Auto Racing Roundup : Elliott Is Winner Over All the Winners

Bill Elliott and his dominating Ford Thunderbird ran away from the field Sunday to win the $500,000, 126-mile The Winston and claim the richest first-place prize in stock car history at Hampton, Ga.

Elliott, from Dawsonville, Ga., averaged 159.123 m.p.h. and earned $200,000 for his 2.55-second victory over Dale Earnhardt’s Chevrolet.

Elliott led all but one of the 83 laps around the 1.522-mile Atlanta International Raceway. The only lap he didn’t lead was because his pit stop was behind the finish line and Earnhardt’s was in front of the line.

The race was for winners only during the 1985 season, with one added starter entered: Geoff Bodine, who had the highest point total among nonwinners in last year’s standings.

A special rule required each of the 10 drivers to make a mandatory pit stop at the end of the 39th lap.

Elliott was in the pit for 14.4 seconds to take on left side tires and Earnhardt had only a 13.8 stop, but Elliott passed Earnhardt returning from the pits to the track.

By the time the drivers completed the lap, Elliott had a lead of 1.87 seconds.

He eventually built the lead to 5.7 seconds with 15 laps to go and had the victory easily in hand.

Darrell Waltrip, last year’s Winston Cup point champion, started on the pole, but Elliott passed him easily coming out of the third turn and led until each car went in for the mandatory pit stop.

Veteran NASCAR driver Benny Parsons made the most of a 12-second pit stop on lap 60 of the Atlanta Invitational to pull ahead of the field and win the 100-lap event. The race preceded The Winston.

Parsons’ Oldsmobile finished 2.01 seconds ahead of Tim Richmond in a Chevrolet. Third went to Bobby Hillin Jr. in a Buick. Lake Speed finished fourth in an Oldsmobile and Joe Ruttman placed fifth in a Buick.

World champion Alain Prost of France won the 44th Monaco Grand Prix, finishing 25 seconds ahead of his McLaren teammate Keke Rosberg of Finland to post his third consecutive Monaco victory.

Brazil’s Ayrton Senna was third in a Lotus, 53 seconds behind, while Briton Nigel Mansell’s Williams was fourth at 1 minute 11 seconds back. French Ligier drivers Rene Arnoux and Jacques Laffite were fifth and sixth, respectively, one lap behind Prost.

The victory gave Prost, winner of the previous race two weeks ago at Imola, Italy, the lead in world championship standings with 22 points. Senna is in second place with 19 points.

Brazilian Williams driver Nelson Piquet, who began the race tied with Senna for the points lead, finished out of the points in seventh place but retained third place in overall standings with 15 points.

Prost, the pole sitter, completed the 78-lap, 259.584 kilometer race in 1 hour 55 minutes 41.060 seconds and tied Briton Graham Hill’s record of three consecutive Monaco victories. It was Prost’s 23rd career race win, leaving him four short of British driver Jackie Stewart’s record of 27.