1985 NASCAR Winston Cup Recap

by the Auto Editors of Consumer Guide
1985 NASCAR Winston Cup Standings
The NASCAR Winston Cup Grand National points system came under fire in 1985 as Bill Elliott, who won a record 11 superspeedway races, was blown away in the points race by three-time winner Darrell Waltrip.

1985 NASCAR Winston Cup Champion Derrell Waltrip
1985 NASCAR Winston Cup Champion Derrell Waltrip

Waltrip, who won the title for the third time, also questioned the points system. "There's not enough incentive for winning the race," said Waltrip. "This year I was the beneficiary of the points system. I've been on the other end of it, too. I will be the first to admit that with the year Bill had, he deserved to be the champion."

Elliott led virtually every category, but lost the championship to Waltrip by 101 points. It was the biggest margin of victory since 1978.

Elliott squandered a 206-point lead in the final two months of the season. Waltrip took a commanding lead by finishing 14th at North Wilkesboro in late September. He was never threatened during the final four races.

The points lead changed hands 10 times among five drivers. Lake Speed, Terry Labonte, and Geoff Bodine also enjoyed brief stints atop the standings.

For the full standings for the 1985 NASCAR Winston Cup season, see the chart below.

1985 NASCAR Winston Cup Standings

Rank
Driver Points Wins Earnings
1
Darrell Waltrip
 4,292 3 $1,318,374.60
2
Bill Elliott 4,191 11
 2,433,186.30
3
Harry Gant 4,033 3 804,286.48
4
Neil Bonnett 3,902 2 530,144.64
5
Geoff Bodine 3,862 0
 565,867.82
6
Ricky Rudd 3,857 1
512,440.98
7
Terry Labonte 3,683 1
694,509.16
8
Dale Earnhardt 3,561 4
546,595.32
9
Kyle Petty 3,528 0
296,366.40
10
Lake Speed 3,507 0
 300,325.50
11
Tim Richmond 3,413 0
290,283.30
12
Bobby Allison 3,312 1
272,535.56
13
Ron Bouchard
 3,267 0
240,303.94
14
Richard Petty 3,140 0
306,141.76
15
Bobby Hillin, Jr. 3,091 0
145,069.58
16
Ken Schrader 3,024 0
211,522.40
17
Buddy Baker 2,986 0
235,479.11
18
Dave Marcis 2,871 0
173,466.93
19
Rusty Wallace 2,867 0
233,669.74
20
Buddy Arrington 2,780 0
153,221.92
21
Phil Parsons 2,740 0
104,840.00
22
Clark Dwyer 2,641 0
128,710.00
23
Jimmy Means 2,548 0
132,130.00
24
Eddie Bierschwale 2,396 0
102,650.00
25
Greg Sacks 1,944 1
234,141.00
26
Cale Yarborough 1,861 2 310,465.00
27
J.D. McDuffie 1,853 0
84,965.00
28
Trevor Boys 1,461 0 76,325.00
29
Benny Parsons
 1,427 0
94,450.00
30
Joe Ruttman 1,410 0
81,425.00
31
Morgan Shepherd 1,226 0
55,985.00
32
Bobby Wawak 1,477 0 42,165.00
33
Lennie Pond 1,107 0
70,640.00
34
Tommy Ellis 1,100 0
27,695.00
35
Mike Alexander 1,046 0
43,765.00
36
David Pearson 879 0
55,625.00
37
Sterling Marlin 645 0
31,155.00
38
Don Hume 637 0
22,230.00
39
Ronnie Thomas 631 0
10,505.00
40
Alan Kulwicki
 509 0
10,290.00
41
Rick Newsom
 450 0
8,690.00
42
Mike Potter
 443 0
10,855.00
43
Jerry Bowman
 434 0
8,665.00
44
Bobby Gerhart
 422 0
7,400.00
45
A.J. Foyt
 410 0
29,750.00
46
Phil Good
 406 0
6,870.00
47
Ken Ragan
 356 0
35,995.00
48
Slick Johnson
 343 0
24,995.00
49
Connie Saylor 296 0
8,915.00
50
Jim Sauter 267 0
15,465.00

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