New Team, Same Elliott in Rockingham Victory

Bill Elliott ran away from Daytona 500 winner Davey Allison to win the Goodwrench 500 Sunday at North Carolina Motor Speedway in Rockingham.

The victory was Elliott’s first for car-owner Junior Johnson and his 35th in 350 starts.

Elliott pulled away steadily over the final 100 miles, beating Allison to the finish line by a 12.75 seconds. They combined to control the race, with Elliott leading three times for 260 laps and Allison in command four times for 190 laps.

“Davey would be be good for 40 or 50 laps (after pit stops), then I’d get a good run on him and I’d be able to open up a lead,” Elliott said. “I knew if the caution flag didn’t come out there at the end, we’d be in good shape.”

Elliott led the final 213 laps of the 492-lap race over the 1.017-mile oval en route to a race-record average of 126.125 m.p.h. He collected $57,800 from a purse of $854,786.