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1985 Van Scoy Diamond Mine 500 – Pocono International Raceway – 6/9/85

NASCAR Winston Cup race number 13 of 28

Sunday, June 9, 1985 at Pocono International Raceway, Long Pond, PA
200 laps on a 2.500 mile paved track (500.0 miles)

Time of race: 3:35:48
Average Speed: 138.974 mph
Pole Speed: 152.563 mph
Cautions: 3 for 10 laps
Margin of Victory: 0.2 sec
Attendance: 62,000
Lead changes: 13

 

Bill Elliott and the Coors – Melling Ford team rolled into Pocono with 5 wins on super speedways under their belt for the year when they arrived at Pocono International Speedway in June of 1985. Pocono’s long front stretch really let Ernie Elliott’s dominate horsepower shine. The team’s ability to set up the car was key to Elliott getting the most out of the #9 car in the 3 different flat corners of Pocono. Elliott qualified on the pole setting a track record of 152.463 mph with Harry Gant on the outside of the front row. With only 3 cautions for a total of 10 laps, Elliott recorded a race average speed of 138.974 mph. Of the 13 lead changes, Elliott led 5 times for a total of 32 laps. Elliott took the lead for the final time on lap 190 to lead the last 11 laps of the 200 scheduled, beating Harry Gant to the line by .2 seconds for the race win. Team owner Harry Melling collected $44,525 dollars for the win while Elliott picked up another 180 championship points. Darrell Waltrip finished 3rd with Geoff Bodine in 4th. They were the only 4 cars left on the lead lap that day.

Elliott has impressive stats at Pocono in his 48 starts at the 2.5 mile track; 5 wins, 4 poles, 14 top 5’s, and 22 top 10’s at the tri-oval track. He led 429 laps of his total 8524 laps run at the Pocono Raceway. Elliott’s total winnings at Pocono were $1,817,562. With a starting average of 13.2, and a finishing average of 17.1, Elliott has driven a total of 21,310 miles at Pocono International Raceway.

(Article by Dale Brown)

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