Originally published on Sept. 19, 2024
By Zane Miller
First round
(8) #44 Terry Labonte v. (1) #9 Bill Elliott
(7) #15 Ricky Rudd v. (2) #11 Darrell Waltrip
(6) #7 Kyle Petty v. (3) #12 Neil Bonnett
(5) #5 Geoffrey Bodine v. (4) #33 Harry Gant
In the playoff-opening race at Darlington, Bill
Elliott conquered The Lady in Black, leading the final 44 laps on the way to
the race win ahead of Terry Labonte in seventh. Ricky Rudd claimed the win over
Darrell Waltrip, getting a sixth-place run while Waltrip battled to a
disappointing 17th, as Neil Bonnett locked down a successful
fourth-place finish to a 10th-place result from Kyle Petty. Capping
off the playoff contenders, Harry Gant blew his engine near the end of the
event, enabling Geoffrey Bodine to take the opening race with a third-place
finish.
At Richmond, Waltrip evened up his series against Rudd
with a race win after leading 84 laps, though Bonnett would be unable to do the
same against Petty, as he came up just short with a ninth-place run to Petty’s
eighth. Labonte grabbed the runner-up spot after leading the most laps of the
day, with Elliott finishing two laps down in 12th to force a
winner-take-all at Dover. Also being unable to pull off the sweep was Bodine, who
ended up seventh while Gant staved off elimination by the skin of his teeth in
sixth.
In Delaware’s state capital, Gant would take advantage
of his second chance in dominating fashion, leading 216 laps on the way to
victory by nearly lapping the field. While Elliott struggled to a 20th-place
finish, Labonte was unable to take advantage, dropping out with a broken push
rod to allow Elliott to live to see another day. The final series still up for
grabs saw Waltrip come across the line as the only other driver still on the
lead lap, as Rudd was eliminated in spite of a strong run in third.
Semifinal
(6) #7 Kyle Petty v. (1) #9 Bill Elliott
(4) #33 Harry Gant v. (2) #11 Darrell Waltrip
In the round-opening race at Martinsville, a
hard-fought battle between Gant and Waltrip ended with Waltrip on top, as he
took the second spot to Gant’s third. Meanwhile, Petty upset Elliott with a
solid fifth-place run, while Elliott’s late-season struggles continued by
finishing 33 laps down in 17th. The second race at North Wilkesboro saw
Gant rebound in a major way from his loss on the Martinsville paper clip,
leading nearly 300 laps on the way to victory by 14 seconds over runner-up
Bodine, while Waltrip wound up 14th.
Meanwhile, Elliott’s title hopes were dashed on lap
118, when a transmission failure ended his race prematurely. Although Petty
also suffered a mechanical failure of his own with a blown engine later in the
event, it would still be enough to seal his spot in the championship final. This
left the final championship spot open between Gant and Waltrip at Charlotte, though
the fight would end anticlimactically as Gant suffered a terminal engine
failure less than 100 laps from the finish. This paved the way for Waltrip to
cruise to a fourth-place finish and, more importantly, take the final
championship spot for a chance at his fourth career title.
Final
(6) #7 Kyle Petty v. (2) #11 Darrell Waltrip
In the third straight race in the Tarheel State, but first
of the final round at Rockingham, Petty looked to do what his father was unable
to do and win a championship under the playoff format, though this endeavor got
off to a horrible start as he crashed just past the midway point and limped to
a 31st-place finish, while Waltrip led the final 31 laps and captured
the race win. Finally, in the second race in Atlanta, Petty’s championship
hopes officially came crashing down on lap 270, as he was swept up in a wreck
with Sammy Swindell, who was making his Cup debut. Waltrip’s race continued
without incident, finishing third to claim his fourth Cup Series championship.
Darrell Waltrip’s stats for 1985 were three victories,
18 top-fives and 21 top-10s in 28 starts, as he won the actual championship in
addition to the head-to-head title.
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