1985 Daytona 500

Race details[1]
Race 1 of 28 in the1985 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season
1985 Daytona 500 program cover
Date	February 17, 1985 (1985-02-17)
Location	Daytona International Speedway Daytona Beach, Florida, U.S.
Course	Permanent racing facility 2.5 mi (4.023 km)
Distance	200 laps, 500 mi (804.672 km)
Weather	Temperatures of 73 °F (23 °C); wind speeds of 14 mph (23 km/h)[2]
Average speed	172.265 mph (277.234 km/h)
Pole position
Driver	Bill Elliott 43.878 seconds 205.114 mph (330.099 km/h)	Melling Racing
Qualifying race winners
Duel 1 Winner	Bill Elliott	Melling Racing
Duel 2 Winner	Cale Yarborough	Ranier-Lundy
Most laps led
Driver	Bill Elliott	Melling Racing
Laps	136
Winner
No. 9	Bill Elliott	Melling Racing
Television in the United States
Network	CBS
Announcers	Host:Chris Economaki Lap-by-lap:Ken Squier Driver analyst:David Hobbs Driver analyst:Ned Jarrett Pit reporter:Chris Economaki Pit reporter:Mike Joy
Nielsen ratings	8.3/23 (9.8 million viewers)

The1985 Daytona 500, the 27th running of theevent, was held on February 17, 1985, atDaytona International Speedway, inDaytona Beach, Florida.

Bill Elliott won the pole at a then-record speed of 205.114 mph. After a mediocre run in the Busch Clash, Elliott nearly lapped the field in his 125-mile qualifying race, then thoroughly dominated the Daytona 500, leading 136 of the 200 laps in his #9 Coors/MellingFord Thunderbird. The race restarted on the last lap after aNeil Bonnett spin out with less than four laps to go; Bonnett got out of his car and was credited for a 10th-place finish. The race saw a number of engine problems, which knocked many of the contenders, including former Daytona 500 winnersDavid Pearson,A. J. Foyt,Benny Parsons,Bobby Allison, and two-time defending race winnerCale Yarborough, who was trying to win his third straightDaytona 500 victory.^[3]

The only car that could consistently run with Elliott was Cale Yarborough, and when his engine went up in smoke on lap 62 the race was for all intents and purposes over.^[1]Hendrick Motorsports landed its first big-time full-season sponsorship for 1985 withLevi Garrett chewing tobacco coming aboard to sponsor the #5 Chevrolet ofGeoff Bodine. The car's first points race in its new yellow-and-white paint scheme saw Bodine post a solid top-10 run, kicking off a several-year partnership.^[1]

There were 12 cars that were knocked out just from engine problems; with a lot of big names affected (Neil Bonnett, who somehow finished 10th even with a blown engine; defending champion Terry Labonte; both Parsons brothers; Kyle Petty; Harry Gant; David Pearson; Bobby Allison and 2-time defending Daytona 500 champion Cale Yarborough among them).^[1]

(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^[4]

5 for 18 laps^[1]

Lead changes: 22^[1]

• This was Chrysler's last entry in the Daytona 500 as Mopar disappeared from the sport (Cup racing) completely until 2001.Morgan Shepherd droveBuddy Arrington's Chrysler's Imperial to a solid 15th place finish.^[1] Until 2016, this was the last Daytona 500 with a field of 40 cars.^[1]
• First Daytona 500 Start:Ken Schrader.
• Last Daytona 500 Starts:Bobby Wawak,Clark Dwyer,Lennie Pond,Slick Johnson,Dick Brooks, andDavid Pearson.^[1]

• 1985 in sports in Florida
• 1985 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
• February 1985 sports events in the United States
• NASCAR races at Daytona International Speedway

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use mdy dates from February 2025