1985 Southern 500

The 1985 Southern 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that took place on September 1, 1985, at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina as race number 20 of 28 of the 1985 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season. Bill Elliott made history by winning the race and with it the Winston Million bonus

1985 Southern 500
Race details[1]
Race 20 of 28 in the 1985 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season
Bill Elliott in victory lane in Dover on May 19, 1985
photo courtesy of Ted Van Pelt from Mechanicsburg, PA, USA
Date September 1, 1985 (1985-September-01)
Official name Southern 500
Location Darlington Raceway, Darlington, South Carolina
Course Permanent racing facility
1.366 mi (2.198 km)
Distance 367 laps, 501.322 mi (806.500 km)
Weather Very hot with temperatures of 84 °F (29 °C);
wind speeds of 5.87 miles per hour (9.45 km/h)
Average speed 121.254 mph (195.139 km/h)
4 hours, 8 minutes, 02 seconds
Attendance 80,000[2]
Pole position
Driver
Melling Racing
Most laps led
Driver Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing
Laps 147
Winner
No. 9 Bill Elliott Melling Racing
Television in the United States
Network ESPN
Announcers Lap-by-lap: Larry Nuber
Pit Reporter: Jack Arute
Radio in the United States
Radio MRN
Booth Announcers Barney Hall
Turn Announcers Turns 1 & 2:
Turns 3 & 4:

Background
Layout of Darlington Raceway, the track where the race was held.

Darlington Raceway, nicknamed by many NASCAR fans and drivers as "The Lady in Black" or "The Track Too Tough to Tame", is a race track built for NASCAR racing located near Darlington, South Carolina.[3] It is of a unique, somewhat egg-shaped design, an oval with the ends of very different configurations, altered to accommodate the resident landowner who didn’t want his nearby minnow pond disturbed.[3] This situation makes it very challenging for the crews to set up their cars' handling in a way that will be effective at both ends.

The track is a four-turn 1.366 miles (2.198 km) oval.[4] The track's first two turns are banked at twenty-five degrees, while the final two turns are banked two degrees lower at twenty-three degrees.[4] The front stretch (the location of the finish line) and the back stretch is banked at six degrees.[4] Darlington Raceway can seat up to 60,000 people.[4]

Darlington has something of a legendary quality among drivers and older fans; this is probably due to its long track length relative to other NASCAR speedways of its era and hence the first venue where many of them became cognizant of the truly high speeds that stock cars could achieve on a long track. The track allegedly earned the moniker The Lady in Black because the night before the race the track maintenance crew would cover the entire track with fresh asphalt sealant, in the early years of the speedway, thus making the racing surface dark black. Darlington is also known as "The Track Too Tough to Tame" because drivers can run lap after lap without a problem and then bounce off of the wall the following lap. Racers will frequently explain that they have to race the racetrack, not their competition. Drivers hitting the wall are considered to have received their "Darlington Stripe" thanks to the missing paint on the right side of the car.

Race Summary

Dale Earnhardt had the dominent car of the race but on lap 317 he spun which not only brought out the caution flag but also damaged his engine which led to him dropping out of the race. Cale Yarborough led until his car started billowing smoke from his power steering leading to one of the races last caution flags leaving Bill Elliott in the lead and claiming the Winston Million.

Full results

Failed to qualify

Failed to qualify, withdrew, or driver changes:[5]

Driver Car
no.		 Car Make
Jonathan Lee Edwards
Ferrel Harris
Rick Newsom
Connie Saylor
Bobby Wawak
J.D. McDuffie70Chevrolet Monte Carlo

Box score
Fin. Grid Car
no.		 Driver Car Make Status Laps Laps
Led		 Points
1 19Bill ElliottFord Thunderbird4:08:02367100180 (5)
2 2228Cale YarboroughFord Thunderbird-.6 seconds36725175 (5)
3 175Geoffrey BodineChevrolet Monte CarloRunning3675170 (5)
4 2112Neil BonnettChevrolet Monte Carlo-1 lap3660160
5 1947Ron BouchardBuick Regal-1 lap3661160 (5)
6 1115Ricky RuddFord Thunderbird-1 lap3660150
7 944Terry LabonteChevrolet Monte Carlo-2 laps3650146
8 355Benny ParsonsChevrolet Monte Carlo-2 laps3650142
9 44Joe RuttmanChevrolet Monte Carlo-3 laps3640138
10 257Kyle PettyFord Thunderbird-3 laps3640134
11 827Tim RichmondPontiac Grand Prix-3 laps3640130
12 2443Richard PettyPontiac Grand Prix-3 laps3640127
13 208Bobby Hillin Jr.Chevrolet Monte Carlo-5 laps3621129 (5)
14 3290Ken SchraderFord Thunderbird-5 laps3620121
15 1688Buddy BakerOldsmobileEngine3582123 (5)
16 1875Lake SpeedPontiac Grand Prix-9 laps3580115
17 711Darrell WaltripChevrolet Monte Carlo-12 laps3550112
18 3367Buddy ArringtonFord Thunderbird-14 laps3530109
19 53Dale EarnhardtChevrolet Monte CarloEngine349147116 (10)
20 3917Ken RaganChevrolet Monte Carlo-18 laps3490103
21 633Harry GantChevrolet Monte CarloEngine33684105 (5)
22 291Pancho CarterChevrolet Monte Carlo-31 laps336097
23 2771Dave MarcisChevrolet Monte CarloVibration271299 (5)
24 3523Michael WaltripChevrolet Monte CarloEngine266091
25 2614A.J. FoytOldsmobileBrakes248088
26 3764Clark DwyerFord ThunderbirdCrash237085
27 3652Jimmy MeansChevrolet Monte CarloCamshaft236082
28 4068Mike PotterFord ThunderbirdEngine186079
29 3851Slick JohnsonFord ThunderbirdOil pressure184076
30 2322Bobby AllisonFord ThunderbirdEngine162073
31 3049Trevor BoysChevrolet Monte CarloCrash134070
32 346Eddie BierschwaleChevrolet Monte CarloEngine108067
33 1218Tommy EllisChevrolet Monte CarloTransmission101064
34 3136H.B. BaileyPontiac Grand PrixCrash94061
35 1077Greg SacksBuick RegalCrash60058
36 2832Tommy HoustonChevrolet Monte CarloEngine47055
37 1516Morgan ShepherdChevrolet Monte CarloEngine22052
38 142Rusty WallacePontiac Grand PrixCrash21049
39 1366Phil ParsonsChevrolet Monte CarloCrash21046
40 221David PearsonFord ThunderbirdEngine17043
Source:[5]

(5) Indicates 5 bonus points added to normal race points scored for leading 1 lap
(10) Indicates 10 bonus points added to normal race points scored for leading 1 lap & leading the most laps

Cautions

Cautions: 14 for 70 laps[5]

From
Lap		 To
Lap		 Total
laps		 Reason
23308Car #'s 2 & 66, accident turn 4
36394Rain
61644Debris
1001078Car # 36, accident turn 2
1481547Car # 49, accident
1691735Oil on track
1891935Car # 51, Accident
2672715Car # 64, accident frontstretch
2942974Debris, backstretch
3183225Car # 3, spun turn 4
3253295Car # 28 smoking
3333342Debris
3383414Oil on track
3513544Debris

Lap Leader Breakdown
Driver From
Lap		 To
Lap		 Total
Laps
Bill Elliott11414
Dale Earnhardt15239
Buddy Baker24241
Dave Marcis25262
Geoffrey Bodine27315
Dale Earnhardt326130
Bobby Hillin, Jr.62621
Bill Elliott6310038
Harry Gant10111515
Dale Earnhardt11614833
Ron Bouchard1491491
Dale Earnhardt1501556
Harry Gant15616914
Buddy Baker1701701
Harry Gant17119020
Dale Earnhardt19125969
Harry Gant26029435
Cale Yarborough29531824
Bill Elliott3193224
Cale Yarborough3233231
Bill Elliott32436744
Source:[5]

Standings after the race
Pos Driver Points[5] Difference
1 Bill Elliott 3176 0
2 Darrell Waltrip 2970 -206
3 Neil Bonnett 2880 -296
4 Harry Gant 2760 -416
5 Geoffrey Bodine 2742 -434
6 Kyle Petty 2699 -477
7 Ricky Rudd 2698 -478
8 Terry Labonte 2634 -542
9 Bobby Allison 2497 -679
10 Lake Speed 2494 -682

References
  1. 1985 Southern 500 weather conditions at The Old Farmers' Almanac
  2. "Ferrel Harris racing information". Racing Reference. 2011-05-26.
  3. Turner, Jared (April 7, 2010). "Every Driver Dreams About a Date with the Lady in Black". Darlington Raceway.
  4. "Darlington Raceway". CBS Sports. Retrieved 2013-05-07.
  5. "1985 Southern 500". Racing-Reference. September 1, 1985.
Preceded by
1985 Busch 500		 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Season
1985		 Succeeded by
1985 Wrangler Sanfor-Set 400
Preceded by
1984		 Southern 500 races
1985		 Succeeded by
1986
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