William Clyde " Bill " Elliott (born October 8, 1955), also known as Cool Bill from Dawsonville , or Million Dollar Bill , is a retired NASCAR driver. He won the 1988 Winston Cup and won 44 victories in the series, including two Daytona 500 wins in 1985 and 1987 and recorded four consecutive wins at the Michigan International Speedway between 1985 and 1986. He holds the record for the fastest qualifying pace at Talladega. at 212,809 miles per hour (342,483 km/h) and the Daytona International Speedway at 210,364 miles per hour (338,548 km/h), both set in 1987; the mark at Talladega is the fastest qualifying speed for any NASCAR race.
Elliott won NASCAR's Most Popular Driver Award record 16 times. He withdrew his name from the vote for the award after winning it in 2002. In 2005, Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue declared October 8 as Bill Elliott Day in the state of Georgia. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame of America Motorsports on August 15, 2007 and entered into the NASCAR 2015 Hall of Fame class. Elliott was also honored by the state's state legislature with a highway in his hometown of Dawsonville, renamed Elliott Family Parkway .
Video Bill Elliott
Personal life
William Clyde Elliott was born in Dawsonville, Georgia on October 8, 1955. According to his autobiography, many generations of Elliotts lived there. He was named after two relatives and was the youngest of three sons. Her parents Erving "George" Elliott Jr. (1924-1998) and Mildred Reece (Dying in 1991). His father George created the wood company and loved racing, and then created a speed shop where Bill's brother, Ernie (born 1947) and Dan (born 1951), worked. His father was also a Ford man and later made a Ford dealer because he was not in the area.
Elliott has three children, two daughters, Lauren Starr and Brittany, and one son, William Clyde II (nicknamed "Chase"). The 2014 NASCAR Nationwide Series champion, Chase Elliott is currently competing in the Cup Series for Hendrick Motorsports. Brittany Elliott joins the Air Force in the Security Forces.
Maps Bill Elliott
NASCAR Careers NASCAR Elliott/Melling Elliott/Melling
Elliott Racing
Driving his father's car, George Elliott, Elliott made his first Winston Cup Series starting at Rockingham in 1976. He was ranked 34th in the 36-car field; Elliott only survived 32 rounds a day before the oil pump failed at his Ford Torino, earning $ 640. Elliott worked hard for five years in the Winston Cup Series without corporate sponsors, and along the way showed flashes that he could compete with an established sports veteran. In mid-1977, Elliott bought Mercury Montego from Bobby Allison after he split from Penske Racing to replace the inferior Torino, and the move paid off. He soon grabbed his first top 10 finish on the Southern 500 (10), and his first top-5 finish 2 years later in the same race, finishing second to race winner (and Elliott's childhood hero) David Pearson.
In the fall of 1980, Elliott earned his first major sponsorship of $ 500 from Harry Melling of Melling Racing at the National 500 1980 in Charlotte. Melling will extend his contract and give the team enough sponsors to run 12 race schedules in 1981. In the 1981 season, he had one Top 5 and seven Top 10 finishes in 13 races, including the team's first pole at CRC Chemicals Rebel 500.
Melling Racing
Melling bought a team from Elliott George's father on December 1, 1981. In 1983, Elliott won his first Winston Cup race in the final race of the season - Winston Western 500 at Riverside. Elliott also took second place four times including the Daytona 500 on his way to third place in the championship points of the season. He received full sponsorship from Coors in 1984 for the $ 400,000 song and won three races - Michigan 400, Miller High Life 500 and American 500. He also collected four poles and finished third in the final points standings for the second time.
The 1985 season was undoubtedly the best season of Bill Elliott's career. He scored 11 wins and 11 poles from 28 races and also won the first Winston Million at the Southern 500 in Darlington. This will give him the nickname of "Million Dollar Bill" and "Awesome Bill From Dawsonville" . The only major of the four that he did not win was Coca-Cola 600 (a rider just needs to win a "minor slam" of four majors to win the bonus: Elliott, since he retired in 2013, will not finish Grand Slam's career). This allowed him to become the second NASCAR racer to be featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated, following Cale Yarborough after his victory at Daytona 500 1977. Elliott finished second in the championship points standings with 101 points, losing to the Winston Cup Championship to Darrell Waltrip after a series of poor final results in the final quarter of the season. Elliott will set an unprecedented NASCAR record to win five consecutive pole qualifying sessions in 1985; the June Pocono race, the 400 Firecrackers, the July race at Pocono and Talladega, and the August Michigan race. That does not include the June Michigan race where the qualifying rain, and the Pocono pole in July is where it begins the second, but further investigation led NASCAR to waste time winning pole for illegal fuel additives, reward Elliott pole award, money , and the credit toward a season-long award for most of the poles prevailed. Elliott also set a record of the modern era of NASCAR in 1985 to complete the sweeping season in 4 different tracks in one season: Pocono, Michigan, Darlington, and Atlanta.
In 1986, Elliott only won 2 races, both of which were Michigan races. By sweeping the season in Michigan, Elliott became the first racer in NASCAR history to win 4 superspeedway races directly on one track. He also won four poles during the season, and he finished fourth in the championship standings. He also won The Winston II, held in Atlanta, the only year of the race to run somewhere other than Charlotte. He won six races next season, including the second Daytona 500, and Talladega 500, seven pole, and finished second in the final points standings for Dale Earnhardt with 489 points. At The Winston, he is entangled with Earnhardt in what is known as "Pass In The Grass". However, Elliott's most lasting achievement of the year was setting two NASCAR qualifying records, which have survived to this day. In Daytona, he set a NASCAR speed record with an average speed of 210 364 miles per hour (338,548 km/h). He broke his own record at Talladega with an average speed of 212,809 miles per hour (342,483 km/h); the previous record he set in 1986 was 209,383 miles per hour (336,969 km/h). In both races, he uses a Ford Thunderbird that contains a machine built by his brother, Ernie. However, in Talladega, Bobby Allison spun and drifted over the fence, tearing most of it and injuring several fans. Following this incident, NASCAR mandated the use of bounding plates in Daytona and Talladega. As a result, Elliott's speed record is unlikely to be damaged. In 1988 Elliott won six other races, including 500 South and Pepsi Firecracker 400, six poles, and his first and only Winston Cup Championship.
After his championship season, Elliott broke his wrist in an accident during a test at Daytona and needed help by Jody Ridley for several races in the first part of the 1989 season. Elliott won two poles and three races and finished sixth in the championship standings. In 1990, Elliott won one race and two poles and finished fourth in the championship standings. At the 1990 race in Atlanta, Elliott rear rider Mike Rich was killed when Ricky Rudd lost control of his car, spun, and threw crew members between his car and Elliott's car. As a result, NASCAR limits the speed of the car in the pit road. The 1991 season saw Elliott's sponsorship change to Coors Light and the familiar red color in the car was replaced with blue. Elliott will only win once that year at Pepsi 400 and win two poles and finish eleventh in the championship standings during his final season with Mellings. His only victory in 1991 was his only time in his career, that Bill Elliott won in a car that was NOT painted red.
Junior Johnson and Associates
Elliott left Melling to join Junior Johnson & amp; Associates in 1992, replacing Geoffrey Bodine at No. 11 Budweiser Ford. In 1992, Elliott won five races (including four in a row) and three poles, but like the 1985 season he completed a disappointing second place in the championship standings after squandering a massive lead in the standings with an ending season ending poorly. He won the season finale at his home track in Atlanta, but lost the championship with 10 points to Alan Kulwicki, who finished second and led the most rounds by either of Elliott. If Kulwicki does not lead the most laps, Elliott will finish tying him up for the lead and will be awarded the title in the tiebreak because he has more wins (since Elliott has won three more times than Kulwicki).
Elliott went winless in 1993 and finished eighth in the standings. He scored just one victory the following season in the 1994 Southern 500 while finishing 10th in the championship standings. After his victory at Darlington, Elliott announced he would start his own team with a sponsor from McDonald's in 1995.
Driver/Owner
Elliott-Hardy Racing
After leaving the Johnson team, Elliott dropped his own Winston Cup racing team from 1995 to 2000. 94 in honor of his nephew Casey Elliott, who fought against cancer when he formed a team and would die in 1996. The team also incorporated entries in the Busch Series and Truck Series. Elliott failed to win the race during this time, although he managed to finish two top ten in the championship standings, with eighth place in 1995 and 1997. In 1996, Elliott suffered during an accident at Talladega and, Elliott missed five races to recover from a broken hip injury. and was replaced by Dorsey Schroeder and Todd Bodine.
Bill Elliott Racing
In July 1996, a partnership between Elliott and Hardy was dissolved, the team that changed its name to Bill Elliott Racing
Then in 1996, Elliott suffered an after effects accident at Talladega at the beginning of the year and, Elliott missed two races and was replaced by Tommy Kendall, and Bobby Hillin, Jr..
he managed to finish two top ten in the championship standings, with an eighth finish in 1997.
After a disappointing 1999 season that saw Elliott's multi-car operation return to No. 1. 94, Elliott announced in early 2000 that he sold his equipment to the head of the crew winning the Ray Evernham championship to be part of Dodge's return to NASCAR. The team will also switch to No. 9. Although he fought for 6 years as a driver/owner and did not win a race, Elliott fans still chose him as NASCAR's Most Popular Driver. He will hold the record for 10 consecutive years as the most popular rider from 1991 to 2000, a record that will last until 2013, when Dale Earnhardt, Jr. will win the 11th award. Earnhardt will win the award for 15 consecutive years from 2003 to 2017, a NASCAR record.
Elliott-Marino Motorsports
In 1998 Elliott teamed up with Dan Marino to form a multi car team, the team was renamed Elliott-Marino Motorsports, adding No. 13 and defended No. 94, Marino has no. 13 while Elliott has No. 94. The year was marked by sadness for Elliott when he had to miss the fallen Dover race to attend his father's funeral. Matt Kenseth drove Elliott's No. 94 and finished sixth in his Cup debut.
Evernham Motorsports
In 2000, Elliott sold his team to Ray Evernham and started driving the Dodge Dealers/Dodge Intrepid No. 9 Dodge Dealers the following year. Ironically, Melling Racing, who runs No. 9 for Bill Elliott from 1981 to 1991, produced that number for Ray Evernham for 2001. Elliott asked Evernham to push the number to honor his old team. However Elliott and Evernham found success in his first race at Dodge No. 9, when Elliott won a pole for the Daytona 500 in 2001. It will also be the 50th pole of his career. By winning the pole, Bill Elliott will be the first, and by 2018, the only racer in NASCAR history to print his 50th career pole at the Daytona 500. He will finish the race in the Top 5, taking home the 5th place, though the race will be forever remembered for the death of Dale Earnhardt's favorite fan. Elliott finished his first season with Evernham Motorsports with two poles, five Top 5, and nine Top 10 finishes, and one victory at Pennzoil Freedom 400 at Homestead from the pole. It was his first victory since the 500 South in 1994, 7 years and 226 races. By 2018, 226 unbeaten winning contests are the longest drought in NASCAR history. However, after Melling produced Number 9 for 2001, Bill Elliott would win at Homestead by riding that number, but this time, with Evernham Motorsports. In another ironic slice, Elliott's victory at Homestead will be the first time since Melling Racing and Bill Elliott himself at Pepsi 400 in 1991, that Number 9 went on the winning track. Elliott finished 15th in the final points standings for 2001. Elliott also withdrew from voting as NASCAR's Most Popular Driver, and encouraged longtime fans to choose his friend and longtime rival Dale Earnhardt. Earnhardt was posthumously selected as NASCAR's Most Popular Driver for 2001. In 2002, he won four poles and went on the path of victory twice; the victory included the Pennsylvania 500 and one of the most dominant victories in Brickyard 400 history at Indianapolis Motor Speedway a week later. He finished 13th in the final points standings. For the 16th and last of his career, Bill Elliott was selected as NASCAR's Most Popular Driver. His final victory, in what became his last full season, came in 2003 at Rockingham. A week later, Elliott came in one round winning his last race as a full-time driver (he will be the only retired driver to do so) at Ford 400 in 2003 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Elliott led 189 from 267 laps and was heading for victory, but the tires cut in the final lap allowed Bobby Labonte to score a victory (last and final victory to date). He still finished the race and retained his ninth place in the final points standings, his best points finished since finishing eighth in the 1997 standings. Elliott formally withdrew from the vote as NASCAR's Most Popular Driver, rewarding Dale Earnhardt, Jr., who will continues to win for 15 consecutive years from 2003 to 2017, a NASCAR record. A few weeks later after the 2003 season ended, Elliott announced that he was releasing No. car. 9 to Kasey Kahne and switch to part time schedule driving R & amp; D for Evernham.
Half year retirement
Evernham Motorsports
In 2004, Elliott drove No. 1. 91 Dodge Intrepid for Evernham in three events (along with Budweiser Shootout) he only made three starts during his first part-time season with Evernham, he still managed to have some success which included ninth place finish in Indianapolis and second and third qualifying efforts in Texas. He also brought back Bill Elliott Racing's moniker when he piloted 98 cars twice in 2004, one with Coke C2 Sponsorship and one with McDonald's. The reason is because Evernham dropped the car with a sponsor with Mountain Dew PepsiCo.
In 2005, Elliott resumed part-time driving duties that included driving a Dodge Driver. 39 Coors (in a paint scheme reminiscent of the 1987 Ford Coors Light) for Ganassi Racing Chip in Shutout Budweiser and No. 91 Evernham Dodge at several events. Although he made three more starts from the previous season, he did not have the same amount of success. He managed to get the eleventh place and the tenth qualifying effort in Michigan, along with the ninth place qualifying effort in Texas. He also competed in selecting NASCAR Busch Series events for Rusty Wallace and also riding Unilever Dodge Charger No. 6 in the Busch Series for Evernham in Memphis, which celebrates the 40th anniversary of A Charlie Brown Christmas.
For the 2006 season, 2005 owner points for the No. team. 91 went to Evernham's No. 1 team. 10 and new driver Scott Riggs and 91 teams were stopped.
On August 8, 2006, Evernham Motorsports announced that Elliott would return to the organization for the race at Watkins Glen driving a Dodge No. 1. 19 previously ridden by Jeremy Mayfield. The team fell from the top 35 in owner points after Indianapolis, leading to Mayfield's dismissal, and Evernham assumed that Elliott would guarantee a starting place on the pitch by becoming a past champion. However, since the driver switch is made past the entry time limit, NASCAR says that Elliott is not eligible for a temporary champion past.
Mach 1 Racing
Elliott also drove No. 1. 98 Dodge Intrepid for Mach 1 Racing at three other events in 2004 due to sponsorship issues between Coca-Cola (Elliott's sponsor) and Pepsi (sponsor Evernham). but Evernham rented a car to him. Although he only made three starts during his first part-time season as a racer, he still managed to have some success which included a third-place qualifying effort in California respectively.
Ginn Racing
On January 4, 2006, Elliott announced that he would pioneer no. 36 Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS for Ginn Racing at the Daytona Speedweeks 2006 event. These include Shootout Budweiser, Duel Gatorade, and Daytona 500, which Elliott has not competed since 2003.
Michael Waltrip Racing
On March 17, 2006, it was announced that Elliott would drive No. 1. 00 Burger King Chevrolet for Michael Waltrip Racing in five NEXTEL Cup events including Chicagoland, New Hampshire, Indianapolis, California, and Homestead.
R & amp; J Racing
For racing in Kansas, Elliott is working with R & amp; J Racing to drive Dodge No. 37. Elliott completed his 16th highest season at Banquet 400 in Kansas, but did not qualify for Bank of America 500 in Charlotte two weeks later. Elliott was scheduled to be Red Bull team going into Atlanta, but A. J. Allmendinger drove the car instead, Elliott instead driving 37 Dodge in Atlanta, marking the 30th Anniversary of Elliott driving on his hometown track.
Elliott attempted to qualify for the 2007 Daytona 500, but failed to make the race at No. 2. 37.
Wood Brothers Racing
Later that season, Elliott signed a contract to drive No. 21 for Wood Brothers Racing in 2007, partly because of its temporary championship, which is guaranteed to start the race. Since fellow champion Dale Jarrett has used all of the early secured at Toyota for Michael Waltrip Racing, Elliott is the only qualified champion for a while not guaranteed a spot by being at the top 35 in owner points. His first race for the team was Coca Cola 600 in Charlotte, which he qualified without needing any of his six provisions. He led the race at one point until he was involved in an accident around the 200 round. In Michigan, Elliott gave the team a much needed place in 11th place, and kept in the car until the fall of the Richmond race. The car then fell out of the top 35 again but in Bristol returned to the big 35 points. Ken Schrader returns to No. 21 replaced Elliott at a test session at Talladega Superspeedway as the team returned to the top 35 at owner points. He is back for the last four races after 21 fall from the top-35 once again.
On September 23, 2007, in an interview with Charlotte Observer Len Wood, one of the owners of No. 1. 21 said in 2008 Elliott will have his own sponsor and share the journey with Jon Wood and Marcos Ambrose. Bill Elliott returns to No. 21 to try to return the car to the top 35 points on the Lowes Motor Speedway.
Elliott has qualified for ten races this season, with the 20th best finish at Sunoco Presents: Pennsylvania Red Cross 500 at Pocono Raceway. At Daytona Elliott announced that 2008 will be his last season as a Sprint Cup rider. But in Kansas in an interview on NASCAR Raceday, Elliot was asked about his race, and said, "We will be at Lowe, and do some more races, then we'll see how that happens." Bill in 2008, the best start was the 5th in Bristol and 7 in Kansas. His best performance was the 12th at the Homestead-Miami Speedway.
In 2009, Elliott ran 12 races at Ford Motorcraft. 21 for Wood Brothers, including the Daytona 500. His best performance in 2009 was 15th place at Lowe's Motor Speedway.
On the Day of May 25, 2009, Elliott became the 7th member of the "800 clubs", with 800 Cup Sprint starting his career at Lowes Motor Speedway.
Elliott ran for Wood Brothers in 2010. He also drove in Talladega for Latitude 43 Motorsports.
Phoenix Racing
In 2011, Elliott did not return to Wood Brothers Racing, but ran 4 races for Phoenix Racing at No. 2. 09 Chevy. Bill stepped out of the way to help his son Chase Elliott at K & amp; N Pro Series East. Landon Cassill will take over the car for the fifth race of the season, eventually being numbered back to No. 51.
Whitney Motorsports
Elliott was included as a Chevrolet Red Line Oil No. 1 driver. 46 for Whitney Motorsports in Talladega but J.J. Yeley will finish the race.
NEMCO Motorsports
For the 2012 season, Elliott joins Joe Nemechek at NEMCO Motorsports to drive the No. Toyota. 97 in Daytona 500 2012, but failed to qualify for the race. Elliott managed to qualify for the Sprint Cup race in Talladega who rode 97, but finished in 37th place.
Turner Motorsports
Elliott started his third season in the 2012 season by driving Turner Motorsports in the July race at Daytona International Speedway, at Chevrolet No. 3. 50 Walmart sponsored. Elliott qualified for the fifth, and ran in the top 10 throughout the first half of the race, but ended 37 after being involved in an accident. This is the 828 and the final in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.
Current activity
In 2014, Elliott tested the Nationwide car in Daytona with JR Motorsports along with his son Chase, and completed the second fastest Jan. 11 practice behind Chase's son at 197,974 mph (318,608 km/h).
On May 21, 2014, Elliott was announced as an applicant to the NASCAR Hall of Fame.
NASCAR video game
In 1990, Konami released the first licensed NASCAR licensed game, NASCAR Challenge Bill Elliott for MS-DOS. This game was released for NES and Amiga in 1991, and Bill Elliott's NASCAR Fast Tracks was released for Game Boy at the same time.
Motorports career results
NASCAR
(lock) ( Bold Ã, - Pole position is given by qualifying time. Italics - Pole positions received by points standings or practice time. * Ã, - Most lead round. )
Sprint Cup Series
Daytona 500
Busch Series
Craftsman Truck Series
* Season still in process for 1 Not qualified for series points
International Champions Contest
(key) ( Bold Ã, - Position pole. * Ã, - Most rounds lead. )
References
External links
- Official website
- Bill Elliott's driver statistics on Racing-References
- Owner Bill Elliott's Statistics on Racing-References
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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