1985 Winston Western 500

1985 Winston Western 500
Race details
Race 28 of 28 in the 1985 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season

Riverside International Raceway
Date November 17, 1985
Location Riverside International Raceway (Riverside, California)
Course Permanent racing facility
2.700 mi (4.345 km)
Distance 119 laps, 311.8 mi (501.7 km)
WeatherTemperatures reaching up to 66 °F (19 °C); wind speeds up to 12 miles per hour (19 km/h)[1]
Average speed 105.065 miles per hour (169.086 km/h)
Pole position
Driver Terry Labonte Hagan Enterprises
Most laps led
Driver Terry Labonte Hagan Enterprises
Laps 78
Winner
No. 15
 Ricky Rudd
 Bud Moore Engineering
Television in the United States
Network TBS
Announcers Ken Squier
Benny Parsons

The 1985 Winston Western 500 is a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that took place on November 17, 1985, at Riverside International Raceway in Riverside, California, U.S.A..

Summary

This racing event involved 119 laps of racing for almost three hours.[2] Ricky Rudd defeated Terry Labonte by almost half a second in front of 40000 live audience members.[2] There were 41 drivers on the starting grid; only Trevor Boys was born outside the United States of America.[2] Ron Esau acquired the last-place finish of the race due to an engine problem on the tenth lap.[2] Bill Elliott would be the final drive to actually finish the entire race.[2] Three cautions were given for 11 laps; allowing for 14 changes in the first-place position.[2] Labonte qualified for the pole position with a break-neck driving speeds of up to 116.938 miles per hour (188.193 km/h).[2]

Most of the field were driving Chevrolet vehicles; although the winner of the race would drive a Ford.[2] Dale Earnhardt, Richard Petty, and Darrell Waltrip were some of the notable drivers on the track while McDonald's, Wrangler Jeans, and 7-Eleven made up some of the drivers' non-automotive sponsors.[2] Darrell Waltrip and his then-current employer Junior Johnson would clinch their third and final championship together.[2] Elliott would break a part in his vehicle that cost $2 ($4.39 when adjusted for inflation) and would end up giving the championship away to Waltrip.

Clark Dwyer, Blair Aiken, and John Soares, Jr. would retire from NASCAR after this racing event.[3]

Top twenty finishers

  1. Ricky Rudd
  2. Terry Labonte
  3. Neil Bonnett
  4. Harry Gant
  5. Dale Earnhardt
  6. Geoffrey Bodine
  7. Darrell Waltrip
  8. Richard Petty
  9. Lake Speed
  10. Ron Bouchard
  11. Glen Steurer
  12. Jim Robinson
  13. Bobby Hillin, Jr.
  14. Ruben Garcia
  15. Bill Schmitt
  16. Jim Bown
  17. Bobby Allison
  18. Dave Marcis
  19. Derrike Cope
  20. Jimmy Means

Standings after the race

Pos Driver Points[2]
1 Darrell Waltrip 4292
2 Bill Elliott 4191
3 Harry Gant 4028
4 Neil Bonnett 3897
5 Geoffrey Bodine 3862

References

  1. ↑ Weather information for the 1985 Winston Western 500 at The Old Farmers' Almanac
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.9 2.10 1985 Winston Western 500 racing information at Racing Reference
  3. ↑ 1985 Winston Western 500 results at Race-Database
Preceded by
1985 Atlanta Journal 500		 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Season
1985-6 		Succeeded by
1986 Daytona 500