|| *Comments on the 1985 Winston 500:* View the most recent comment <#57> | Post a comment <#post> Tweet 1. Jay Coker posted: 02.13.2004 - 7:50 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Bill Elliott's greatest race, and maybe the greatest performance in NASCAR history- making up 2 laps at Talladega under green and still winning! 2. Ben Gunby posted: 12.27.2005 - 9:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Does anyone, anywhere know where I can obtain a video copy of this race? 3. Kenny Hunt posted: 02.20.2006 - 9:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Send me an e-mail. I may be able to help you with that video tape. 4. 'Modern Era' Nascar Sucks posted: 03.25.2006 - 10:52 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I remember hearing most of the fans cheering when Bill Elliot's car was pushed behind the wall albeit very briefly. What a performance! So much for that drafting stuff huh? The 186.398 mph avg. speed was a record as well until the May 1997 caution free Winston 500. What could Elliot have done caution free with THAT car? Maybe 200+ avg. eh? Just a thought 5. Jim posted: 06.12.2006 - 4:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Yup - Bill put a hurting on the field and NASCAR went on the assault after this total domination. I believe they ran a smaller carb starting at Daytona in a attempt to slow down the 9 car. 6. Scott posted: 07.29.2006 - 1:51 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I would appriciate any information about how to find a video tape of this race. 7. myself posted: 03.14.2007 - 8:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This race is classic proof that the restrictor plate wasn't introduced as a safety measure, but rather to bring Bill Elliott back to the competition! 8. Greg posted: 05.06.2007 - 1:46 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) The last Cup start for Bosco Lowe. 9. Zed--3_8fan4eva posted: 07.02.2007 - 2:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (2) Ill tell you those Melling engines were something, hell that team was the best team from 85-90 10. Evan posted: 02.05.2008 - 6:06 pm Rate this comment: (0) (2) What is amazing is he did it under the green...he did not draft...turns out that after it was all said and done Elliott had a "small" race car...they had leveled it up so it go faster in the draft...they did not have all those dang templates then. 11. Evan posted: 02.05.2008 - 6:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) http://thumbsnap.com/v/dC75JyJq.jpg 12. Clayton posted: 05.04.2008 - 11:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) NASCAR tried everything to slow Bill Elliott down! Restrictor plates were made to stop Awesome Bill! They tried everything else and Bill's roof was even higher in a race, and he still beat them all! "If they could they'd take a chain and hook him to the ground, Oh NASCAR can't slow Bill Elliott down!" 13. Neal posted: 05.16.2008 - 9:14 am Rate this comment: (1) (1) I've heard some cockamamie conspiracy theories before but introducing the restrictor plate to handicap Bill Elliott takes the cake. You mean it had absolutely nothing to do with the potential legal liability of a 3500 lb stock car flying into the grandstands at 210 mph, killing scores of spectators? In light of Bobby Allison's crash in '87 I'd say a car going airbone into the stands was a pretty real possibility. 14. Clayton posted: 06.09.2008 - 10:30 am Rate this comment: (0) (1) Ricky Craven hit ran and wrecked into the catch fence at Atlanta and do we run restrictor plates there??? I didn't think so!! Why is the catch fence there??? INCASE A CAR GOES FLYING IT WOULDN'T GO INTO THE STANDS!! The catch fence did its job and that's why it's there!! They knew what the possiblity's were!! They knew a car could hit that?? So what is the big deal?? Allison's crash was just an excuse! and NASCAR had the restrictor plates planned before the accident, just because of Bill!! 15. WillG_46 posted: 02.16.2009 - 11:16 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Allison's crash was not an excuse. When Allison hit the fence in 1987 he tore a huge area of the fence down. Going a little faster when he crashed and he would have gone into the stands. The Restrictor plates were placed in sole effort of improving safety so someone doesn't get killed. 16. AJ posted: 05.31.2009 - 10:54 pm Rate this comment: (2) (2) I don't know why Bill Elliott gets so much praise for this race, when it was clearly a superior car that allowed him to make up two laps under green. I bet if any other driver stepped into the #9 car, they'd have been able to do the same thing. Also, if Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus attempted the "small car" trick in today's Nascar, they would be crucified as cheaters, yet Elliott and Melling are considered heroes for it. Quite a double standard if you ask me. The fact that the 10th place car was FIVE laps down says a lot about the disparity in car performance back in the day. 17. Ryan posted: 03.07.2010 - 12:26 pm Rate this comment: (2) (4) I must agree with you AJ. Elliott was racing a 7/8 or 9/10 scale car anyways. Of course he is going to go faster. And the reason they put plates on was because Allison almost when into the stands idiots! If he goes into the stands and kills people Nascar is finished as a sport. 18. timbt posted: 04.25.2010 - 10:45 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Everyone is missing the obvious, if the plates were nascars attempt to slow elliot down then why put them on all cars and not just elliots. 19. Mike Moore of Temple GA posted: 05.17.2010 - 10:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I will never forget this race. NASCAR had raised the Fords by a half inch and lowered the GM cars by a half inch beginning with this race. Remember this was back when the race cars were closer to the production models and there were no commom templates. This change did not seem to hurt the Thunderbird because it was a slick aerodynamic car on and off the track. There was a roar of approval when everyone thought Bill Elliott was out of this race. Whatever caused the smoke was a quick fix and when he got back on the track there was no sandbagging as he was making up about a second a lap. We were amazed when Bill Elliott made up two laps without the aid of a caution and when he finally did retake the lead then there was a caution. 20. myself posted: 05.20.2010 - 12:41 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sure would love some footage of this race. 21. myself posted: 05.20.2010 - 12:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I personally believe this was Bill Elliott's greatest accomplishment of the '85 season. 22. Clayton posted: 07.24.2010 - 7:36 am Rate this comment: (2) (0) Whoever said Elliott had a "small car" is talkin out of their butts! Nothing was proven against Elliott or his team. The "small car" theory was introduced by Darrell Waltrip, who ran for Junior Johnson's team. Do I need to say more? and the reason why plates were put on all the compition is because they tried plates with Bill Elliott and he still beat them all. And as for the "great car" he had, for you new NASCAR fans that refuse to give Elliott credit, It takes a man to wheel a car around at 212MPH, and a great driver to not wreck the thing in trying to do that. But you new fans won't ever understand jut how outstanding it was to watch a man DOMINATE the sport in 1985! Every race you went to Elliott was your pick to win and despite mechianical problems you were right! 23. lbgulf posted: 03.04.2011 - 3:40 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) People can claim what they want about restrictor plates and the reasons for them but the bottom line is there is a legal agreement with NASCAR that if the official speed in a race or qualifying goes over 200MPH then the commercial risk insurance policies NASCAR purchases increases immediately by a significant amount of money (significant and IMMEDIATELY). That is why you never hear NASCAR officially announce any lap speeds over 200MPH at Dega and Daytona. As someone noted in an earlier post it is the legal liability issue and nothing to do with Elliot's speed. Watch what happens when speeds get close to the 200MPH barrier and watch NASCAR bring those cars to pit road and change those restrictor plates. I'm in the commercial risk business so it is pretty much known it is a risk issue (but most of you know this anyway). 24. Anonymous posted: 03.10.2011 - 10:14 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) If anyone ever says that NASCAR fans are not insane lunatics, show them this comments page. 25. Anonymous posted: 03.18.2011 - 9:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Elliott's car was narrower all season. All you need to do is look at a picture of his car racing with others. It's totally obvious. http://cdn3.iofferphoto.com/img/item/105/751/251/PVltiDB4VbmbIgb.jpg 26. zuel660 posted: 04.23.2011 - 3:06 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) @ Anonymous: Wow, that's soooo obvious! Too bad you weren't the Nascar tech inspector back then, for you can see what Junior Johnson, Childress, Hendricks, Raymond Beadle, Ranier Racing, the Wood Brothers, the Pettys, Nascar officials, and everyone else missed!! Maybe you also can put some blurry pictures of a dark figure in the woods or in a pond as obvious proof of Bigfoot or the Loch Ness Monster!! Give us a break, and quit trying to push your mythical urban legend!! 27. Walleyewacker posted: 05.26.2011 - 4:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Wasn't the only confirmed "smalley" Richard Petty's Pontiac that won the 1984 Firecracker 400? 28. DieselDan posted: 06.09.2011 - 2:38 am Rate this comment: (4) (0) Ernie Elliott figured out how to compress the air going into the carburetor within the confines of the rule book. Dan Elliott told the secret on Speed's Wind Tunnel program in 2010. 29. Roger posted: 07.30.2011 - 7:16 pm Rate this comment: (3) (1) The dumbest statement in all of this mess going on here is that what Elliott didn't do was impressive and how Jimmie Johnson or anyone else could do the same thing. Do you seriously think the cars drivers like Jimmie Johnson drive today are anywhere near as hard to drive as back then?????! Please tell me your not serious and you just lack Nascar knowledge. Tires wore back the then and cars wore down over the period of a race. Drivers actually drove stock cars that they tried to make more competitive. Back then Tally was ran in the heat something these mama boys today can't seem to hack. Let's move the Pepsi 400 to night and the July Dega race to October. I wouldn't give you two cents for most of today's drivers but Earnhardt, Wallace, Elliott, Petty, Pearson, and so on they all earned their racing stripes. I remember when Jimmie Johnson had to run on soft tires at Daytona in 2004, I'd never seen so much crying over the way the cars handled. I can't believe anybody would even argue this point. I'd love to see Junior, Johnson, Harvick, and some of those guys run a race in a 80's stock car in the Heat with BP tires....good luck on any of them finishing the race... 30. 3man posted: 11.15.2011 - 3:58 pm Rate this comment: (4) (0) "Elliott's car was narrower all season. All you need to do is look at a picture of his car racing with others. It's totally obvious." Elliott's Thunderbird was exactly the same size as any other Thunderbird. If it was 7/8ths scale or whatever you're trying to sell, then why did it still fit the templates. I guess NASCAR just let the Elliotts' slide, they must have wanted Elliott to make the rest of the field look silly. Look, his '85 Thunderbird is sitting in the Darlington musieum, someone go down and messure it, let me know how "small" it is. 31. nascarfan2234 posted: 07.23.2012 - 8:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) a ford 1 2 3 32. myself posted: 05.24.2013 - 12:40 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) them were some cheatin' sumbiches! 33. Ryan W posted: 06.23.2013 - 8:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (2) Bill Elliott dominated the season so much he finished second in the standings. So much domination! Roger I agree with you about Jimmie crying, but I think Jr. would do just fine on soft tires. Him and Tony ran away from the field in the '04 500 using them. 34. Walleyewhacker posted: 02.15.2014 - 11:30 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) >Ernie Elliott figured out how to compress the air going into the carburetor >within the confines of the rule book. Dan Elliott told the secret on Speed's >Wind Tunnel program in 2010. I didn't know that! Bill was a pretty good chassis man on the superspeedways as well and was one of the first to fiqure out the Bilstein shocks that year. 35. Walleyewhacker posted: 02.15.2014 - 12:41 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Ryan is just another deluded Earnhardt fan who refuses to give Elliott praise for anything. Bill brought a new flock of Ford fans to NASCAR tracks starting in 1985. Earnhardt didn't do that. Look at 16 Popular Driver of the Year Awards Bill won. Earnhardt only won one because a lot of fans couldn't stand Dale's dirty driving tactics. Bill lead 649 more laps in 1985 than Waltrip did and almost 700 more than Earnhardt. Bill won 11 races to DW's 3 and Earnhardt's 4. That is domination in laps lead and wins anyway you cut it, unless you are a typical deluded Earnhardt fan. Earnhardt never won 11 races in a year on tracks 1.0 or longer like Elliott did in 1985. Sure Elliott's 1985 11 win season wasn't as dominate as Dale's 11 win season in 1987 was in laps lead or average finish. Elliott wasn't a very good short track driver and it cost him championships in 1984, 1985 and 1992. Maybe his short track program cars weren't good enough for Elliott to consistantly finish high enough to win the Cup those years. They were in 1988 though when his average finish of 6.6 for all the races that year won him the Cup. That 6.6 average finish by Elliott in 1988 was a better average finish than 6 of Earnhardt's Cup year average finishes by the way. 36. Gabriel Nunes posted: 03.27.2014 - 11:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Bill Elliot wins after unlapping himself 2 laps. FIVE MILES under GREEN. 37. saltsburgtrojanfan posted: 07.28.2014 - 1:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Caution 1: Lap 160-163: #5 accident turn 4 Caution 2: Lap 174-177: #6 accident turn 4 38. Roger posted: 12.13.2014 - 5:17 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Elliott's car was the same size as ever other Ford proven time and again. In 1985 the Ford's did have an aerodynamic advantage over the Chevy's but that was a Ford thing not a Melling Racing thing. It was also a car approved by Nascar. So go blow that our of your tailpipes. 39. The Real NASCAR Authority posted: 01.31.2015 - 11:31 am Rate this comment: (0) (1) I agree with Ryan, Dale Jr. would whoop em all even if his car didn't have no tires on it. Yep, he could win driving on just the rims. Now that's not to say he's as good as his Daddy was, his Daddy could have won with just 2 of the rims on the car and 2nd through 4th gear missing with one hand tied behind his back. Elliott was just lucky, as was his brother and the whole Melling team. 40. Paul posted: 04.23.2015 - 12:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) DNQ or WD #0 Delma Cowart Make: Chevrolet #05 Slick Johnson Make: Ford #08 Craig Spetman Make: Chevrolet #20 Rick Newsom Make: Chevrolet #31 Slick Johnson Make: Chevrolet #39 Blackie Wangerin Make: Ford #41 Ronnie Thomas Make: Chevrolet #51 Greg Sacks Make: Chevrolet #68 Mike Potter Make: Ford #73 Steve Moore Make: Chevrolet #82 Mark Stahl Make: Ford #96 Eldon Dotson Make: Chevrolet Source: Gadsden Times, 4/30/85 (https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=c7gfAAAAIBAJ&sjid=rNcEAAAAIBAJ&pg=2407%2C6100799) 41. The Great Dave posted: 04.23.2015 - 3:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I think Greg Sacks did Qualify, but he Blew up in practice and couldn't start as a Result. 42. 52 posted: 01.28.2016 - 1:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Reading the comments regarding the restrictor plates on here are crazy. If they did them for Allison's flip, why did they not work for Larson, Neil Bonnett, Austin Dillon, or Geoff Bodine? All of them almost flipped into the stands, yet no changes were made then. 43. Eric posted: 01.28.2016 - 1:13 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) 52, The Truck series didn't have a restrictor plate the time Geoff Bodine had has nasty wreck. Geoff Bodine's truck series crash happened in 2000. The truck series didn't get restrictor plates before 2008. 44. Anonymous posted: 01.28.2016 - 1:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) And technically Bonnett's flip was one of the reasons that led to roof flaps. 45. 52 posted: 01.28.2016 - 1:41 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Ok, sorry. Omit Geoff Bodine and add Carl Edwards. In my opinion, restrictor plates do not work for the purpose they were put in the sport for. Roof flaps do not keep the cars grounded either, i.e. the Edwards crash. Never was an Earnhardt fan, but I do agree with his philosophy of, raise the grandstands and let us go at it unrestricted. 46. Anonymous posted: 01.28.2016 - 1:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) 52 is a dumbass 47. 52 posted: 01.28.2016 - 1:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Excellent argument, I guess since you do not have the intelligence to post any references to the contrary, you are right. Personal attacks are not the way to have a civil conversation. If you do not agree, just state your case or remain quiet. BTW, I have a PhD, so I don't think I'm a dumbass. 48. Big Mac Fan posted: 01.28.2016 - 2:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "i.e., the Edwards crash." The roof flaps work. The reason why they didn't then was because the rear spoiler back in 2009 caused the air to go under the car to the point where the roof flaps wouldn't work properly. There was Edwards, Newman in the Fall Talladega race, and Keselowski at Atlanta in 2010. All had the rear spoiler. Once it was taken off the cars, the roof flaps worked and there was less incidents like this. 49. 52 posted: 01.28.2016 - 2:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) And I apologize, I just expressed my opinion as does everyone else on the site. Whether I agree or disagree, I never discredit anyone's opinion on the sport because they all matter. 50. Alex posted: 01.28.2016 - 2:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) ^No bother. But I wouldn't necessarily tote a Ph.D. as a sign of intelligence because I have seen some total IDIOTS with them. Regardless, the point you made in your post was well thought out and clear. The thing with plates is that they reduce speed, which reduces the force of lift, only REDUCING the amount of airborne cars, but not eliminating them. 51. Opie posted: 01.28.2016 - 2:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) ^ its your opinion man, you don't have to apologize for having it. I think you're both kind of right though, roof flaps are effective but some of the things NASCAR does negates their effectiveness. PS - you were totally justified for calling that guy out who calling you dumbass - especially one who hides behind anonymous. 52. nascarman posted: 04.27.2016 - 9:33 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Did not Start: 51 / Greg Sacks / Cecil Gordon / Chevrolet (like The Great Dave said, he blew an engine in practice and couldn't start. He was scheduled to start 31st in the 40-car field) *Also, Ken Ragan was scheduled to race the #17 car but was injured in the ARCA race and was forced to withdraw, being replaced by Bosco Lowe. 53. Ryan posted: 06.14.2018 - 1:06 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) @35 Truth is I actually liked Elliott, just Earnhardt a lot better. Bill had great equipment and was dominant that year. There was no excuse for losing the championship that year in '85 or in 1992, though. '92 more so than '85 and he was actually more dominant in '85. The 11 team just finished poorly in '92 and didn't do their homework during the Hooters 500 at Atlanta. It was inexcusable how they lost those titles. I thought Dale was more impressive in his 11 win season because he showed his versatility on a variety of different tracks. And you're right, Bill got his championship by finally being solid at short tracks. Him and Earnhardt had great battle at the Bristol night race in '88 and a few more laps Elliott may have been able to get by him. Tbh, he probably could have, but he may have not wanted to try and push the issue with Earnhardt where he was in a good points position. "Bill brought a new flock of Ford fans to NASCAR tracks starting in 1985. Earnhardt didn't do that." You're right, Earnhardt was driving a Chevy. I know you what you mean, though, however Earnhardt started getting a good flock of fans in the early 80's. Both had a diehard fan base. It was a lot of fun to go to the races and be a fan then when the Chevy-Ford rivalry was at its peak with Earnhardt and Elliott. Elliott's were more devoted when it came to voting. I believe a couple of years Elliott beat Earnhardt by a mere 50-100 votes. "They were in 1988 though when his average finish of 6.6 for all the races that year won him the Cup. That 6.6 average finish by Elliott in 1988 was a better average finish than 6 of Earnhardt's Cup year average finishes by the way." Unfortunately for Elliott, just because he had a better average finish in/for One year, doesn't get him an extra six Cups. Elliott could have at the time had the best NASCAR season ever in the modern era. 11 wins including the Daytona 500 and Southern 500, to go along with a cool Winston Million, and set a then 500 mile race record during this race. There have been some great seasons since then (Earnhardt '87 & '90, Wallace '93, Gordon ('96-'98), Johnson had a 10 win season, and there's a possibility that Harvick or Busch could get 10 wins this season with an outside possibility that both do). However, I think Bill's '85 season would have been the best ever... if he only would have finished it off by winning the championship. 54. Ryan posted: 06.14.2018 - 1:06 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) I got an old Coca-Cola 600 program from 1985. There was a nice article in it about how some of the drivers were complaining (most notably Bobby Allison and Darrell Waltrip) how it was difficult to draft off the back end of the thunderbirds that year and especially Elliott where he had more speed that year. They commented that they felt the shape of the back end of the car was the reason why you could hardly draft off of Elliott. They had a diagram and everything. I've seen some online before. It's a good read and is neat to have. Waltrip commented that it would be difficult all year to compete with Elliott because of this and that he would probably have to make up a lot of ground on the short tracks to beat Elliott in the standings. Ultimately, that's what he did. 55. RaceFanX posted: 06.14.2018 - 1:44 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) The 186.288 mile per hour winning speed "Awesome Bill from Dawsonville" posted here set the world record at the time for the fastest 500-mile race ever. It wasn't just the NASCAR record, this was the overall fastest race and would remain as such for more than five years until Al Unser, Jr. won a CART race at M.I.S. with a fastest speed. 56. RaceFanX posted: 12.08.2018 - 9:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The Ford Thunderbirds place 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. 57. NewGuyOnTheBlock posted: 04.13.2020 - 6:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) NBC broadcast this race. Paul Page and Bobby Unser were in the booth. ESPN would take over coverage of the Winston 500 beginning the next year, making this the last year that the Winston 500 would not be shown flag-to-flag. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *Post a comment:* Your comment may not appear immediately - all comments must be approved by the moderator. Name: Comment: