IROC IX explained
IROC IX was the ninth year of IROC competition, which took place in 1985. It saw the use of the Chevrolet Camaro in all races, was the second straight season that television coverage was on CBS, and continued the format introduced in IROC VIII. Race one took place on the Daytona International Speedway, race two took place at Mid-Ohio, race three was rained out at Talladega Superspeedway, and race four concluded the year at Michigan International Speedway. Harry Gant won the championship and $158,200 in a tie-breaker with Darrell Waltrip.
The roster of drivers and final points standings were as follows: [1]
| Rank | Driver | Points | Winnings | Series |
|---|
| 1 |  Harry Gant 1 | 45 | $158,200 | NASCAR Winston Cup Series
2nd in 1984 Winston Cup points |
| 2 | Darrell Waltrip 1 | 45 | $80,400 | NASCAR Winston Cup Series
5th in 1984 Winston Cup points |
| 3 | | 40 | $55,100 | CART PPG IndyCar World Series
3rd in 1984 IndyCar points |
| 4 | | 32 | $43,000 | CART PPG IndyCar World Series
2nd in 1984 IndyCar points |
| 5 | Terry Labonte 2 | 31 | $39,300 | NASCAR Winston Cup Series
1984 Winston Cup Champion |
| 6 | Derek Bell 2 | 31 | $30,000 | World Endurance Championship
4th in 1984 World Sportscar Championship |
| 7 | | 30 | $29,000 | FIA Formula One World Championship
World Endurance Championship
Winner of the 1984 Fuji 1000KM |
| 8 | | 29 | $27,400 | NASCAR Winston Cup Series
Defending IROC Champion
1984 Daytona 500 winner |
| 9 | | 28 | $29,500 | CART PPG IndyCar World Series
IROC III & IROC IV Champion |
| 10 | | 27 | $23,000 | World Endurance Championship
2nd in 1984 World Sportscar Championship |
| 11 | Mario Andretti 3 | 25 | $26,700 | CART PPG IndyCar World Series
1984 IndyCar Champion
IROC VI champion |
| 12 | | 13 | $20,000 | SCCA Trans-Am Series
1984 Trans-Am Champion | |
Race results
Race One, Daytona International Speedway
Friday, February 15, 1985
| Finish | Grid | Car
no. | Driver | Car Make | Car Color | Laps | Status | Laps
Led | Points |
|---|
| 1 | 11 | 5 | | | Light Blue
| 40 | 0:32:55 | 1 | 23 (2) |
| 2 | 6 | 1 | | | White
| 40 | Flagged | | 17 |
| 3 | 9 | 4 | | | Cream
| 40 | Flagged | 35 | 19 (5) |
| 4 | 4 | 8 | | | Orange
| 40 | Flagged | | 12 |
| 5 | 12 | 7 | | | | 40 | Flagged | | 10 |
| 6 | 7 | 3 | | | Pink
| 40 | Flagged | 4 | 12 (3) |
| 7 | 8 | 17 | | | Silver
| 40 | Flagged | | 8 |
| 8 | 1 | 2 | | | | 40 | Flagged | | 7 |
| 9 | 3 | 12 | | | | 39 | Crash | | 6 |
| 10 | 5 | 6 | | | Yellow
| 39 | Flagged | | 5 |
| 11 | 10 | 11 | | | | 15 | Crash | | 4 |
| 12 | 2 | 9 | | | Orange Yellow
| 5 | Mechanical | | 3 | |
(5) Indicates 5 bonus points added to normal race points scored for leading the most laps.
(3) Indicates 3 bonus points added to normal race points scored for leading the 2nd most laps
(2) Indicates 2 bonus points added to normal race points scored for leading the 3rd most laps.
Average speed: 182.278mph
Cautions: 1 (Lap 15, Tom Gloy accident in the tri-oval.)
Margin of victory: 3 sec
Lead changes: 3
Race Two, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
Friday, June 8, 1985
| Finish | Grid | Car
no. | Driver | Car Make | Car Color | Laps | Status | Laps
Led | Points |
|---|
| 1 | 4 | 17 | | | Silver
| 29 | 0:49:30 | 2 | 24 (3) |
| 2 | 5 | 7 | | | | 29 | Flagged | | 17 |
| 3 | 1 | 3 | | | Pink
| 29 | Flagged | 27 | 19 (5) |
| 4 | 6 | 8 | | | Orange
| 29 | Flagged | | 12 |
| 5 | 9 | 2 | | | | 29 | Flagged | | 10 |
| 6 | 8 | 1 | | | White
| 29 | Flagged | | 9 |
| 7 | 12 | 6 | | | Yellow
| 29 | Flagged | | 8 |
| 8 | 11 | 11 | | | | 29 | Flagged | | 7 |
| 9 | 3 | 5 | | | Powder Blue
| 29 | Flagged | | 6 |
| 10 | 10 | 10 | | | | 29 | Flagged | | 5 |
| 11 | 2 | 18 | | | Light Blue
| 29 | Flagged | | 4 |
| 12 | 7 | 12 | | | | 29 | Flagged | | 3 | |
(5) Indicates 5 bonus points added to normal race points scored for leading the most laps.
(3) Indicates 3 bonus points added to normal race points scored for leading the 2nd most laps
(2) Indicates 2 bonus points added to normal race points scored for leading the 3rd most laps (Did not occur in this race so not awarded).
Average speed: 84.363mph
Cautions: none
Margin of victory: 2.4 sec
Lead changes: 1
Race Three, Talladega Superspeedway
This race was scheduled for Saturday July 27th, 1985 but was canceled due to rain
Race Four, Michigan International Speedway
Saturday, August 10, 1985
| Finish | Grid | Car
no. | Driver | Car Make | Car Color | Laps | Status | Laps
Led | Points |
|---|
| 1 | 8 | 18 | | | Light Blue
| 50 | 0:39:09 | 33 | 26 (5) |
| 2 | 10 | 5 | | | Powder Blue
| 50 | Flagged | 13 | 20 (3) |
| 3 | 9 | 12 | | | | 50 | Flagged | | 14 |
| 4 | 1 | 2 | | | | 50 | Flagged | 4 | 14 (2) |
| 5 | 2 | 1 | | | White
| 50 | Flagged | | 10 |
| 6 | 6 | 11 | | | | 50 | Flagged | | 9 |
| 7 | 3 | 6 | | | Yellow
| 50 | Flagged | | 8 |
| 8 | 7 | 17 | | | Silver
| 50 | Flagged | | 7 |
| 9 | 4 | 8 | | | Orange
| 50 | Flagged | | 6 |
| 10 | 11 | 3 | | | Pink
| 49 | Flagged | | 5 |
| 11 | 5 | 7 | | | | 27 | Mechanical | | 4 |
| 12 | X | X | Mario Andretti 3 | | Not Assigned | 0 | Did Not Start,
Injured | | 3 | |
(5) Indicates 5 bonus points added to normal race points scored for leading the most laps.
(3) Indicates 3 bonus points added to normal race points scored for leading the 2nd most laps
(2) Indicates 2 bonus points added to normal race points scored for leading the 3rd most laps.
Average speed: 153.257mph
Cautions: none
Margin of victory: 4 feet
Lead changes: 8
Notes
- Harry Gant and Darrell Waltrip tied for the championship, but Gant was awarded the title due to a higher finishing position in the final race.
- Terry Labonte and Derek Bell tied for fifth place, but Labonte was awarded the position due a higher finish in the final race.
- Mario Andretti did not compete in the final race due to injury.
External links
Notes and References
- http://racing-reference.info/raceyear?yr=1985&series=I IROC season statistics at racing-reference.info
