Daytona Countdown: '85

Elliott blisters field; New Coke ushered in ... and out

Turning laps at a seemingly easy 200 mph, Bill Elliott's Ford Thunderbird outlasted the competition in the 27th Daytona 500 on Feb. 17, 1985. Lake Speed was the only other car on the lead lap as Elliott set a blistering pace of 172.265 mph in a race slowed by just five cautions.

Elliott's hometown of Dawsonville, Ga., had fewer than 400 residents in 1985, so he could given each person in town at least $464 from his first-place check of $185,500.

NASCAR ACCELERATION •   Know Your NASCAR •   Tickets for Daytona •   2004 Daytona 500 highlights •   Get TrackPass for 2005! ALSO IN 1985 ... •   "New York, New York" becomes the official city anthem of New York City (Feb. 7)  •   Five lionesses at Singapore Zoo are put on birth control because the lion population had increased from two to 16 (March 14)  •   Sports Illustrated publishes an article about non-existent baseball prodigy Sidd Finch (April 1)  •   Thomas Patrick Cavanagh is sentenced to life in prison for attempting to sell stealth bomber secrets to the Soviet Union (May 23)  •   Richard Ramirez arrested for 'Night Stalker' murders (Aug. 31)  Courtesy: Wikipedia

A 1985 Ford Thunderbird two-door coupe with 302-cubic inch V8 engine retailed for $10,249, so Elliott could have outfitted 18 residents of Dawsonville, Ga. with Thunderbirds.

The average price of a new home broke the $100,000 barrier in 1985, so one lucky Dawsonville resident could have benefitted from Elliott's good fortune.

With its flagship carbonated beverage losing market share to rival Pepsi, the Coca-Cola Company began an effort to reformulate the taste of Coke. In marketing taste tests, New Coke beat both Pepsi and Coke. On April 23, New Coke debuted. By July, the company was forced to bring back "original Coke," although long-time fans disputed whether that formula wasn't as suspect.

If Elliott had wanted to drive a 1985 Thunderbird from Dawsonville to Coca-Cola's world headquarters in Atlanta to protest New Coke, he could have made the 57-mile trip in about an hour on the highway, or in about 19 minutes and 48 seconds if Elliott could have averaged 172 mph.

Back to the Future, starring Michael J. Fox as a teenager who returns to 1955 in a DeLorean, made $210 million as the No. 1 movie of 1985. A 1955 Thunderbird purchased for $2,444 brand new would be worth between $25,000 and $48,000 today. 1985 by Texas band Bowling For Soup was a hit in 2004.

Mikhail Gorbachev became the new leader of the Soviet Union on March 11. On Nov. 19, he met with President Ronald Reagan in Geneva to discuss speeding up arms talks, working towards the abolition of chemical weapons and a new commitment to human rights.

The Breakfast Club was released to theaters on Feb. 15. Breakfast cereals released in 1985 included G.I. Joe Action Stars,Rainbow Brite Cereal, Ghostbusters Cereal and Cabbage Patch Kids Cereal.

On July 20, treasure hunters located the wreck of the Spanish galleon Nuestra Señora de Atocha near Key West, Fla., and begin to raise $400 million in coins and silver. On Sept. 1, a joint American-French expedition located the wreck of the RMS Titanic, five years after the movie Raise The Titanic! was released.

On June 23, 329 people were killed when an Air India 747 blew up near Ireland. On Aug. 12, a Japan Airlines 747 crashed, killing 520 of the 524 people on board. In all, more than 100 aviation accidents killed more than 2,000 people in 1985. Mr. Mister hit the Billboard Top 10 with Broken Wings.

Hostage Benjamin Weir was released in Iran on Sept. 15, but Terry Anderson and Thomas Sutherland were abducted in Lebanon -- and would not be freed until the end of 1991.

On Jan. 23, O.J. Simpson was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. In addition, he was starring in the television series First and 10 and appearing on Monday Night Football. Nine years later, he would be tried and acquitted for killing his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend, Ronald Goldman.

On Dec. 16, John Gotti organized a hit on mafia bosses Paul Castellano and Thomas Bilotti. They were shot and killed exiting Sparks Steak House in New York. Gotti then became leader of the Gambino family.

Current drivers born in 1985:
• Kyle Busch (May 2)

→ Click here for more Daytona Countdown.