine
393098 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Trevor Boys Chevrolet Monte Carlo 646Engine
WD4051 Greg Sacks Chevrolet Monte Carlo 0Withdrawn due
to Engine Failure

* - Includes 5 bonus points for leading at least 1 lap.
** - Includes additional 5 bonus points for leading the most laps.

Cautions

2 for 8 laps

Start
Lap		End
Lap		# of
laps		Reason
1601634Geoffrey Bodine accident, turn 4
1741774Eddie Bierschwale accident, turn 4

Lap Leader Breakdown

Lead changes: 28

DriverFrom
Lap		To
Lap		# of
Laps
Cale Yarborough144
Kyle Petty551
Bill Elliott62722
Dale Earnhardt28336
Bill Elliott34363
Terry Labonte37371
Dale Earnhardt38392
Kyle Petty40423
Dale Earnhardt43431
Cale Yarborough44474
Dale Earnhardt48481
Richard Petty49491
Kyle Petty50534
Cale Yarborough547017
Neil Bonnett71711
Benny Parsons72732
Bobby Allison74752
Cale Yarborough7610227
Bobby Allison1031031
Darrell Waltrip1041041
Terry Labonte1051051
Cale Yarborough10613126
Dale Earnhardt1321332
Kyle Petty1341341
Cale Yarborough13514410
Bill Elliott14515915
Cale Yarborough1601689
Bill Elliott16918820

Failed to qualify

NameCar #Car manufacturer
Eldon Dotson 96Chevrolet Monte Carlo
Delma Cowart 0Chevrolet Monte Carlo
Slick Johnson 05Ford Thunderbird
Blackie Wangerin 39Ford Thunderbird
Craig Spetman 08Chevrolet Monte Carlo
Rick Newsom 20Chevrolet Monte Carlo
Ronnie Thomas 41Chevrolet Monte Carlo
Mike Potter 68Ford Thunderbird
Steve Moore 73Chevrolet Monte Carlo
Mark Stahl 82Ford Thunderbird
Ken Ragan
(car was driven by Bosco Lowe)		17Chevrolet Monte Carlo

Standings after the race

PosDriverPointsDifferential
1 Increase2.svg Terry Labonte 13550
2 Decrease2.svg Geoffrey Bodine 1343-12
3 Increase2.svg Bill Elliott 1312-43
4 Decrease2.svg Neil Bonnett 1279-76
5 Increase2.svg Ricky Rudd 1228-127
6 1rightarrow.png Lake Speed 1215-140
7 Decrease2.svg Darrell Waltrip 1208-147
8 Increase2.svg Kyle Petty 1197-158
9 Increase2.svg Bobby Allison 1187-168
10 Decrease2.svg Dale Earnhardt 1150-205

[9]

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References

  1. ↑ 1985 Winston 500 weather conditions at The Old Farmers' Almanac
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1985 Winston 500 at Racing Reference
  3. 1 2 3 4 Elliott Was Awesome At Talladega In 1985 at GeorgiaRacingHistory.com
  4. ↑ "Track Facts". talladegasuperspeedway.com. Talladega Superspeedway. November 1, 2012. Archived from the original on November 1, 2012. Retrieved April 27, 2015.
  5. ↑ "Bill Elliott". The Crittenden Automotive Library. Retrieved May 8, 2007.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 1985 Winston 500 at Race Database
  7. ↑ 1985 NASCAR Winston Cup Recap Archived 2011-10-28 at the Wayback Machine at Auto.Howstuffworks.com
  8. ↑ https://www.racing-reference.info/race/1985_Winston_500/W
  9. ↑ https://www.racing-reference.info/race/1985_Winston_500/W
Preceded by
1985 Sovran Bank 500 		NASCAR Winston Cup Series Season
1985		Succeeded by
1985 Budweiser 500
Preceded by
1984 		Winston 500 races
1985		Succeeded by
1986
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