1985 Winston Cup Series

1985 Winston Cup Series
Darrell Waltrip won his third Winston Cup Series championship
Duration	February 17 through November 17
Season statistics
No. of races	28
First race	1985 Daytona 500
Last race	1985 Winston Western 500
Drivers' champion	Darrell Waltrip
Manufacturers' champion
Rookie of the Year	Ken Schrader
Most popular driver	Bill Elliott
Previous	1984
Next	1986

The 1985 Winston Cup Series was the 37^th season of the NASCAR Winston Cup Series. The season began with the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 17 and ended with the Winston Western 500 at Riverside International Raceway on November 17.

Bill Elliott and the Melling Racing team dominated the season, winning a total of 11 races. Elliott also won the first offering of the Winston Million by winning the Daytona 500, Winston 500 and Southern 500. However, despite leading the points the majority of the year, Darrell Waltrip chipped away at Elliott's lead, capitalizing on a lack of consistency from Elliott. With 4 races to go in the season, Waltrip took the points lead and went into the final race with a 20 point lead over Elliott. A transmission issue took Elliott out of the Winston Western 500 and Waltrip took his third championship with only 3 wins.

The season was notable for being the first season to feature an All-Star race (known as the The Winston and only featuring winners from the previous season) and was notable for the temporary closure of Petty Enterprises, following the departure of Kyle Petty for the Wood Brothers team before the season began. It also was the first season where all the races were televised in some form, and was the final season that featured Chrysler branded cars competing and the final season for Dodge until 2001.

Major Teams

Car No.	Driver	Sponsor	Make	Team
2	Rusty Wallace	Alugard		Cliff Stewart Racing
3	Dale Earnhardt	Wrangler Jeans		Richard Childress Racing
4	Joe Ruttman	Folgers		Morgan-McClure Motorsports
5	Geoff Bodine	Levi Garrett		Hendrick Motorsports
6	Eddie Bierschwale*			U.S. Racing
7	Kyle Petty	7-Eleven		Wood Brothers Racing
8	Bobby Hillin Jr.	Trap Rock Industries		Stavola Brothers Racing
9	Bill Elliott	Coors		Melling Racing
11	Darrell Waltrip	Budweiser		Junior Johnson & Associates
12	Neil Bonnett	Budweiser		Junior Johnson & Associates
15	Ricky Rudd	Motorcraft		Bud Moore Engineering
17	Phil Parsons (14) Ken Ragan (6) Lennie Pond (7) Bosco Lowe (1)	Skoal Hesco Exhaust Systems McCord Gaskets		Hamby Motorsports
18	Tommy Ellis (14) Glen Steurer (2)			Freedlander Motorsports
22	Bobby Allison	Miller American		DiGard Racing (15) Bobby Allison Motorsports (13)
27	Tim Richmond	Old Milwaukee		Blue Max Racing
28	Cale Yarborough	Hardee's		Ranier-Lundy Racing
33	Harry Gant	Skoal Bandit		Mach 1 Racing
43	Richard Petty	STP		Curb Racing
44	Terry Labonte	Piedmont Airlines		Hagan Racing
47	Ron Bouchard	Valvoline		Race Hill Farm Team
49	Don Hume* (6) James Hylton (1) Greg Sacks (3) Trevor Boys (13) Lennie Pond (1) Ron Esau (1)	Cleaner Hands Formula		Hylton Racing
52	Jimmy Means	Broadway Motors		Means Racing
55	Benny Parsons	Copenhagen		Jackson Brothers Motorsports
64	Clark Dwyer	Sunny King Ford & Honda		Langley Racing
66	Phil Parsons	Skoal		Jackson Brothers Motorsports
67	Buddy Arrington (26) Morgan Shepherd (1) Phil Good (1)	Vinton Motors		Arrington Racing
70	J.D. McDuffie	Rumple Furniture		McDuffie Racing
71	Dave Marcis	AEL Rentals		Marcis Auto Racing
75	Lake Speed	Nationwise Auto Parts		RahMoc Enterprises
77	Greg Sacks (13)	Miller American		DiGard Racing
88	Buddy Baker	Bull Frog Knits		Baker-Schiff Racing
90	Ken Schrader*	Ultra Seal		Donlavey Racing

Schedule

Round	Date	Race Name	Track
	February 10, 1985	Busch Clash	Daytona International Speedway
	February 14, 1985	7-Eleven Twin 125s	Daytona International Speedway
	February 15, 1985	Daytona 500 Consolation Race	Daytona International Speedway
1	February 17, 1985	Daytona 500	Daytona International Speedway
2	February 24, 1985	Miller High Life 400	Richmond Fairgrounds Raceway
3	March 3, 1985	Carolina 500	North Carolina Motor Speedway
4	March 17, 1985	Coca-Cola 500	Atlanta International Raceway
5	April 6, 1985	Valleydale 500	Bristol International Raceway
6	April 14, 1985	TranSouth 500	Darlington Raceway
7	April 21, 1985	Northwestern Bank 400	North Wilkesboro Speedway
8	April 28, 1985	Sovran Bank 500	Martinsville Speedway
9	May 5, 1985	Winston 500	Alabama International Motor Speedway
10	May 19, 1985	Budweiser 500	Dover Downs International Speedway
	May 25, 1985	The Winston	Charlotte Motor Speedway
11	May 26, 1985	Coca-Cola World 600	Charlotte Motor Speedway
12	June 2, 1985	Budweiser 400	Riverside International Raceway
13	June 9, 1985	Van Scoy Diamond Mine 500	Pocono International Raceway
14	June 16, 1985	Miller 400	Michigan International Speedway
15	July 4, 1985	Pepsi Firecracker 400	Daytona International Speedway
16	July 21, 1985	Summer 500	Pocono International Raceway
17	July 28, 1985	Talladega 500	Alabama International Motor Speedway
18	August 11, 1985	Champion Spark Plug 400	Michigan International Speedway
19	August 24, 1985	Busch 500	Bristol International Raceway
20	September 1, 1985	Southern 500	Darlington Raceway
21	September 8, 1985	Wrangler Sanfor-Set 400	Richmond Fairgrounds Raceway
22	September 15, 1985	Delaware 500	Dover Downs International Speedway
23	September 22, 1985	Goody's 500	Martinsville Speedway
24	September 29, 1985	Holly Farms 400	North Wilkesboro Speedway
25	October 6, 1985	Miller High Life 500	Charlotte Motor Speedway
26	October 20, 1985	Nationwise 500	North Carolina Motor Speedway
27	November 3, 1985	Atlanta Journal 500	Atlanta International Raceway
28	November 17, 1985	Winston Western 500	Riverside International Raceway

Results

Round	Race	Pole Winner	Winner	Make	Cautions	Caution Laps	Average Speed	Number of Lead Changes
	1985 Busch Clash	Ricky Rudd	Terry Labonte		1	4	195.865	2
	1985 7-Eleven Twin 125 (Race #1)	Bill Elliott	Bill Elliott		1	3	179.784	4
	1985 7-Eleven Twin 125 (Race #2)	Cale Yarborough	Cale Yarborough		2	9	155.387	6
	1985 Daytona 500 Consolation Race	Rick Newsom	Randy LaJoie		0	0	189.341	2
1	1985 Daytona 500	Bill Elliott	Bill Elliott		5	18	172.265	22
2	1985 Miller High Life 400	Darrell Waltrip	Dale Earnhardt		10	74	67.945	9
3	1985 Carolina 500	Terry Labonte	Neil Bonnett		10	76	114.953	30
4	1985 Coca-Cola 500	Neil Bonnett	Bill Elliott		6	31	140.273	17
5	1985 Valleydale 500	Harry Gant	Dale Earnhardt		14	90	81.790	18
6	1985 TranSouth 500	Bill Elliott	Bill Elliott		7	51	126.295	21
7	1985 Northwestern Bank 400	Darrell Waltrip	Neil Bonnett		6	36	93.818	10
8	1985 Sovran Bank 500	Darrell Waltrip	Harry Gant		10	57	73.022	12
9	1985 Winston 500	Bill Elliott	Bill Elliott		2	8	186.288	28
10	1985 Budweiser 500	Terry Labonte	Bill Elliott		5	37	123.094	7
	1985 The Winston	Terry Labonte	Darrell Waltrip		0	0	161.184	7
11	1985 Coca-Cola World 600	Bill Elliott	Darrell Waltrip		7	34	141.807	29
12	1985 Budweiser 400	Darrell Waltrip	Terry Labonte		3	9	104.276	10
13	1985 Van Scoy Diamond Mine 500	Bill Elliott	Bill Elliott		3	10	138.974	13
14	1985 Miller 400	N/A	Bill Elliott		2	15	144.724	19
15	1985 Pepsi Firecracker 400	Bill Elliott	Greg Sacks		6	26	158.730	19
16	1985 Summer 500	Darrell Waltrip	Bill Elliott		6	24	134.008	36
17	1985 Talladega 500	Bill Elliott	Cale Yarborough		7	44	148.772	30
18	1985 Champion Spark Plug 400	Bill Elliott	Bill Elliott		5	28	137.430	14
19	1985 Busch 500	Dale Earnhardt	Dale Earnhardt		13	87	81.388	18
20	1985 Southern 500	Bill Elliott	Bill Elliott		14	70	121.254	20
21	1985 Wrangler Sanfor-Set 400	Geoff Bodine	Darrell Waltrip		7	65	72.508	14
22	1985 Delaware 500	Bill Elliott	Harry Gant		6	45	120.538	16
23	1985 Goody's 500	Geoff Bodine	Dale Earnhardt		12	65	70.694	11
24	1985 Holly Farms 400	Geoff Bodine	Harry Gant		6	31	95.077	10
25	1985 Miller High Life 500	Harry Gant	Cale Yarborough		6	41	136.761	15
26	1985 Nationwise 500	Terry Labonte	Darrell Waltrip		10	64	118.344	27
27	1985 Atlanta Journal 500	Harry Gant	Bill Elliott		6	39	139.597	12
28	1985 Winston Western 500	Terry Labonte	Ricky Rudd		3	10	105.065	14

Final Points Standings

Pos.	Driver	Races	Wins	Top 5s	Top 10s	Poles	Points	Difference
1	Darrell Waltrip	28	3	18	21	4	4292
2	Bill Elliott	28	11	16	18	11	4191	-101
3	Harry Gant	28	3	14	19	3	4033	-259
4	Neil Bonnett	28	2	11	18	1	3902	-390
5	Geoffrey Bodine	28	0	10	14	3	3862	-430
6	Ricky Rudd	28	1	13	19	0	3857	-435
7	Terry Labonte	28	1	8	17	4	3683	-609
8	Dale Earnhardt	28	4	10	16	1	3561	-731
9	Kyle Petty	28	0	7	12	0	3528	-764
10	Lake Speed	28	0	2	14	0	3507	-785
11	Tim Richmond	28	0	3	13	0	3413	-879
12	Bobby Allison	28	0	7	11	0	3312	-980
13	Ron Bouchard	28	0	5	12	0	3267	-1,025
14	Richard Petty	28	0	1	13	0	3140	-1,152
15	Bobby Hillin, Jr.	28	0	0	5	0	3091	-1,201
16	Ken Schrader	28	0	0	3	0	3024	-1,268
17	Buddy Baker	28	0	2	7	0	2986	-1,306
18	Dave Marcis	28	0	0	5	0	2871	-1,421
19	Rusty Wallace	28	0	2	8	0	2867	-1,425
20	Buddy Arrington	26	0	0	1	0	2780	-1,512
21	Phil Parsons	28	0	0	4	0	2740	-1,552
22	Clark Dwyer	28	0	0	0	0	2641	-1,651
23	Jimmy Means	28	0	0	0	0	2548	-1,744
24	Eddie Bierschwale	26	0	0	0	0	2396	-1,896
25	Greg Sacks	20	1	1	5	0	1944	-2,348
26	Cale Yarborough	16	2	6	7	0	1861	-2,431
27	J.D. McDuffie	23	0	0	0	0	1853	-2,439
28	Trevor Boys	20	0	0	0	0	1461	-2,831
29	Benny Parsons	14	0	1	6	0	1427	-2,865
30	Joe Ruttman	16	0	1	4	0	1410	-2,882
31	Morgan Shepherd	16	0	1	2	0	1406	-2,886
32	Bobby Wawak	14	0	0	0	0	1226	-3,066
33	Lennie Pond	12	0	0	0	0	1107	-3,185
34	Tommy Ellis	14	0	0	1	0	1100	-3,192
35	Mike Alexander	11	0	0	0	0	1046	-3,246
36	David Pearson	12	0	0	1	0	879	-3,413
37	Sterling Marlin	8	0	0	0	0	645	-3,647
38	Don Hume	7	0	0	0	0	637	-3,655
39	Ronnie Thomas	7	0	0	0	0	631	-3,661
40	Alan Kulwicki	5	0	0	0	0	509	-3,783

Complete statistics can be found at Racing-Reference.info.

Rookie of the Year

Ken Schrader won the 1985 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Rookie of the Year award.

Rookie of the Year Standings

Position	Driver	Race Wins
1	Ken Schrader	0
2	Eddie Bierschwale	0
3	Don Hume	0

Manufacturer's Championship

With 14 wins, Chevrolet won the 1985 Manufacturer's Championship.

Position	Make	Points	Race Wins
1		205	14
2		192	14
3		102	0
4		99	0
5		69	0
6		14	0
7		4	0