Random Recap: The 1985 Wrangler Sanfor-Set 400
Welcome to Random Recaps, our new weekly feature at From The Marbles. In this space, we’ll recap a race from the past at the track the where Sprint Cup Series is racing next.
This week’s race is the 1985 Wrangler Sanfor-Set 400. Need to know how Random Recap works? Click here.
Darrell Waltrip led the final six laps of the Wrangler Sanfor-Set 400 to beat Terry Labonte.
Labonte led 52 laps prior to being passed by Waltrip, who was able to cut into points leader Bill Elliott’s advantage with the win. Elliott finished 12th and scored 127 points. After getting 180 for the win, Waltrip is now 153 points behind Elliott with seven races to go.
It’s Waltrip’s third win of 1985 and the 67th of his career.
Richard Petty finished third, Dale Earnhardt was fourth and Ricky Rudd was fifth. Harry Gant was the last car on the lead lap in sixth and polesitter Geoffrey Bodine was a lap down in seventh.
Greg Sacks, who started sixth, finished 20th, eight laps down. Why are we talking about Greg Sacks? Well, because he spun in front of most of the field early in the race and NASCAR didn’t throw a caution flag. After starting 22nd, Waltrip narrowly avoided Sacks’ car during the incident.
Epilogue: Waltrip ended up passing Elliott in the standings to win the 1985 championship. He’d win 17 more races in his career and retire with 84 career Sprint Cup Series wins. The $1.3 million he won that season stands as the high-water mark of his career, though he made over $1.2 million in 29 starts without a top-10 in 2000.
And can you imagine NASCAR not throwing a caution flag if a similar situation happened during Saturday night’s Richmond race? No, neither can we.
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Nick Bromberg is the editor of From The Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
