1985 Winston Western 500

Auto race held at Riverside International Raceway in 1985 February 2025 CUST Race 28 of 28 in the 1985 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season Winston Western 500 Weather information for the 1985 Winston Western 500 at The Old Farmers' Almanac 1985 11 17 1985 28 28 Riverside Raceway.JPG Layout of Riverside International Raceway (1969-1988 version) Winston Western 500 Riverside International Raceway, Riverside, California 2.700 4.345 119 311.8 501.7 Temperatures of 66 F C; wind speeds of 12 mph km/h 105.065 mph on Terry Labonte Hagan Enterprises 1:20.658 Terry Labonte Hagan Enterprises 78 15 Ricky Rudd Bud Moore Engineering TBS Ken Squier Benny Parsons The 1985 Winston Western 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race that took place on November 17, 1985, at Riverside International Raceway in Riverside, California. With the deletion of the two Nashville races the 1985 Winston Cup season was the first since 1974 with less than 30 races. Race report With one race remaining in the championship, Bill Elliott, who won 11 races, trailed Darrell Waltrip by 20 points (between 4-7 positions depending on the order of finish—the equivalent of 4-7 points under the 2011 scoring system). Qualifying was held on Friday and Terry Labonte scored the pole with a time of 1:20.658. The 500-kilometer race, lasting 119 laps, would have the championship battle come down to the first six laps of the race. The gearshift lever on Elliott's car broke on the sixth lap, necessitating repairs that lasted thirty minutes, or roughly 22 laps of the race and putting him several laps down. Waltrip finished seventh and locked down the championship on Lap 99. New York Times: Waltrip Wins NASCAR Title from Elliott On the day his teammate won the title Neil Bonnett ended 1985 on the podium as he led a few laps and brought Junior Johnson's red #12 Budweiser Chevrolet home in third. The 1985 season would be one of career highs for Bonnett as he finished fourth in points on the strength of 11 top-5s and 18 top-10s. This would be the last season where Neil ran every race.Driver Neil Bonnett 1985 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Results at Racing Reference This was a combination race with the NASCAR Winston West Series, which had four drivers (Jim Robinson, Hershel McGriff, Glen Steurer, and Ruben Garcia) eligible for the title. Robinson would clinch the title over McGriff with his 12th place finish. Pit strategy determined the race. On the penultimate pit stop, Labonte's Billy Hagan pit crew changed two tires, while Ricky Rudd's Bud Moore Engineering Ford team changed four tires. On the final round of pit stops, the opposite took place, allowing Rudd to defeat Labonte by almost half a second in front of 40000 spectators. Ruben Garcia, later to gain fame from knocking out a wall in a crash during the last race at Riverside in 1988, scored his career-best finish of 14th place.1985 Winston Western 500 racing information at Racing Reference Three cautions slowed the race for 11 laps; allowing for 14 lead changes. Bobby Allison came into this race seeking to avoid going winless for the season for the first time since 1977. He qualified well but his chaotic season ended with a 17th-place, two laps down. This was the final race for Rusty Wallace competing for Cliff Stewart Racing. The race was the final Winston Cup start for Blair Aiken, Clark Dwyer, and John Soares Jr., while Scott Autrey and Bud Hickey would make their only Winston Cup Series appearance at this event.Drivers who retired from NASCAR after this event at Race Database Notable crew chiefs for this race included Junie Donlavey, Robin Pemberton, Joey Arrington, Jake Elder, Travis Carter, Bud Moore, Tim Brewer, Jeff Hammond, Harry Hyde, Kirk Shelmerdine and Darrell Bryant.1985 Winston Western 500 crew chiefs at Racing Reference Qualifying Grid No. Car number Driver Manufacturer Owner 1 44 Terry Labonte Chevrolet Billy Hagan 2 27 Tim Richmond Pontiac Raymond Beadle 3 11 Darrell Waltrip Chevrolet Junior Johnson 4 15 Ricky Rudd Ford Bud Moore 5 9 Bill Elliott Ford Harry Melling 6 22 Bobby Allison Buick Bobby Allison 7 3 Dale Earnhardt Chevrolet Richard Childress 8 33 Harry Gant Chevrolet Hal Needham 9 7 Kyle Petty Ford Wood Brothers 10 47 Ron Bouchard Buick Jack Beebe 11 5 Geoffrey Bodine Chevrolet Rick Hendrick 12 75 Lake Speed Pontiac RahMoc Enterprises 13 12 Neil Bonnett Chevrolet Junior Johnson 14 98 Jim Bown Chevrolet Johnny Kieper 15 18 Glen Sturer Chevrolet Glen Steurer 16 78 Jim Robinson Oldsmobile Lois Williams 17 04 Hershel McGriff Pontiac Gary Smith 18 32 Ruben Garcia Chevrolet Fred Stoke 19 71 Dave Marcis Chevrolet Dave Marcis 20 8 Bobby Hillin Jr. Chevrolet Stavola Brothers Top 20 finishers Pos No. Car number Driver Manufacturer Laps Number of laps completed Laps led Number of laps led Time/Status 115Ricky RuddFord11927 2:58:03 244Terry LabonteChevrolet11978 +0.45 seconds 312Neil BonnettChevrolet1193 Led lap under green flag 433Harry GantChevrolet1191 Led lap under green flag 53Dale EarnhardtChevrolet1196 Led lap under green flag 65Geoffrey BodineChevrolet1192 Led lap under green flag 711Darrell WaltripChevrolet1191 Led lap under green flag 843Richard PettyPontiac1190 Led lap under green flag 975Lake SpeedPontiac1181 +1 lap 1047Ron BouchardBuick1180 +1 lap 1111Glen SteurerChevrolet1180 +1 lap 1278Jim RobinsonOldsmobile1170 +2 laps 138Bobby Hillin Jr.Chevrolet1170 +2 laps 1432Ruben GarciaChevrolet1170+2 laps 1573Bill SchmittChevrolet1170 +2 laps 1698Jim BownChevrolet1170 +2 laps 1722Bobby AllisonBuick1170 +2 laps 1871Dave MarcisChevrolet1170 +2 laps 1907Derrike CopeFord1160 +3 laps 2052Jimmy MeansPontiac1160 +3 laps Timeline Section reference: Start: Terry Labonte was leading the starting grid as the green flag was waved. Lap 10: Darrell Waltrip took over the lead from Terry Labonte. Lap 11: Terry Labonte took over the lead from Darrell Waltrip. Lap 19: First caution of the event, ended on lap 21. Lap 21: Ricky Rudd took over the lead from Terry Labonte. Lap 22: Dale Earnhardt took over the lead from Ricky Rudd. Lap 26: Terry Labonte took over the lead from Dale Earnhardt. Lap 41: Second caution of the event, ended on lap 44. Lap 42: Lake Speed took over the lead from Terry Labonte. Lap 43: Terry Labonte took over the lead from Lake Speed. Lap 48: Third caution of the event, ended on lap 50. Lap 71: Harry Gant took over the lead from Terry Labonte. Lap 72: Neil Bonnett took over the lead from Harry Gant. Lap 75: Ricky Rudd took over the lead from Neil Bonnett. Lap 77: Geoffrey Bodine took over the lead from Ricky Rudd. Lap 79: Dale Earnhardt took over the lead from Geoffrey Bodine. Lap 81: Terry Labonte took over the lead from Dale Earnhardt. Lap 96: Ricky Rudd took over the lead from Terry Labonte. Lap 116: Greg Sacks' vehicle suddenly developed issues with its transmission. Finish: Ricky Rudd was officially declared the winner of the race. Standings after the race Pos Driver Points Differential 1 10px Darrell Waltrip 4292 0 2 10px Bill Elliott 4191 -101 3 10px Harry Gant 4028 -264 4 10px Neil Bonnett 3897 -395 5 10px Geoffrey Bodine 3862 -430 6 10px Ricky Rudd 3857 -435 7 10px Terry Labonte 3683 -609 8 Dale Earnhardt 3561 -731 9 Kyle Petty 3532 -769 10 10px Lake Speed 3507 -785 References 1985 Atlanta Journal 500 1986 Daytona 500 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Season 1985-6 Winston Western 500 Winston Western 500 Category:NASCAR races at Riverside International Raceway