Bill's 9 car was the greatest stock car ever built, with a speed freak behind the wheel. Makes me wonder what the Elliott brothers could have done if NASCAR had not screwed them with restrictor plates.
There was so much more NASCAR and Chevy used against the Thunderbird. The rules over the years that the Thunderbird had to use, consisted of taller rear spoiler heights, steeper spoiler angles and higher ground clearances for the Thunderbird. Many of these rules carried over into the years of the Taurus as well... All because Chevy brainwashed NASCAR into believing that the Thunderbird was a purpose built race car... If you remember NASCAR even helped Chevy find out what was the weak link in the Monte Carlo and helped them design the rear back glass, for the 86...
Bill's car was not the reason for restricting the engine hp and car speeds...it was because the cars were lifting and flying into the air and the fear of hurting and killing fans in the stands and or the infields even...get so tired of people thinking Bill's pos caused the restrictions...NOT
@@derpmcgerp8062 , its facts...I get so damn tired of hearing the Ford guy bullshit stories of Bill's speed is what caused the restrictor plates...they are so full of shit....the fact is, the areodynmanics of thy he GM ca4s is actually what caused the restrictions
A blast from the past. No plates AND you can actually recognise the cars, Monte Carlos, T-Birds etc. None of this cookie cutter bland boring cars we get today. Damn I miss those days.
Technically the Pontiac, Buick, and Chevy were cookie cutters, same fenders and all... Just a different grill... Remember in 86 NASCAR approved the back glass for GM, wich was all the same for all the makes...
wanna know why Bill Elliott was soo damn fast compared to everyone?? his brother Ernie Elliott was the best engine builder around. NASCAR made rules to try and slow them down
This car was so fast because of multiple reasons. Sure the Engine was strong, It had to be. The car got through the wind so good, Bill was an excellent chassis man. It handled. He knew what it needed and knew how to get it out of the car. Plus he actually worked on the car. These guys were men back then, now they're whiny 5'4 130 lbs overpaid, spoiled babies. Bill had 12 people on his team, that included the engine team. He obviously had an amazing engine combo, Ernie found something in the cylinder heads/intake. Nascar mandated restrictor plates because of bobby allisons crash in 87 that got up in the stands, then they went to smaller carburetors, then plates. The number 9 crew worked 17- 18 hour days, hard work paid off. Coors money didn't hurt either. He didn't just step into an unlimited funded team like these pansies today, he earned it, came up through the ranks like you should. Nascar is a joke now, I hope they boycott it.
Iv been an Awesome Bill from Dawsonville fan for almost 35 yrs, glad someone spoke the truth about him n his brother Ernie with that team. Keep it real
mike smith I think is used to be way more pure. But drivers today are product of nascar. They literally can’t be like these guys because of the rules and regulations. A lot of drivers today are whiny brats but I still think there are the real racers, or as much as they can be real racers and still tow the nascar line.
The secret was the combustion chamber designed (swirl combustion, later in the catalogue as 'Twisted Wedge Heads) Also, reverse cooling. Ernie discovered a 10% power increase by cooling the engine from bottom to top.... The handling secret didn't come out until mid-year of Elliots first season with Junior Johnsons Budweiser team. (Also a Thunderbird) The Elliott's had discovered how to put +2° camber on the right rear axle and keep the bearings intact. Everyone else tried it but broken axels became a safety problem. (Only Alan Kulwicki figured it out)
@@todiathink8864thanks for the info. 84 found the Elliott's in the new thunderbird. Fords major attempt to break the GM dominance. Watching this evolve was extra gravy on the side for me. With the Tbird permitted to run 1" lower I hoped 85 would be exciting & I wasnt disapointed.
Great drivers, but the radio broadcast team...the best ever! We don't have drivers or cars like this anymore, not to mention the racing. This was when NASCAR racing was REAL racing!
I watched and loved Bill for all of his career, and as Phil (below) said he always raced clean, his skill enabled that. What a humble man. I went through withdrawels as Bill's career wound down, but he still qualified cars based on his skill as a driver, rarely needing to use his champion's provisionals (unlike Darrell Waltrip, who had to quit after he ran out of them). Bill finally gave it up to focus on his son Chase's career (who I had always knew would someday fill my personal temporary Elliott void); eventually signing Chase to a controversial contract with Hendrick's motorsports- how dare bill sign his son to drive a Chevy- which lost him a lot of fans (not me); and which is now paying off! What a driver, what a father, husband, and dad! And Cindy, thank you for letting your son live his dream despite your fears. God bless you all. Bryan
I was lucky enough to attend the spring 1987 Talladega race live and in person. The last true superspeedway race ran completely unrestricted. Still to this day there has been nothing like the sound and fury of those 43 cars roaring past the packed grandstands at speeds hovering around the 210MPH mark. Just took your breath away.
this race wasn't televised and...this is not version where it covers how Bill, after fixing the oil line, made up 5 MILES (2 laps down) UNDER GREEN. That Thunderbird was making up some time dude!!!
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!!!
I remember that race, what a show, what a car! Really loved those areo T'Birds. NASCAR had just made the Birds raise the roof for a bigger frontal area to the wind, what they didn't know is that knocked the air off the rear spoiler making the car slippery through the air.
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?
If it's available,I would like to purchase a copy of it. Bill's been my favorite driver since day 1, almost 35 yrs watching. Still pissed about the flat tire at the end of the homestead race in 03
great times for NASCAR. I watched that race live. My wife has a photo with Bill Elliott at Daytona. What a difference TV cameras look today. You never miss any of the cars and they are all over the race. I did not realize how spotty the coverage was at that time.
@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
WOW! I truly miss this kind of NASCAR. NASCAR back then was HUGE and beautiful! The stands are PACKED to the MAX! I watch this stuff on TH-cam very often. I miss it!!!! NASCAR now is 😝😴
Darrell Waltrip was squaling prior to this race and demanded Nascar do something. Nascar had the T-Birds raise a half inch and the GM's lowered a half inch. It wasn't the body, it was that Ernie Elliott power under the hood.
The secret was refiling the intake manifold. This created a swirling compression of the intake gases, which results in more fuel through the same size passage...
It was a swirl of air in the intake manifold, leading into the head. It cooled the air fuel mixture going into the combustion chamber. Cooling the mixture in turn cooled the head somewhat. So Ernie was able to step the compression ratio up higher. They were running the 351C to the brink of running alcohol, which is about 14:1 compression. Junior Johnson and the rest of the Chevies was still running 13:1 at that time... If you remember in the late 80's and early 90's you could get special intake gaskets in Super Ford Magazine for the 351C, that had lips on the intake ports. It would do this same technique.
@@lesmach6495 That was in 1991 when Bill won at the Firecracker 400 at Daytona - which was a plate race. The engine was under 358 CID because it reduced the rotating mass and allowed some other tricks Ernie came up with - although it was not as dominant as 1985 - it was super fast. NASCAR mandated 358 CID after that race so the teams would not play around with CID on the plate motors.
I guess you forgot about the 1971 Dodge Charger that was Banned because nobody could catch it. Buddy Baker was qualified (at the time) at 214 miles per hour, but his Dodge was not allowed to run. In 1985,Bill Elliot qualified his Ford Thunderbird at 212 miles an hour.
I remember reading an article about Bill Elliott seeing his old 1985 Thunderbird that won that race how primitive those cars look compared to the ones out nowadays
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..
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!!
The real secret behind that T-Bird was the width. It's actually slightly narrower than the other cars, as Elliott's team reputedly scaled it down a few inches...reducing friction. Totally within the rules.... until it wasn't....
Jaws and Iron heard Started that story. The car was measured. The car in the race was 1.25 inches narrower than the factory wheel base. Iron head an Jaws Monte Carlo’s we’re 3 inches narrower. At this time the T bird was just a better package. And the motors in the Ford’s were about 50hp stronger. NASCAR was having none of it. The rear glass was added to the MC along with mandating width for all cars. Did not matter. The Elliott’s still greased the competition until the restrictor plates. The wreck at Telladaga was the excuse needed to bring the TBirds back to the field. I worked for a few teams at this era. Everyone knew NASCAR did not want the big speeds at the super speedways. The fans did. It was common knowledge in the series they did not want a non GM car to dominate at the big tracks. If you think this era was the Wild West this was not true. Ford getting back into racing was the reason for the big jump in speeds. NASCAR was not going to let that happen. Especially after the Winston in 85.
The 1985 Thunderbird was a dream in the draft and on the straights. The rear window being angled created less drag overall. The nearly vertical rear window in the GM cars killed them. Had a ton of drag, similar to that of a truck with a bed.
did y'all see it?? go back to where Bill's pit crew went over the wall to raise his hood,how many you see with helmets on? when Bill came to pit row,he didn't slow down to what's required now.
No one did, Todd. If you knew nascar you'd also know the pit road speed limit is because of Bill Elliott. When Rudd came in and killed his right rear tire man at Atlanta because he came in too hot and spun into him, nascar put that rule in. That "incident" cost Bill the championship that year.
Man I miss Nascar Racing like this. The drivers used to have to pass the other cars for position, now they just give you positions. Speedlimits in the Pits ,Restrictor Plates, That stupid Lucky Dog & get a lap back & no racing back to the line when the caution comes out. Nascar had a DAM GOOD thing in the 80's & 90's, but those FORDS were just to DAM FAST for all the other cars & they had to slow them down.Elliot made up 5mi. @ Talledaga under Green Flag conditions. NEVER AGAIN!!!!
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!!!!!!
No it hasn't. Then the camera stayed on the field solid for half a lap. Then the other took it the rest of the way. Now the camera changes every half a damn second 60 times a lap! U never kno what or who is doing what!
When Bill got on the radio after the pit stop to fix it he asked Ernie if it would last if he ran it as fast as it could go. Ernie told him - I don't know but let's find out. What happened next was Bill laying down 205MPH laps for the rest of the day until he made up the laps and took the lead.
I'm here from EmpLemon's video about Dale Earnhardt. Dayum. As terrifying and dangerous as this era of uncontrollable NASCAR speeds was, it was sure awesome that Bill and his Thunderbird were able to make up such a deficit after falling so far behind. I think the introduction of Restrictor Plates was a necessary transition for stock car racing in general, but these classics are still amazing.
@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.
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
will never be done again, only a Ford and Elliott could make up 2 1/2 miles under green. Dude to turn an avg. lap of 212mph...he had to be running at least 220 mph down the back stretch. That FORD was humpin.
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.
The whining from GM really wrecked what was once a great Sunday afternoon sport. "Give us this, give us that...and let us run the SB2". It just got ridiculous.
#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.
I'm totally convinced I'm totally convinced it sounded so much more exciting wishing mean to keep Jackson Anaconda Maki they just made the race sound more exciting
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.
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..
@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.
I am a Ford man and yet I liked Earnhardt, he was dirty at times but, still liked him. He swore up and down That Bill would wave at him as he was going by at these tracks. lol RIP Dale we miss you.
Even on this TH-cam vid of the TV feed, you can easily see the difference of this race at 205+mph compared to today’s 🥱 restrictor plate-180 mph max. Come on Steve Phelps, Peter Jung, Jim France, and Mike Helton…bring back the fun, the speed, and excitement!!! Lose the restrictive plates…and the crowds and fans will return!!!
If you mean 'sports-hated', as Bill Simmons terms it, I can understand if you were an Elliott fan. In the mid-to-late 1980s, Earnhardt vs. Elliott was one of the great rivalries in sports, nevermind just motorsport. I wouldn't be surprised, though, if most of the Elliott fans cried as much as if not more than anyone else, the dark night of 18 February 2001.
@justley124 set the world record at talladega...212. made up 2 laps under green. was really running about 240 down the back straight.. alabama troopers shop him with radar and told the booth how fast he was running.. amazing awesome bill from dawsonville..
Been a nascar fan and former crew chief on a Winged Sprint and I gotta say that this was when racing was at its best! They allowed the drivers to be themselves and teams that were so hungry and winning meant everything!
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..
![ILLSLICK - KILLSHOT REMIX [FULL VERSION]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/RIK8RrqIAzE/mqdefault.jpg)
Bill's 9 car was the greatest stock car ever built, with a speed freak behind the wheel. Makes me wonder what the Elliott brothers could have done if NASCAR had not screwed them with restrictor plates.
There was so much more NASCAR and Chevy used against the Thunderbird. The rules over the years that the Thunderbird had to use, consisted of taller rear spoiler heights, steeper spoiler angles and higher ground clearances for the Thunderbird. Many of these rules carried over into the years of the Taurus as well... All because Chevy brainwashed NASCAR into believing that the Thunderbird was a purpose built race car... If you remember NASCAR even helped Chevy find out what was the weak link in the Monte Carlo and helped them design the rear back glass, for the 86...
Bill's car was not the reason for restricting the engine hp and car speeds...it was because the cars were lifting and flying into the air and the fear of hurting and killing fans in the stands and or the infields even...get so tired of people thinking Bill's pos caused the restrictions...NOT
@@eddiedawkins19 THANK YOU. I was looking for a reply like this. Lol
@@derpmcgerp8062 , its facts...I get so damn tired of hearing the Ford guy bullshit stories of Bill's speed is what caused the restrictor plates...they are so full of shit....the fact is, the areodynmanics of thy he GM ca4s is actually what caused the restrictions
Ernie drilling Bill's ol' lady was the end of things.
A blast from the past. No plates AND you can actually recognise the cars, Monte Carlos, T-Birds etc. None of this cookie cutter bland boring cars we get today. Damn I miss those days.
Technically the Pontiac, Buick, and Chevy were cookie cutters, same fenders and all... Just a different grill... Remember in 86 NASCAR approved the back glass for GM, wich was all the same for all the makes...
Seeker22000 no plates anymore for the plate tracks next year. And the cars were quite fast this year at plate tracks anyways
I miss those days too, never watched nascar again since '87 or '88 ...whenever they implemented the stupid plates.
@@kramnull8962 i mean with them all being g bodies lol
I can’t
I love hearing Eli Gold and Barney Hall. The real voices of NASCAR
wanna know why Bill Elliott was soo damn fast compared to everyone?? his brother Ernie Elliott was the best engine builder around. NASCAR made rules to try and slow them down
Veith51 exactly
Ernie knew how to wring HP out of the Cleveland based engine, the Aero Bird was a force to be reckoned with and Awesome Bill was the man!
Also his car was literally 9/10 the size of the others.
It's called cheating, dingbat
@@eddiedawkins19 Its called being better than everyone else.
Ernie Elliott's Engines and Ford Thunderbird's Body Shape made a big difference that day.We will never see anything like that again.
Right
The frontal shape is so minimal. Genius on Ford's part.
This car was so fast because of multiple reasons. Sure the Engine was strong, It had to be. The car got through the wind so good, Bill was an excellent chassis man. It handled. He knew what it needed and knew how to get it out of the car. Plus he actually worked on the car. These guys were men back then, now they're whiny 5'4 130 lbs overpaid, spoiled babies. Bill had 12 people on his team, that included the engine team. He obviously had an amazing engine combo, Ernie found something in the cylinder heads/intake. Nascar mandated restrictor plates because of bobby allisons crash in 87 that got up in the stands, then they went to smaller carburetors, then plates. The number 9 crew worked 17- 18 hour days, hard work paid off. Coors money didn't hurt either. He didn't just step into an unlimited funded team like these pansies today, he earned it, came up through the ranks like you should. Nascar is a joke now, I hope they boycott it.
Iv been an Awesome Bill from Dawsonville fan for almost 35 yrs, glad someone spoke the truth about him n his brother Ernie with that team. Keep it real
mike smith I think is used to be way more pure. But drivers today are product of nascar. They literally can’t be like these guys because of the rules and regulations. A lot of drivers today are whiny brats but I still think there are the real racers, or as much as they can be real racers and still tow the nascar line.
The secret was the combustion chamber designed (swirl combustion, later in the catalogue as 'Twisted Wedge Heads)
Also, reverse cooling. Ernie discovered a 10% power increase by cooling the engine from bottom to top....
The handling secret didn't come out until mid-year of Elliots first season with Junior Johnsons Budweiser team. (Also a Thunderbird) The Elliott's had discovered how to put +2° camber on the right rear axle and keep the bearings intact. Everyone else tried it but broken axels became a safety problem. (Only Alan Kulwicki figured it out)
@@todiathink8864thanks for the info. 84 found the Elliott's in the new thunderbird. Fords major attempt to break the GM dominance. Watching this evolve was extra gravy on the side for me. With the Tbird permitted to run 1" lower I hoped 85 would be exciting & I wasnt disapointed.
Hey 5'4? LeroyYarlborough, Cale Yarborough, Mark Martin, The lobonte Brothers, the Burton Brothers, and Jeff Gordon to soft? Lol...
Great drivers, but the radio broadcast team...the best ever! We don't have drivers or cars like this anymore, not to mention the racing. This was when NASCAR racing was REAL racing!
Now nascar is racist against whites also.
Eli Gold and and Barney Hall two of the best announcers ever
Old man armchair warrior!!
I watched and loved Bill for all of his career, and as Phil (below) said he always raced clean, his skill enabled that. What a humble man. I went through withdrawels as Bill's career wound down, but he still qualified cars based on his skill as a driver, rarely needing to use his champion's provisionals (unlike Darrell Waltrip, who had to quit after he ran out of them). Bill finally gave it up to focus on his son Chase's career (who I had always knew would someday fill my personal temporary Elliott void); eventually signing Chase to a controversial contract with Hendrick's motorsports- how dare bill sign his son to drive a Chevy- which lost him a lot of fans (not me); and which is now paying off! What a driver, what a father, husband, and dad! And Cindy, thank you for letting your son live his dream despite your fears. God bless you all. Bryan
Bryan Mihalek posted the above comment. Not Cod Glitching
Well said, Bryan, or whoever you may be. :)
HENDRICK, ONE OF THE ENEMIES OF TRUE STOCK CAR RACEING
I was lucky enough to attend the spring 1987 Talladega race live and in person. The last true superspeedway race ran completely unrestricted. Still to this day there has been nothing like the sound and fury of those 43 cars roaring past the packed grandstands at speeds hovering around the 210MPH mark. Just took your breath away.
Bill Elliot was the only guy who could say "Come at me, bro!" to Dale Earnhardt's face. Or bumper, rather.
this race wasn't televised and...this is not version where it covers how Bill, after fixing the oil line, made up 5 MILES (2 laps down) UNDER GREEN. That Thunderbird was making up some time dude!!!
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!!!
He made up TWO LAPS UNDER GREEN!!!!! Dale can be the "Intimidator" Bill, is the DOMINATOR!!!!!!!!
I remember that race, what a show, what a car! Really loved those areo T'Birds. NASCAR had just made the Birds raise the roof for a bigger frontal area to the wind, what they didn't know is that knocked the air off the rear spoiler making the car slippery through the air.
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?
If it's available,I would like to purchase a copy of it. Bill's been my favorite driver since day 1, almost 35 yrs watching. Still pissed about the flat tire at the end of the homestead race in 03
great times for NASCAR. I watched that race live. My wife has a photo with Bill Elliott at Daytona. What a difference TV cameras look today. You never miss any of the cars and they are all over the race. I did not realize how spotty the coverage was at that time.
@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
That number 9 car was like a super hero. it's better than the general Lee IMO
WOW! I truly miss this kind of NASCAR. NASCAR back then was HUGE and beautiful! The stands are PACKED to the MAX! I watch this stuff on TH-cam very often. I miss it!!!! NASCAR now is 😝😴
Darrell Waltrip was squaling prior to this race and demanded Nascar do something. Nascar had the T-Birds raise a half inch and the GM's lowered a half inch. It wasn't the body, it was that Ernie Elliott power under the hood.
Didn't NASCAR put a minimum on the engines of 355 cu.in.? I heard they did because Ernie Elliot built a 289 that was destroying the field.
The secret was refiling the intake manifold. This created a swirling compression of the intake gases, which results in more fuel through the same size passage...
Les Mach the max is 358 ci. You can run a 289 if you'd like. You will not qualify though😀
It was a swirl of air in the intake manifold, leading into the head. It cooled the air fuel mixture going into the combustion chamber. Cooling the mixture in turn cooled the head somewhat. So Ernie was able to step the compression ratio up higher. They were running the 351C to the brink of running alcohol, which is about 14:1 compression. Junior Johnson and the rest of the Chevies was still running 13:1 at that time... If you remember in the late 80's and early 90's you could get special intake gaskets in Super Ford Magazine for the 351C, that had lips on the intake ports. It would do this same technique.
@@lesmach6495 That was in 1991 when Bill won at the Firecracker 400 at Daytona - which was a plate race. The engine was under 358 CID because it reduced the rotating mass and allowed some other tricks Ernie came up with - although it was not as dominant as 1985 - it was super fast. NASCAR mandated 358 CID after that race so the teams would not play around with CID on the plate motors.
Good ole awesome Bill for Dawsonville
million-dollar Bill.
No NASCAR car ever built would've beat that 9 T-Bird.... What a masterstroke that car was.
Jeremy Shirland and don't diss the driver. Bill was simply the best behind the wheel. Unlike some, he never took someone out to win. He just drove.
That is why NASCAR went to restrictor plates. Had to slow down that 9 T-Bird.
They went to restrictor Plates because of Bobby Allison's accident at Talladega 3 years later
They made Elliott raise his roof. It was Allison's crash AND Elliott's record breaking laps at led to smaller carbs, then finally restrictor plates.
I guess you forgot about the
1971 Dodge Charger that was
Banned because nobody could catch it.
Buddy Baker was qualified
(at the time) at 214 miles per hour, but his Dodge was not allowed to run.
In 1985,Bill Elliot qualified his
Ford Thunderbird at 212 miles an hour.
Just awesome! i have this entire race on tape, still blows me away when i see it.
Wow....race cars with the power to pass on a super speedway. ..... worth watching. Today...races look more like parades.
B
I hope you’ve seen every plate race since the 2019 talladega spring race
@@BobinFlobo I've tried to watch them, but they've all been rained out. Racing has been great but it's like a curse has been put on them since then.
Still love you Bill, wouldn't be watching old races otherwise....
Miss those days
I remember reading an article about Bill Elliott seeing his old 1985 Thunderbird that won that race how primitive those cars look compared to the ones out nowadays
this guys the reason i bought my own Ford TBird. LEGEND
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..
I miss Eli. Have heard him only a few times on MRN in the last few years but it's always a treat.
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!!
The real secret behind that T-Bird was the width. It's actually slightly narrower than the other cars, as Elliott's team reputedly scaled it down a few inches...reducing friction. Totally within the rules.... until it wasn't....
Jaws and Iron heard Started that story. The car was measured. The car in the race was 1.25 inches narrower than the factory wheel base. Iron head an Jaws Monte Carlo’s we’re 3 inches narrower. At this time the T bird was just a better package. And the motors in the Ford’s were about 50hp stronger. NASCAR was having none of it. The rear glass was added to the MC along with mandating width for all cars. Did not matter. The Elliott’s still greased the competition until the restrictor plates. The wreck at Telladaga was the excuse needed to bring the TBirds back to the field. I worked for a few teams at this era. Everyone knew NASCAR did not want the big speeds at the super speedways. The fans did. It was common knowledge in the series they did not want a non GM car to dominate at the big tracks. If you think this era was the Wild West this was not true. Ford getting back into racing was the reason for the big jump in speeds. NASCAR was not going to let that happen. Especially after the Winston in 85.
🐎💩
9 was playing with them
Holly crap those cars are flyin. This was before my time born in 87.
I can remember as a kid that around this time Bill Elliott was dominate for a couple of years
Came from two laps down with no caution flags and won the race
Bill Elliott is a legend he had the fastest qualifying lap ever recorded at Talladega 211 mph still stands till this day love him.
One of my favorite Bill Elliott moments in history
look at the 9 lead the 3 as usual
the 3 has nothing for the 9
ALWAYS
Back in the day when they televised a race with one camera.
The 1985 Thunderbird was a dream in the draft and on the straights. The rear window being angled created less drag overall. The nearly vertical rear window in the GM cars killed them. Had a ton of drag, similar to that of a truck with a bed.
did y'all see it?? go back to where Bill's pit crew went over the wall to raise his hood,how many you see with helmets on? when Bill came to pit row,he didn't slow down to what's required now.
No one did, Todd. If you knew nascar you'd also know the pit road speed limit is because of Bill Elliott. When Rudd came in and killed his right rear tire man at Atlanta because he came in too hot and spun into him, nascar put that rule in. That "incident" cost Bill the championship that year.
I'm just saying where then and now,what is 4 guys over the wall and 35 mph down pit row and helmets on.lots changed
You will never see people make back a one, let alone two-lap deficit in any time period that's comparable to this these days.
I think I enjoy these better than the current NASCAR. I just wish the video quality was better.
good old fashioned nascar, the way i wish it could still be
Man I miss Nascar Racing like this. The drivers used to have to pass the other cars for position, now they just give you positions. Speedlimits in the Pits ,Restrictor Plates, That stupid Lucky Dog & get a lap back & no racing back to the line when the caution comes out. Nascar had a DAM GOOD thing in the 80's & 90's, but those FORDS were just to DAM FAST for all the other cars & they had to slow them down.Elliot made up 5mi. @ Talledaga under Green Flag conditions. NEVER AGAIN!!!!
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!!!!!!
Camera work sure has improved over the years.
Channel Dad Bryon Lape thanks to drones aerial videography isn’t as restricted
No it hasn't. Then the camera stayed on the field solid for half a lap. Then the other took it the rest of the way. Now the camera changes every half a damn second 60 times a lap! U never kno what or who is doing what!
5 miles under green .enuff said
When Bill got on the radio after the pit stop to fix it he asked Ernie if it would last if he ran it as fast as it could go. Ernie told him - I don't know but let's find out. What happened next was Bill laying down 205MPH laps for the rest of the day until he made up the laps and took the lead.
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.
Thanks for posting!! The good ol' days of Winston cup!! this crap they call nascar today isn't anything I care about..
I miss Barney Hall
I'm here from EmpLemon's video about Dale Earnhardt. Dayum. As terrifying and dangerous as this era of uncontrollable NASCAR speeds was, it was sure awesome that Bill and his Thunderbird were able to make up such a deficit after falling so far behind. I think the introduction of Restrictor Plates was a necessary transition for stock car racing in general, but these classics are still amazing.
Oh come on you know Earnhardt tried to take people out on purpose!
Always did.
Tried?? He took out people every chance he got!!
and it cost him his life in 2001
@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.
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
Real drivers, Real race cars, days gone by that will never be again.
will never be done again, only a Ford and Elliott could make up 2 1/2 miles under green. Dude to turn an avg. lap of 212mph...he had to be running at least 220 mph down the back stretch. That FORD was humpin.
When NASCAR was Real! No today’s Micro Managed joke!
no plate racing real racing
thanx dude! awesome BILL!
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.
Yeshua Man, with that floorboard comment though 😂😂 He's lucky that hundred shot of NOS didn't blow the welds on the intake! ("Almost had me?")
Speedy_J 93 everybody else was granny shifting. Not double clutching like they should.
I love the old MRN!
The whining from GM really wrecked what was once a great Sunday afternoon sport. "Give us this, give us that...and let us run the SB2". It just got ridiculous.
Fantastic camera work
#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.
Damn look at those packed stands
Yeah, that's something you rarely see nowadays.
Stands held quite a bit less people than today
Nascar:. We need a lucky dog rule...
Bill Elliott:. Hold my Coors
Back when racing was racing
I'm totally convinced I'm totally convinced it sounded so much more exciting wishing mean to keep Jackson Anaconda Maki they just made the race sound more exciting
Awsome bill spanked everybody's asses on this day..
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.
Damn, those Chevys are at a disadvantage aerodynamically on those superspeedways.
underthenorthernstar honestly
Fun to hear Mike Joy from 25 years ago. @Fania54, second that about Eli.
4:18 When her parents aren't home
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..
Does anyone have the Victory Circle interview with Elliot for the 1985 Atlanta race?
in 85 i hated Bill & his smooth-flowing t-bird but has my respect today.
Awesome Bill from Dawsonville
Screw the Lucky Dog.
@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.
I am a Ford man and yet I liked Earnhardt, he was dirty at times but, still liked him. He swore up and down That Bill would wave at him as he was going by at these tracks. lol RIP Dale we miss you.
Even on this TH-cam vid of the TV feed, you can easily see the difference of this race at 205+mph compared to today’s 🥱 restrictor plate-180 mph max. Come on Steve Phelps, Peter Jung, Jim France, and Mike Helton…bring back the fun, the speed, and excitement!!! Lose the restrictive plates…and the crowds and fans will return!!!
No one could come close to competing with Bill Elliott and that Ford Thunderbird. Coming from two laps down to win the race.
I loved Talledega back thenover there plates todayPlus I hated Dale Earnhardt back then😎
Screw you
If you mean 'sports-hated', as Bill Simmons terms it, I can understand if you were an Elliott fan. In the mid-to-late 1980s, Earnhardt vs. Elliott was one of the great rivalries in sports, nevermind just motorsport. I wouldn't be surprised, though, if most of the Elliott fans cried as much as if not more than anyone else, the dark night of 18 February 2001.
@@VampireYoshi I know I did. And I worshipped Bill Elliott!! That was such a devastating loss. The sport has never been the same!!
The stands are packed.
@justley124 set the world record at talladega...212. made up 2 laps under green. was really running about 240 down the back straight.. alabama troopers shop him with radar and told the booth how fast he was running.. amazing awesome bill from dawsonville..
I can't wait to work for MRN!
After 47 years Bill Elliott still holds the Nascar speed record iof over 212 mph
and done in a ford!!!! no chevy will ever come close
You have to know that Elliot was just playing with them at the beginning of the race. At anytime he could have pulled away from all of them.
Been a nascar fan and former crew chief on a Winged Sprint and I gotta say that this was when racing was at its best! They allowed the drivers to be themselves and teams that were so hungry and winning meant everything!
those mid 80's cup cars at talladega and daytona with unplated motors were just wicked fast. try 212.809 on 4029-1987
Bill Elliott had a rocket that day he just played with em 😂
these cars look like their going so fast compared to todays barly 195 mph cars at talleadega races
Five miles under green without a drafting partner...and none of the gimmicked-up rules they have today.
THIS was racing.
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..
I quoted you wrong figure before, it should be 209.398mph in 1985 at Talladega.
Bill Elliott did 205.114mph in qualifying at Daytona.
They took the Intake away for 86...
And let the chevys run a sloped back glass