The 1985 Busch 500 was a Winston Cup Series (now Nextel Cup) event held at Bristol Motor Speedway on August 24, 1985. Dale Earnhardt dominated the race, leading 343 of the 500 laps, but only held off Tim Richmond by three carlengths for the victory. Bill Elliott's 5th place finish gave him a comfortable 138-point championship lead on Darrell Waltrip (4th). Stats