1985 Van Scoy Diamond Mine 500

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1985 Van Scoy Diamond Mine 500
Race details[1][2]
Race 13 of 28 in the 1985 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season
Pocono Raceway, the race track where the race was held.
Pocono Raceway, the race track where the race was held.
Date June 9, 1985 (1985-June-09)
Official name Van Scoy Diamond Mine 500
Location Pocono International Raceway, Long Pond, Pennsylvania
Course Permanent racing facility
2.500 mi (3.400 km)
Distance 200 laps, 501.0 mi (804 km)
Weather Warm with temperatures reaching up to 81 °F (27 °C); average wind speeds of 5.5 miles per hour (8.9 km/h)
Average speed 138.974 miles per hour (223.657 km/h)
Attendance 62,000[3]
Pole position
Driver
Melling Racing
Most laps led
Driver Geoffrey Bodine Hendrick Motorsports
Laps 154
Winner
No. 9 Bill Elliott Melling Racing
Television in the United States
Network ESPN
Announcers Bob Jenkins
Larry Nuber

The 1985 Van Scoy Diamond Mine 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that took place on June 9, 1985, at Pocono International Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania.

Only manual transmission vehicles were allowed to participate in this race; a policy that NASCAR has retained to the present day.

Background

Pocono Raceway is one of six superspeedways to hold NASCAR races; the others are Daytona International Speedway, Michigan International Speedway, Auto Club Speedway, Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway.[4] The standard track at Pocono Raceway is a three-turn superspeedway that is 2.5 miles (4.0 km) long.[5] The track's turns are banked differently; the first is banked at 14°, the second turn at 8° and the final turn with 6°. However, each of the three straightaways are banked at 2°.[5]

Summary

The temperatures of the racing event were constantly between 57 °F (14 °C) and 81 °F (27 °C).[1] There was an extremely dry climate from the midnight before the race to the midnight after the race.[1] Visibility for people driving to the racing event was a remarkable 7.8 miles (12.6 km).[1]

Two hundred laps were completed in three hours and thirty-five minutes.[3][2][6] Three cautions were given out for ten laps.[3] Bill Elliott defeated Harry Gant by a time of 0.2 seconds in front of 62000 spectators.[3][6] He gained the pole position with a speed of 152.563 miles per hour (245.526 km/h) while the average speed of the race was 138.974 miles per hour (223.657 km/h).[3][6] Other notable drivers at this event were: Darrell Waltrip (currently a NASCAR on Fox announcer), Neil Bonnett, Ricky Rudd, Benny Parsons, Rusty Wallace, Richard Petty (son of Lee Petty), Kyle Petty (son of Richard Petty and the father of Adam Petty), and J.D. McDuffie.[3][2][6] The majority of the vehicles in the field belonged to the Chevrolet brand of automobiles.[3][2][6] Geoff Bodine almost won the race but a late pit stop cost him the victory; he ended up in fourth place.[3][2][6] Steve Gray would retire after this race; his lone attempt to return to NASCAR for the 1985 running of the Summer 500 (now Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500) resulted in failure.

Local jeweler Tommy Van Scoy wanted to sponsor this race to get his son into NASCAR; but it didn't work out as planned. Van Scoy's son eventually inherited the jewelry business after his father retired eight years after this race. Ronnie Thomas (who was sponsored by the local country music radio station WXTU) would finish in last place by virtue of an engine problem on the first lap of the race.[3][2][6] He would earn $1,175 in race winnings for his troubles on the track ($2,585.22 when adjusted for inflation).[7] Dale Earnhardt would drop out of the race on lap 3 due to an engine problem.[3][2][6]

Timeline

  • Start of race: Bill Elliott started the race with the pole position
  • Lap 3: Dale Earnhardt's engine blew; causing him to be sidelined for the rest of the race
  • Lap 8: Geoffrey Bodine took over the lead from Bill Elliott
  • Lap 10: Rick Newsome's oil pump acted funny; bringing his race weekend to an end
  • Lap 11: Jerry Bowman noticed that his engine overheated
  • Lap 34: Darrell Waltrip took over the lead from Geoffrey Bodine
  • Lap 39: Geoffrey Bodine took over the lead from Darrell Waltrip
  • Lap 47: Eddie Bierschwale's faulty oil pump forced him into the sidelines for the day
  • Lap 67: A valve problem forced Richard Petty out of the race
  • Lap 71: Bill Scott had to leave the race due his vehicle not having a rear end anymore
  • Lap 80: Geoffrey Bodine took over the lead from Bill Elliott
  • Lap 86: Bobby Gerhart's saw his vehicle's rear end fly off
  • Lap 105: An oil leak sent Phil Good off the track for the day; Ron Bouchard had difficulties with his camshaft
  • Lap 109: Terry Labonte's engine blew during this lap
  • Lap 111: Darrell Waltrip took over the lead from Bill Elliott
  • Lap 113: Geoffrey Bodine took over the lead from Darrell Waltrip
  • Lap 147: Bill Elliott took over the lead from Darrell Waltrip
  • Lap 148: The ball joint on Dave Marcis' vehicle started acting unusually
  • Lap 150: Darrell Waltrip took over the lead from Bill Elliott
  • Lap 151: Steve Gray's engine blew; meaning that he couldn't race for the rest of the day
  • Lap 152: Geoffrey Bodine took over the lead from Darrell Waltrip
  • Lap 176: Cale Yarborough managed to lose a valve while he was racing
  • Lap 177: Caution flag given out for 4 laps due to Steve Gray developing engine problems
  • Lap 181: Bobby Wawak had a terminal crash; forcing him to leave the race
  • Lap 182: Caution flag given out for 2 laps due to debris
  • Lap 185: Harry Gant took over the lead from Geoffrey Bodine
  • Lap 186: Caution flag given out for 3 laps due to an incident involving Kyle Petty, Bobby Hillin, Jr. and Lennie Pond on turn 2
  • Lap 190: Bill Elliott took over the lead from Harry Gant
  • Finish: Bill Elliott was officially declared the winner of the event

Standings after the race

Pos Driver Points[3]
1 Bill Elliott 1946
2 Terry Labonte 1894
3 Geoffrey Bodine 1865
4 Darrell Waltrip 1860
5 Ricky Rudd 1818

References

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Preceded by NASCAR Winston Cup Series Season
1985		 Succeeded by
1985 Miller 400
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