1985 Winchester 400

The sixteenth annual Winchester 400 was held under American Speed Association sanction on September 29, 1985, at the Winchester Speedway.

After coming close on several occasions, 1985 saw Mark Martin finally captured his first “400” crown. After passing the ill-handling car of Dick Trickle on the 338th lap, Martin flew to the $13,615 victory that was the largest in the history of the event. He was the first driver since Bob Senneker in 1977 to win the “400” from the pole.

Martin led the initial 93 laps from his pole position starting spot, before making his first pit stop of the day when a blown tire by Jim Sauter brought out the first caution. His dominance on and off the track was so strong, that the Batesville, AR native never ran lower than fifth during the 200-mile grind. His good fortune was not shared by two-time defending pole winner Dick Trickle and former winners Mike Eddy and Bob Senneker. Eddy managed to finish on the lead lap despite a spin on lap 177, but lost second spot late in the race to a charging Harold Fair. Trickle ran strong, but blew a tire and hit the backstretch wall, eventually dropping to a tenth-place finish. Senneker, who started the race with a broken rib, blew an oil line on lap 111 and hit the first turn wall to end his day. Alan Kulwicki was among the front-runners until a broken spindle forced his Ford into the pits for a lengthy stop on lap 267.

Fair led the race for the first time following Martin’s first stop on lap 93, until Trickle shot by to lead laps 105-217. Fair then went back in front for 13 laps before Trickle again assumed the point. Trickle relinquished the lead on lap 286 when John Wilson hit the fourth-turn wall to bring out a caution. As Trickle cruised down pit road, Eddy and Martin remained on the track and move to the top-two spots. The lead duo made their final stops on lap 318 with Martin winning the race off pit road. Back under green, Martin quickly chased down Trickle and made what would be the pass for the win on lap 338. Fair finished a career-best second ahead of Eddy, Bobby Dotter, and Butch Miller.

External links

* [http://www.winchesterspeedway.com/ Winchester Speedway website]
* [http://www.craracing.net/ Official CRA Website]