Power Steering Goes Out, but Elliott Wins, Anyway

Ever try driving a car when the power steering goes out? That’s what Bill Elliott had to do Sunday in order to win the Budweiser 500 at the Dover Downs International Speedway at Dover, Del.

“The power steering went out with about 35 or 40 laps to go,” said Elliott, who led for 337 laps and finished 29 seconds ahead of Harry Gant to take the 10th race on NASCAR’s Winston Cup Grand National circuit.

Gant was followed by Kyle Petty, who was one lap down, Ricky Rudd, two laps behind, and Darrell Waltrip, three laps off the pace.

Elliott, who had an average speed of 123.094 m.p.h., earned $44,500 to bring his NASCAR-leading season total to $454,810.

The sellout crowd, estimated at 48,000, watched Geoff Bodine take an early lead, then lose it and regain it again on the 89th lap before dropping out late in the race with electrical problems.

Caution flags were out for the three wrecks and debris on the track and a spinout by Bobby Allison. Allison’s car skidded and hit the wall between turns one and two. Allison still managed to finish 13th.

Derek Bell of Pagham, England, and Al Holbert of Warrington, Pa., teamed up to drive a Porsche 962 to victory in the Camel GT Grand Prix at Charlotte Motor Speedway in North Carolina.

The victory in the International Motor Sports Assn. race was worth $19,000 to the two drivers, whose car averaged 106.691 m.p.h. around the 2.25-mile road course. The winning speed broke the record of 103.731 m.p.h., set by Randy Lanier and Bill Whittington in last year’s race.

Bell drove the car to victory before a crowd of 42,100 and finished 65.665 seconds ahead of a Brian Redman and Hurley Haywood, both of Ponte Verda, Fla., in a Jaguar XJR-5. Bell and Holbert led for 51 laps, including the final 38.

Klaus Ludwig of Bonn, West Germany, and Doc Bundy of Cross Junction, Va., had led three times for 46 laps in a Ford Mustang. But after Redman’s Jaguar overtook Bundy on lap 81, Bundy pulled into the pits and the car caught fire.

Third and two laps down was the Porsche 962 driven by Jim Busby and Rick Knoop, both of Laguna Beach.

At Monte Carlo, Alain Prost of France, driving a McLaren-TAG-Porsche, won his second straight Monaco Grand Prix. Michele Alboreto of Italy finished second in a Ferrari.

This was the 43rd Grand Prix around the streets of Prince Rainier’s tiny country, and it was Prost’s 18th win on the Grand Prix circuit. He finished easing back as slight rain made the track slippery.

Italian Elio de Angelis in a Lotus-Renault finished third to retain his lead in the 1985 world championship standings with 20 points. Prost and Alboreto are tied for second with 18 points.

Prost’s winning time was 1 hour 51 minutes 58.034 seconds. His average speed was 86.02 m.p.h.