Official name Winston 500 | ||
Date May 5, 1985 (1985-May-05) 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 Warm with temperatures approaching 81 °F (27 °C); average wind speeds of 4.1 miles per hour (6.6 km/h) | ||
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.
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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. As a result, NASCAR raised the height of the Ford vehicles by half an inch. The roof of the GM race cars was lowered by the same amount in order to improve their speed performance.
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.
Summary
There were 39 drivers who qualified for this race; the pole position winner was Bill Elliott who qualified at the break-neck speed of 209.398 miles per hour (336.993 km/h) in a Ford Thunderbird. He would go on to beat Kyle Petty by nearly two seconds while racing at speeds up to 186.288 miles per hour (299.801 km/h) during the race; even though the record would broken again at the 1997 Winston 500 by Mark Martin. A broken oil fitting, however, would knock Elliott two laps out of the lead laps before he managed his comeback. Elliott would return to the track and begin consistently running laps near 205 mph. He would make up the two laps lost due to the broken oil fitting without the aide of a yellow flag or the draft. At the end of the year, Elliott would go on to become the first Winston Million winner.
More than 100,000 live spectators would see more than two and a half hours of racing with two cautions periods (lasting for only eight laps). This relatively clean race would see 28 different lead changes. Canadian driver Trevor Boys would finish in last place due to a problem with the engine on lap 6 of this 188-lap race. Bosco Lowe and Dick Skillen would exit NASCAR after this race while Geoff Bodine would lose the championship points lead to Terry Labonte. The cars being used for NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing back then were closer to the production models and no common templates were used.
Bill Elliott, despite leading the NASCAR Winston Cup Series with 11 hard-earned wins on superspeedways, would end up losing the championship that year to Darrell Waltrip.