The 29-year-old Elliott started from the pole position, survived early problems and cruised to the NASCAR – Champion Spark Plug 400 Championship with a 4.9 second victory over Darrell Waltrip

Elliott also earned $10,000 by capturing his first Barclay’s American Run for the Money, awarded to the driver leading at the races halfway point.

It was the first Run for the Money title for Elliott this season, despite his string of race victories.

“Something’s always happened,” Elliott said. “We’ve had to pit or had some sort of trouble every time.”

The battle for the Run for the Money provided the large crowd with the best racing of the afternoon as Elliott hooked up with Waltrip and Cale Yarborough.

Waltrip led most of the first half of the race but yielded to Elliott on the 100^th lap. Elliott shot inside Waltrip and Yarborough in the first turn and took the lead in the second turn holding both off as the crowd roared its approval.

Elliott is a crowd favorite at MIS because Harry Melling, a sponsor and owner of the Coors Ford Thunderbird is from Jackson, a few miles north of the speedway.

It was the third victory in the last four tries for Elliott who also won the Miller High Life 400 in June.

Elliott had some trouble early in the race and was fortunate to be in position to grab the Run for the Money bonus. Coming out of the fourth turn on the second lap, Elliott found himself squeezed by Ricky Rudd, Geoff Bodine and Neil Bonnett.

“I must have got hit five different times”, said Elliott, who was forced to make a pit stop for repairs. “I was more scared for the people in front of me. Everything happened so quickly that there was a lot of confusion.”

When Elliott returned to the race, he found himself 28^th. But by the 52^nd lap, he was back in first place.

Four laps later, he made a pit stop and had to go two laps later to repair a tire

Elliott overtook Waltrip on Lap 151 and pulled away for his 11^th victory in the last 22 starts. He averaged 137.430 mph as five caution flags for a total of 28 laps that slowed the field.

The triumph, worth a total of $57,600, also enabled Elliott to increase his lead over Waltrip in the NASCAR Winston Cup point standings. Elliott has 2841 points for the first place while Waltrip is second with 2693.

Dale Earnhardt, Bobby Allison and Bobby Hillin Jr. each suffered severe car damage on Lap 85. Rudd’s car was smoking and Hillin pulled in front of Earnhardt, causing an accident and Allison also became involved in the crash.

Allison was forced from the race but Hillin and Earnhardt were able to continue, despite a hood.

 (Article by Associated Press & Citizen Times)

Sunday, August 11, 1985 at Michigan International Speedway, Brooklyn, MI
200 laps on a 2.000 mile paved track (400.0 miles)

Bill Elliott and Michigan International Speedway are synonymous for Elliott’s many poles and wins. Car owner Harry Melling’s home town is close by and he considers this his home track. Elliott and the Coors – Melling Ford Thunderbird team came into Michigan winning the first 8 of 17 races, dominating the 1985 season. Elliott in normal fashion at Michigan won the pole at a speed of 165.479 mph while breaking his own qualifying record of a year earlier at the August Michigan race of 165.217 mph. Geoff Bodine qualified on the outside of the front row. Elliott’s race started out hectic when on the 2^nd lap he tangled with the three other cars of Geoff Bodine, Ricky Rudd and Neil Bonnett. Elliott was forced to come to the pits and make repairs to the Coors – Melling Ford Thunderbird. Elliott returned to the race in 26^th place and started working through the field. By lap 52 Elliott was back in 1^st place. The race saw 14 lead changes and 5 cautions for a total of 28 total laps under the yellow. Elliott held the lead 5 times that day for a total of 90 laps. Elliott took the lead on lap 151 to lead the final 50 laps for the victory at an average speed of 137.43 mph. Darrell Waltrip finished 2^nd, 4 seconds behind Elliott. Harry Gant, Kyle Petty and Benny Parsons rounded out the top 5 positions. Car owner Harry Melling collected $57,600 purse that day with Elliott picking up another 180 championship points.

Elliott enjoyed racing at Michigan International Speedway and had some astounding results at this speedway through the years. Bill always liked the track which suited his smooth driving style. Complimented by the high HP engines of Ernie Elliott, and the smooth drivelines of Dan Elliott, Bill’s brother, the Coors Melling Team had some tremendous finishing stats through the years. Elliott ran 61 races at Michigan with 7 wins, 17 top 5’s, 29 top 10’s, and 6 pole positions. Elliott led 1,004 laps of the 11,212 laps he completed on the 2 mile track earning $2,463,235 in total earnings to date. Elliott drove a total of 22,424 miles at Michigan Speedway with an average starting position of 11^th, with an average finish of 14.6.

(Article by Dale Brown)