Hey..that's Racin"! In the entire history they've raced ALOT longer w/o resrtiction than with them. Yes, it has killed but...C'mon..EVERYONE has to admit that's Half the excitement! EVERY driver Knows of the consequences/risks.It's only because of More commercialization/popularity that we have these types. I mean just look at how Nextel has COMPLETELY fucked this sport! It's a god damn 3-ring circus now with a BS point system,which means NOTHING due to the even MORE rediculously FAVORED Chase!
bill had an oil cooler line come loose. he pitted under green, came back out 2.5 LAPS down and made all them up under the green flag to win the race. imagine that today? i don't think so
@negtype13 i hate the regs and restictions that nascar has put on the cars and drivers but other than 300 cubic inch motors they had to do something to get the speeds down at daytona and talladega. what would you have done, bud?
I think the restrictor plate comming online in 1988 effectively killed Eliotts dominance at Daytona & Talladega. This Winston 500 however will forever be a symbol of 1 car team dominance & overcoming adversity to win...
that's just like NASCAR not to televise this race, i mean who else could make up 5 miles under green other than Bill.... he will always be the fastest man in NASCAR
My!!!! It is almost as if Bill had 200 more horsepowers than everybody else. "Awwwww yall are drafting, how cute. Watch me leave you without the draft." Everybody talked about the engine package he had but i believe he pressed the pedal down so hard it bent the floor board so he can press the accelerator down further.
How strong was that #9 Elliott car is shown by the fact that between 1985 and 1987, "Awesome Bill" won 6 STRAIGHT POLES!!! In that period, he won the first (this) and last ('87 Talladega 500) race.
the lore is, Elliott was so untouchable on the super speedways in 1985 because the Elliotts had managed to get away with a thunderbird that was slightly smaller than spec. Because of this, Elliott supposedly never showed all he had, as he didn't want to give NASCAR reason to start snooping around his car, except in this race, where he had to (and did) make up two laps UNDER GREEN to keep his chances of winning the winston million alive
@goodmorningcapt1 Its not LORE, its CYLINDER HEADS. Larry Widmer better known as the "Old One" also did Bob Glidden's heads and he dominated Pro Stock. The car wasn't too small it didn't see the wind tunnel until much later that season. The reason he dominated TORQUE, TORQUE, TORQUE. Cylinder Head design...specifically the combustion chambers.
@goodmorningcapt1 The Elliott's were also on the cutting edge of sorting out the superior Bilsteen shocks, so they had a handeling advantage in 1985 as well. As far as the slightly smaller car, I don't remember that rumor at all attached to Bill in 1985. The "small car rumor" was more attached to the 1984 Pontiac Grand Prix that Richard Petty drove in the 1984 Daytona Firecracker 400 for his 200 victory. Petty got the "wink" from NASCAR inspection, even RP admitted it was undersized.
@driven5fly That's right. Barney Hall of MRN Radio, the Motor Racing Network. I thought ESPN covered the race, but several networks covered Talladega, ESPN in 1982 and 1984, ABC in 1983, and MRN 1985, although MRN covered a majority of the Winston Cup races.
ESPN finally covered every Winston 500 from 1986 until 2000. Million Dollar Bill would be Bill Elliott's nickname after winning the Southern 500 after Talladega. Elliott couldn't lose, they've done their homework.
at the end, bill could just cruise. he could mash the throttle at will and pull away. this car set the world record in qualifying. a pro a champ. great job awesome bill from dawsonville
lead lap then the caution came out allowing him to circle the track under yellow and get with the leaders and at the time were only 3 or 4 still on th elead lap. Form there Bill wa ssimply too strong for th erest and won easily but in no way shape or form did he make up 2 laps under green. If the race has went green flag to flag and Elliot not had torulbe he may have been the only car on th elead lap but he woudl not have been 2 laps ahead of everybody els
@dcaudle68 i was there. when he came out of the pitts, he was exactly two laps down.. no one has ever recovered from that far back at this track to win.. james lyle was in charge of building the heads for this engine. he told bill to stand on it. bill asked how hard. he replyed.. 9500 rpm. so he did. what a day for awesome bill
@whb1965 It wasn't James Lyle it was a guy named Larry Widmer in a little shop in Texas. He knew how to make Ford cylinder heads SING. He was running north of 17:1 Static compression in his Pro Stock engines and he was about 16:1 compression in Bill's motors. Its all in the combustion chamber and piston crown design, trust me Larry's work was cast as Ford Racing Part Number.
@whb1965 It wasn't James Lyle it was a guy named Larry Widmer in a little shop in Texas. He knew how to make Ford cylinder heads SING. He was running north of 17:1 Static compression in his Pro Stock engines and he was about 16:1 compression in Bill's motors. Its all in the combustion chamber and piston crown design, trust me Larry's work was cast as Ford Racing Part Number, just as Roush/Yates have PN's now.
I have this video flag to flag. Although impressive this race has becoem an urban legend to a point. Elliott did not make up 2 laps under green. After his long pit he was almost but not 2 laps down. He was out of pit sequence for much of the rest of the race as there were no cautions for a long time. Other cars had to pit soon after Elliott had his trouble putting him back to about 1 lap down. After a couple of more pit sequences he got back on the tail end of the
NO Ford fan here but always loved Elliott. this single race was the greatest display of speed and domination ever put on by one single driver/car/team. to make up 2 laps at Talladega, under green, at over 200mph, without help.....is astonishing. what a car!!!
AWESOME MILLION DOLLARS BILL ELLIOTT from DAWSONVILLE!! rest of field probby said well we gonna fight for 2nd place shoot. bill got his lap back from under green.. man that car fast! right now its impossiable to do. even in tallaedga. doesnt matter to me now. i dont watch nascar anymore cuz of those chase system
#9 coors car was magic. the most penalized car in the history of nascar. so many rule changes only because of this car. france couldn't stand it. what a joke nascar is. elliott never has gotten the respect and recognition that team should have been given.
The fact that NASCAR had to CHANGE/Adjust the rules constantly to make things more even/competitive for the other cars because of one lonley driver (Elliott #9)..says ENORMOUS things about how good Bill truley IS!!!
GO YOU AWESOME MILLION DOLLAR BILL from Dawsonville!!!!!!
Amen to that brother..Nascar is a Damned JOKE now. I hope the whole deal goes under. Jimmy johnson is the fastest everywhere they go everytime...which isn't humanly possible....It is so fake and money controlled now it's just a joke.
That makes two of us. As a Ford fan, I remember this year well. GM was embarrassed beyond belief and the big wigs in Nascar were furious. Elliot's team found a great combination of horsepower and aerodynamics edge that allowed him to out run the rest of the field. When the green flag dropped, Elliot would pull low to stay out of the mess and completely haul @ss around the rest of the cars and take off leaving them eating dust.
@bigtruck1969 LOL yea the only year. After the year was over nascar figured out what bill was doing. GM kicked fords ASS after 85, and let alone before 85 80-84 GM dominated Nascar. Why do you think GM always won the manufactures champion? Old school small block chevy was the best.
@91TransAmKid BS. Chevrolet camps starting the crying about this time and Nascar kept giving in letting the Chevys change their bodies after the Aerocoupe was a failure. Small block Chevys never made the hp a Cleveland Ford did.
@moparnutjim wtf? the aerocoupe was a success. and ford changed there bodies exactly the same time during 86-89. The new slope window on the back of the monte carlos helped them handle better which made the cars faster. There wasnt as many rules with the engines back then but 85 was the only year elliot really dominated. Dont exactly remember the whole just of it but elliots cylinder heads he used caught up to him by nascar figuring out what he was doing, so in turn his 86 season wasnt as good.
@moparnutjim btw tell the manufacturer that! Id love for you to see who has won more manufacturer championships. Yea ford has not won near as many as chevrolet has. I havent seen real dominance from fords since 92.
The HP in that Thunderbird was just AWESOME!! At one time earnhearts car was handeling better in the turn but the HP of that Thunderbird just pulled him in the trioval and back straight away. Bill was awesome that year..
It seems that after over 20 years the race would be faster. I bet there is a lot of discussion about the true spirit of racing ( the fastest car wins) versus the just a bunch of cars going round and round in circles till the one with the least break downs and the best fuel management wins. Why don't they all drive Prius's and atttain the same results...but hey it would be way safer.LOL Great video by the way
It used to be racing. Now it's "entertainment". I miss the days when the drivers put their hides on the line and were smart enough to keep it clean. Back the the best man won, usually.
I watched this race live in '85 and it is still the most vivid memory I have in motorsports. What Bill and his crew did that day will never be duplicated. Someday, someone may win all three races, but no one will ever do it from 2 laps down in one of the them. It's too bad this video doesn't have more of the drama of that day. Does anyone know if that race is available on DVD?
I belive bill Elliot hit about 210 that season as his top speed. I think it was this race.
justley124 1 week ago
greatest race ever run.
lenoirwrestlingfan 1 week ago
I really miss the 80's racing scene, what I wouldn't give to bring it back.
gr3172 2 weeks ago
@gr3172 I don't miss the 80's camera work.
helipilot27 1 week ago
Hey..that's Racin"! In the entire history they've raced ALOT longer w/o resrtiction than with them. Yes, it has killed but...C'mon..EVERYONE has to admit that's Half the excitement! EVERY driver Knows of the consequences/risks.It's only because of More commercialization/popularity that we have these types. I mean just look at how Nextel has COMPLETELY fucked this sport! It's a god damn 3-ring circus now with a BS point system,which means NOTHING due to the even MORE rediculously FAVORED Chase!
negtype13 3 months ago
Pure HRP, Bill had a Bomb in that Coors Thunderbird!
MrHideyoursheep 4 months ago
bill had an oil cooler line come loose. he pitted under green, came back out 2.5 LAPS down and made all them up under the green flag to win the race. imagine that today? i don't think so
midatlanticcycle 4 months ago
@midatlanticcycle
IMPOSSIBLE only because of 2 words....
"Restrictor.. Plates!"
In other words...BULLSHIT racin!'
negtype13 3 months ago
@negtype13 i hate the regs and restictions that nascar has put on the cars and drivers but other than 300 cubic inch motors they had to do something to get the speeds down at daytona and talladega. what would you have done, bud?
midatlanticcycle 3 months ago
those mid 80's cup cars at talladega and daytona with unplated motors were just wicked fast. try 212.809 on 4029-1987
midatlanticcycle 4 months ago
horrible camera man
mgssnakemgs 5 months ago
He's called 'Awesome Bill from Dawsonville' for a reason.
SonicDude87 6 months ago
I think the restrictor plate comming online in 1988 effectively killed Eliotts dominance at Daytona & Talladega. This Winston 500 however will forever be a symbol of 1 car team dominance & overcoming adversity to win...
romero2k 6 months ago
that's just like NASCAR not to televise this race, i mean who else could make up 5 miles under green other than Bill.... he will always be the fastest man in NASCAR
jlmshane 9 months ago
when nascar was fun to watch, run watcha brung, no cookie cutter cars.
B24zootsnoot 9 months ago
My!!!! It is almost as if Bill had 200 more horsepowers than everybody else. "Awwwww yall are drafting, how cute. Watch me leave you without the draft." Everybody talked about the engine package he had but i believe he pressed the pedal down so hard it bent the floor board so he can press the accelerator down further.
godgirlsguitars 10 months ago
This what racing used to look like..
denise5758 10 months ago
how come these boys these days cant pull away like this!
xanderluv 10 months ago
How strong was that #9 Elliott car is shown by the fact that between 1985 and 1987, "Awesome Bill" won 6 STRAIGHT POLES!!! In that period, he won the first (this) and last ('87 Talladega 500) race.
PhilipTheBigOne 10 months ago
He made up TWO LAPS UNDER GREEN!!!!! Dale can be the "Intimidator" Bill, is the DOMINATOR!!!!!!!!
minuteman3 11 months ago
You ain't gonna outrun Bill Elliott on a Superspeedway. It just ain't gonna happen'
mnshurricane 1 year ago
thanx dude! awesome BILL!
puck88stang 1 year ago
I miss this kind of Nascar! Back when the drivers were hometown heroes, not Cali Movie Star wannabe's!
bcbbcb1 1 year ago
the lore is, Elliott was so untouchable on the super speedways in 1985 because the Elliotts had managed to get away with a thunderbird that was slightly smaller than spec. Because of this, Elliott supposedly never showed all he had, as he didn't want to give NASCAR reason to start snooping around his car, except in this race, where he had to (and did) make up two laps UNDER GREEN to keep his chances of winning the winston million alive
goodmorningcapt1 1 year ago
@goodmorningcapt1 Its not LORE, its CYLINDER HEADS. Larry Widmer better known as the "Old One" also did Bob Glidden's heads and he dominated Pro Stock. The car wasn't too small it didn't see the wind tunnel until much later that season. The reason he dominated TORQUE, TORQUE, TORQUE. Cylinder Head design...specifically the combustion chambers.
dj4monie 1 year ago
@goodmorningcapt1 The Elliott's were also on the cutting edge of sorting out the superior Bilsteen shocks, so they had a handeling advantage in 1985 as well. As far as the slightly smaller car, I don't remember that rumor at all attached to Bill in 1985. The "small car rumor" was more attached to the 1984 Pontiac Grand Prix that Richard Petty drove in the 1984 Daytona Firecracker 400 for his 200 victory. Petty got the "wink" from NASCAR inspection, even RP admitted it was undersized.
TheMichaelJB 9 months ago
i heard barney hall. Did you?
driven5fly 1 year ago
@driven5fly That's right. Barney Hall of MRN Radio, the Motor Racing Network. I thought ESPN covered the race, but several networks covered Talladega, ESPN in 1982 and 1984, ABC in 1983, and MRN 1985, although MRN covered a majority of the Winston Cup races.
ESPN finally covered every Winston 500 from 1986 until 2000. Million Dollar Bill would be Bill Elliott's nickname after winning the Southern 500 after Talladega. Elliott couldn't lose, they've done their homework.
Reddaytonadog 1 year ago
They need to bring back something similar to the Winston Million. Make the races itself mean more.
Crisgo3d 1 year ago
They should do a modern day race at Talladega with the plates off. We have better saftey nowdays as it is. So why not try it?
TopRamenKickAss 1 year ago
at the end, bill could just cruise. he could mash the throttle at will and pull away. this car set the world record in qualifying. a pro a champ. great job awesome bill from dawsonville
whb1965 1 year ago
Does anyone have the Victory Circle interview with Elliot for the 1985 Atlanta race?
oceanxone 1 year ago
go kyle petty lol
romeodiscos 1 year ago
Just awesome! i have this entire race on tape, still blows me away when i see it.
jemjr61 1 year ago
@jemjr61
POST IT!!!!!! \m/
negtype13 1 year ago
Fun to hear Mike Joy from 25 years ago. @Fania54, second that about Eli.
crunchie83 1 year ago
@crunchie83 Yeah too bad Mike is just a hand puppet for Darrell waldrip now.
anonymousjoe9 5 months ago
Great, great racing.
Such a shame that the camera work/angles at this event were so poor. Many good passing moves were missed as you couldn't even see turn three..
mcqueenthee 1 year ago
This has been flagged as spam show
Great, great racing.
Such a shame that the camera work/angles at this event were so poor. Many good passing moves were missed as you couldn't even see turn three..
mcqueenthee 1 year ago
Great, great racing.
Such a shame the camera work/angles at this event were so bad. A lot of good passing moves were missed as you couldn't even see turn three..
mcqueenthee 1 year ago
I love the old MRN!
SuperSlowMonte 2 years ago
Still love you Bill, wouldn't be watching old races otherwise....
judycraft55 2 years ago
lead lap then the caution came out allowing him to circle the track under yellow and get with the leaders and at the time were only 3 or 4 still on th elead lap. Form there Bill wa ssimply too strong for th erest and won easily but in no way shape or form did he make up 2 laps under green. If the race has went green flag to flag and Elliot not had torulbe he may have been the only car on th elead lap but he woudl not have been 2 laps ahead of everybody els
dcaudle68 2 years ago
@dcaudle68 i was there. when he came out of the pitts, he was exactly two laps down.. no one has ever recovered from that far back at this track to win.. james lyle was in charge of building the heads for this engine. he told bill to stand on it. bill asked how hard. he replyed.. 9500 rpm. so he did. what a day for awesome bill
whb1965 1 year ago
@whb1965 It wasn't James Lyle it was a guy named Larry Widmer in a little shop in Texas. He knew how to make Ford cylinder heads SING. He was running north of 17:1 Static compression in his Pro Stock engines and he was about 16:1 compression in Bill's motors. Its all in the combustion chamber and piston crown design, trust me Larry's work was cast as Ford Racing Part Number.
dj4monie 1 year ago
@whb1965 It wasn't James Lyle it was a guy named Larry Widmer in a little shop in Texas. He knew how to make Ford cylinder heads SING. He was running north of 17:1 Static compression in his Pro Stock engines and he was about 16:1 compression in Bill's motors. Its all in the combustion chamber and piston crown design, trust me Larry's work was cast as Ford Racing Part Number, just as Roush/Yates have PN's now.
dj4monie 1 year ago
I have this video flag to flag. Although impressive this race has becoem an urban legend to a point. Elliott did not make up 2 laps under green. After his long pit he was almost but not 2 laps down. He was out of pit sequence for much of the rest of the race as there were no cautions for a long time. Other cars had to pit soon after Elliott had his trouble putting him back to about 1 lap down. After a couple of more pit sequences he got back on the tail end of the
dcaudle68 2 years ago
NO Ford fan here but always loved Elliott. this single race was the greatest display of speed and domination ever put on by one single driver/car/team. to make up 2 laps at Talladega, under green, at over 200mph, without help.....is astonishing. what a car!!!
midatlanticcycle 2 years ago 2
Barney Hall and Eli Gold set the standard.
randy6800 2 years ago 3
I miss Eli. Have heard him only a few times on MRN in the last few years but it's always a treat.
Fania54 2 years ago
Good job MRN!
Fania54 2 years ago 3
Now thats stock car racing
ZacharyFilms 2 years ago 4
i wish they could go back to that, but i think nascar is starting to understand the more they change the more fans they lose
hellsangel82682 2 years ago
That was Fords first 1,2,3 finsh since 1969 that day.
randy6800 2 years ago
AWESOME MILLION DOLLARS BILL ELLIOTT from DAWSONVILLE!! rest of field probby said well we gonna fight for 2nd place shoot. bill got his lap back from under green.. man that car fast! right now its impossiable to do. even in tallaedga. doesnt matter to me now. i dont watch nascar anymore cuz of those chase system
ChevyPiston63 2 years ago
Elliot is the man!!!
caddop22 2 years ago 21
@caddop22 Thanks
Eliotzo 1 year ago
Screw the Lucky Dog.
dalejrgamer 2 years ago 26
@dalejrgamer
Screw U
makemydammdaypunk 1 year ago
@makemydammdaypunk Why yes, I'll allow you to screw me.
dalejrgamer 1 year ago
@dalejrgamer
Open your mouth
makemydammdaypunk 1 year ago
@makemydammdaypunk My mouth is open. Do your worst.
dalejrgamer 1 year ago
awesome bill from dawsonville!
2010volsbaby 2 years ago
#9 coors car was magic. the most penalized car in the history of nascar. so many rule changes only because of this car. france couldn't stand it. what a joke nascar is. elliott never has gotten the respect and recognition that team should have been given.
svo65 2 years ago 8
AMEN to that Brother!!!
The fact that NASCAR had to CHANGE/Adjust the rules constantly to make things more even/competitive for the other cars because of one lonley driver (Elliott #9)..says ENORMOUS things about how good Bill truley IS!!!
GO YOU AWESOME MILLION DOLLAR BILL from Dawsonville!!!!!!
negtype13 2 years ago 3
Amen to that brother..Nascar is a Damned JOKE now. I hope the whole deal goes under. Jimmy johnson is the fastest everywhere they go everytime...which isn't humanly possible....It is so fake and money controlled now it's just a joke.
bigmrclean 2 years ago 4
if earnhart had a fender on bill like bill did at 3:00 dale would have put him in the wall
derbykid33 2 years ago 3
elliott is the best at qualifying
derbykid33 2 years ago 4
This is when Nascar was worth watching.I'm 32 now but i'll never forget watching Nascar,and drag racing with my dad in the 80's.Thanks for posting
MsFarmhand 2 years ago 4
go bill go and maybe this weekend get a top 5
newyorkcentrury 2 years ago
1985 was the year the fords kicked the gm cars ASS BUT GOOD and i loved it just to hear the gm teams cry
bigtruck1969 2 years ago
That makes two of us. As a Ford fan, I remember this year well. GM was embarrassed beyond belief and the big wigs in Nascar were furious. Elliot's team found a great combination of horsepower and aerodynamics edge that allowed him to out run the rest of the field. When the green flag dropped, Elliot would pull low to stay out of the mess and completely haul @ss around the rest of the cars and take off leaving them eating dust.
Machi74005 2 years ago 2
@bigtruck1969 LOL yea the only year. After the year was over nascar figured out what bill was doing. GM kicked fords ASS after 85, and let alone before 85 80-84 GM dominated Nascar. Why do you think GM always won the manufactures champion? Old school small block chevy was the best.
91TransAmKid 2 months ago
@91TransAmKid BS. Chevrolet camps starting the crying about this time and Nascar kept giving in letting the Chevys change their bodies after the Aerocoupe was a failure. Small block Chevys never made the hp a Cleveland Ford did.
moparnutjim 1 month ago
@moparnutjim wtf? the aerocoupe was a success. and ford changed there bodies exactly the same time during 86-89. The new slope window on the back of the monte carlos helped them handle better which made the cars faster. There wasnt as many rules with the engines back then but 85 was the only year elliot really dominated. Dont exactly remember the whole just of it but elliots cylinder heads he used caught up to him by nascar figuring out what he was doing, so in turn his 86 season wasnt as good.
91TransAmKid 1 month ago
@moparnutjim btw tell the manufacturer that! Id love for you to see who has won more manufacturer championships. Yea ford has not won near as many as chevrolet has. I havent seen real dominance from fords since 92.
91TransAmKid 1 month ago
The HP in that Thunderbird was just AWESOME!! At one time earnhearts car was handeling better in the turn but the HP of that Thunderbird just pulled him in the trioval and back straight away. Bill was awesome that year..
Bcroft39 2 years ago 2
these cars look like their going so fast compared to todays barly 195 mph cars at talleadega races
spazracing94 2 years ago 2
It seems that after over 20 years the race would be faster. I bet there is a lot of discussion about the true spirit of racing ( the fastest car wins) versus the just a bunch of cars going round and round in circles till the one with the least break downs and the best fuel management wins. Why don't they all drive Prius's and atttain the same results...but hey it would be way safer.LOL Great video by the way
stinkingdog101 2 years ago 3
It used to be racing. Now it's "entertainment". I miss the days when the drivers put their hides on the line and were smart enough to keep it clean. Back the the best man won, usually.
VooDooRocketry 2 years ago 2
I was at this race too,awesome come from behind win. Bill was doing laps better than 205 plus! I met Bill at the Stuckys food mart by the track.
mrs3533 2 years ago 4
go bill go
newyorkcentrury 2 years ago
I watched this race live in '85 and it is still the most vivid memory I have in motorsports. What Bill and his crew did that day will never be duplicated. Someday, someone may win all three races, but no one will ever do it from 2 laps down in one of the them. It's too bad this video doesn't have more of the drama of that day. Does anyone know if that race is available on DVD?
awd3atms 2 years ago 5
Amen brother!! Breaking an oil line and making up 5 milesunder green! Shows Elliott was every inch just as good as Earnhardt in racing.
And in 85' you couldn't touch Million Dollar Bill!!
negtype13 2 years ago 6
Five miles under green without a drafting partner...and none of the gimmicked-up rules they have today.
THIS was racing.
BSNFabricating 2 years ago 5
this guys the reason i bought my own Ford TBird. LEGEND
laParka777 2 years ago 3
WoW! Thanks for posting this, i have wanted to see this for a long time. come back from 2 laps down is 'Awesome"
TasteeTrousers 2 years ago 3