| Personal | | | | 500 at Charlotte two weeks later. Elliott was |
| Please help improve this article by expanding it. | | | | scheduled to be the Team Red Bull entry at Atlanta |
| Further information might be found on the talk page. | | | | and Texas, but A. J. Allmendinger drove the car |
| (February 2010) | | | | instead (though he did not qualify for either race). |
| Bill Elliott grew up near Dawsonville, Georgia. | | | | Elliott instead drove the #37 Dodge at Atlanta, |
| According to his autobiography, many generations of | | | | marking the 30th Anniversary of Elliott driving at his |
| Elliotts grew up there. According to his autobiography, | | | | hometown track. |
| William Clyde Elliott was named after two relatives. | | | | Elliott in the Wood Brothers car in 2007 |
| He is the youngest of three boys. According to his | | | | Elliott attempted to qualify for the 2007 Daytona |
| autobiography, his father George created a lumber | | | | 500, but failed to make the race in the #37. |
| company and loved racing. He later created a speed | | | | Later that season, Elliott signed to drive the #21 for |
| shop where Bill's brothers Ernie (born 1947) and Dan | | | | Wood Brothers Racing in 2007, in part due to his |
| (born 1951). His father was a Ford man and later | | | | championship provisional, which guaranteed starting |
| created a Ford dealership as there were none around. | | | | the race. Since fellow champion Dale Jarrett had used |
| Bill Elliott has a daughter, Starr, and a son, Chase. | | | | all of his guaranteed starts in his Toyota for Michael |
| Chase Elliott now has a burgeoning racing career. | | | | Waltrip Racing, Elliott was the only champion eligible |
| NASCAR career | | | | for the provisional not guaranteed a spot by being in |
| Early career | | | | the top 35 in owner's points. His first race for the |
| Elliott made his first Winston Cup Series start at | | | | team was the Coca Cola 600 at Charlotte, which he |
| Rockingham in 1976, qualifying 34th in a field of 36 | | | | qualified without needing one of his six provisionals. |
| cars. Elliott only lasted 32 laps that day before the oil | | | | He lead the race at one point until he was involved in |
| pump failed in his Ford Torino, earning him $640. Elliott | | | | a wreck around lap 200. At Michigan, Elliott gave the |
| toiled for five years in the Winston Cup Series | | | | team a much needed 11th place finish, and was kept |
| without corporate sponsorship, and along the way | | | | in the car until the fall Richmond race. The car then |
| showed flashes that he could compete with the | | | | fell out of the top 35 again but at Bristol got back |
| established veterans of the sport. In mid-1977, Elliott | | | | into top 35 in points. Ken Schrader returned to the |
| bought a Mercury Montego from Bobby Allison after | | | | #21 replacing Elliott at a testing session at Talladega |
| his split from Penske Racing to replace the inferior | | | | Superspeedway due to the team being back in the |
| Torino, and the move paid off. He soon earned his | | | | top 35 in owners points. He returned for the final |
| first top-10 finish in the Southern 500 (10th), and his | | | | four races after the 21 fell out ofof the top-35 once |
| first top-5 finish 2 years later in the same race, | | | | again. |
| finishing second to race winner (and Elliott's boyhood | | | | On September 23, 2007, in an interview with |
| hero) David Pearson. | | | | Charlotte Observer Len Wood the co- owner of the |
| With Melling Racing | | | | #21 said in 2008 Elliott would have his own sponsor |
| In the fall of 1980, Elliott gained his first major | | | | and share ride with Jon Wood & Marcos |
| sponsor in the form of $500 from Harry Melling of | | | | Ambrose. Bill Elliott returned to the #21 to try to get |
| Melling Racing in the 1980 National 500 at Charlotte. | | | | the car back into the Top 35 points at Lowes Motor |
| Melling would extend his contract and gave the team | | | | Speedway. |
| enough sponsorship to run a 12 race schedule in 1981. | | | | 2008 Cup car at Daytona |
| After a 1981 season that consisted of one top-5 and | | | | Elliott has qualified for ten races this season, with a |
| seven top-10 finishes in 13 races, including the team's | | | | best finish of 20th in the Sunoco Presents: The |
| first pole in the CRC Chemicals Rebel 500, Melling | | | | American Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono |
| bought the team from Elliott's father George on | | | | Raceway. At Daytona Bill announced that 2008 will be |
| December 1, 1981. In 1983 Elliott earned his first | | | | his final season as a Sprint Cup driver. But at Kansas |
| Winston Cup win in the Winston Western 500 at | | | | in an interview on NASCAR Raceday, Bill was asked |
| Riverside in the final race of the 1983 season. He | | | | about him racing, Bill said "We will be at Lowes, and |
| gained full sponsorship from Coors in 1984 to the | | | | do a few more races. Then we will see how things |
| tune of $400,000 and won three races, four poles | | | | go." Bill in 2008, best starts were 5th at Bristol & |
| and finished third in the championship standings. | | | | 7th at Kansas. His best finish was 12th at |
| In 1985, Elliott earned 11 wins and 11 poles out of 28 | | | | Homestead-Miami Speedway. |
| races and also won the first Winston Million in the | | | | In 2009, Elliott ran 12 races in the #21 Motorcraft |
| Southern 500 at Darlington. This earned him the | | | | Ford for the Wood Brothers, including the Daytona |
| nickname "Million Dollar Bill", and "Awesome Bill From | | | | 500. His best finish in 2009 was 15th place at Lowe's |
| Dawsonville." He won the Daytona 500, the Winston | | | | Motor Speedway. |
| 500 at Talladega (at the time ran at a record | | | | On Memorial Day May 25, 2009, Elliott became the |
| average speed 186.288 MPH) and the Southern 500 | | | | 7th member of the "800 club", with his 800th career |
| to earn the Winston Million. This led to him becoming | | | | Sprint Cup start at Lowes Motor Speedway. |
| the first NASCAR driver to be featured on the cover | | | | NASCAR Video Games |
| of Sports Illustrated. Elliott finished second in the | | | | See also: Bill Elliott's NASCAR Challenge |
| championship standings by 101 points, losing the | | | | In 1990, Konami released the first officially-licensed |
| Winston Cup Championship to Darrell Waltrip after a | | | | NASCAR game, Bill Elliott's NASCAR Challenge for |
| string of poor finishes in the last quarter of the | | | | MS-DOS. The game was released for the NES and |
| season. | | | | Amiga in 1991, and Bill Elliott's NASCAR Fast Tracks |
| In 1986, Elliott won two races, four poles and finished | | | | was released for the Game Boy at the same time. |
| fourth in the championship standings. He also won the | | | | Elliott continued to appear in most{[fact}} NASCAR |
| The Winston II, held at Atlanta, the only year the | | | | games until the release of EA Sports' NASCAR 2005: |
| race was run somewhere other than Charlotte. He | | | | Chase for the Cup in 2004 when he began his |
| won six races in 1987, including his second Daytona | | | | semi-retirement. The following year, he was seen in |
| 500, seven poles, and finished second in the final | | | | several screenshots and videos for EA Sports' |
| point standings. In The Winston he tangled with Dale | | | | NASCAR 06: Total Team Control driving the #91 |
| Earnhardt in what has become known as "the Pass In | | | | Stanley Tools Dodge. However, he was removed |
| The Grass". However, Elliott's most lasting | | | | from the game before its release and the #91 was |
| accomplishment that year was setting 2 Nascar | | | | removed from the Custom Car Garage feature for |
| qualifying records, which stand to this day. At | | | | NEXTEL Cup. Ironically, Elliott's then-teammate |
| Daytona, he set the NASCAR speed record with an | | | | Jeremy Mayfield was also absent from NASCAR |
| average speed of 210.364 mph. He broke his own | | | | 2005 (though he reappeared in NASCAR 06) and an |
| record at Talladega with an average speed of | | | | official explanation was never given for Elliott's |
| 212.809 mph; the previous record he set in 1986 | | | | absence in 2006. Jeremy Mayfield was originally going |
| was 209.383 mph. In both races, he used a Ford | | | | to be the cover of Nascar 2005: Chase for the Cup, |
| Thunderbird which contained an engine built by his | | | | but when that was given to Kevin Harvick, he |
| brother Ernie. However, at Talladega, Bobby Allison | | | | refused to be in the game. Unlike Elliott in NASCAR |
| was spun and went airborne into the catch fence, | | | | 06, Mayfield had not been seen in any screenshots or |
| tearing a large section away and injuring several fans. | | | | videos for NASCAR 2005. However, Kasey Kahne |
| After this incident, NASCAR mandated the use of | | | | was featured in the #9 Evernham Dodge, and |
| restrictor plates at Daytona and Talladega. As a | | | | Mayfield and the #19 Evernham Dodge had been |
| result, Elliott's speed records will likely never be | | | | featured in previous NASCAR games. In addition, Bill |
| broken. In 1988 Elliott won another six races, six | | | | isn't one of the drivers of the #21 in the Sprint Cup |
| poles, and his only Winston Cup Championship. | | | | Series in NASCAR 09; Marcos Ambrose and Jon |
| Following his championship season, Elliott broke his | | | | Wood are the drivers . |
| wrist in a crash during testing at Daytona and | | | | External links |
| required relief by Jody Ridley during several races in | | | | Official site |
| the first part of the 1989 season. Elliott won two | | | | Drivers statistics at racing-reference.info |
| poles and three races and finished sixth in the | | | | Notes |
| championship standings. In 1990, Elliott won one race | | | | ^ "Rathmann, Elliott lead way". The Indianapolis Star. |
| and two poles and finished fourth in the championship | | | | February 20, 2007. |
| standings. In the 1990 race at Atlanta, Elliott's rear | | | | ^ |
| tire changer Mike Rich was killed when Ricky Rudd | | | | ^ |
| lost control of his car, spun, and slammed the crew | | | | ^ |
| member between his car and Elliott's. This resulted in | | | | ^ "Bill Elliott". The Crittenden Automotive Library. |
| NASCAR restricting the speed of cars on pit road. | | | | Retrieved May 8, 2007. |
| The year 1991 saw Elliott's sponsorship change to | | | | ^ Sun-Sentinel wire services. Sun Sentinel. Fort |
| Coors Light beer and the familiar red on the car was | | | | Lauderdale. May 2, 1986. pg. 2.C |
| replaced with blue. Elliott won once in the Pepsi 400 | | | | ^ "Alan Kulwicki". April 4, 2003. Retrieved |
| and won two poles and finished eleventh in the | | | | 2007-07-04. |
| championship standings during his last season with the | | | | ^ - "Elliott drove the No. 37 Dodge in the preseason |
| Mellings. | | | | Bud Shootout at Daytona International Speedway in |
| With Junior Johnson | | | | February but failed to qualify for the Daytona 500 |
| 1994 car | | | | because another driver, Dale Jarrett, had priority in |
| Elliott left Melling to join Junior Johnson and | | | | using an exemption and he took the final guaranteed |
| Associates in 1992. Elliott's sponsor during his time | | | | spot." |
| with Johnson was Budweiser; ironic because his | | | | ^ a b |
| sponsor at Melling Racing was from Bud's rival | | | | ^ |
| brewery Coors. In 1992, Elliott won five races | | | | ^ |
| (including four in a row) and three poles, but much | | | | ^ |
| like his 1985 season he finished a disappointing second | | | | ^ Jayski #21 Team News |
| in the championship standings after squandering a | | | | ^ NASCAR: Elliott: I'm done with top series after |
| large lead in the standings with a late season string of | | | | 2008 | Atlanta Journal Constitution |
| poor finishes. He did win the season finale at his | | | | ^ a b |
| home track in Atlanta, but lost the championship by | | | | ^ |
| 10 points to Alan Kulwicki. The difference was that | | | | ^ |
| Kulwicki gained the 5 bonus points for leading the | | | | Preceded by |
| most laps in the race. Kulwicki led one more lap (103 | | | | Dale Earnhardt |
| vs 102) than Elliott. The 10 point difference was the | | | | NASCAR Winston Cup Champion |
| closest point differential until NASCAR changed to the | | | | 1988 |
| Chase for the Cup points format 12 years later. | | | | Succeeded by |
| Elliott went winless in 1993 and finished eighth in the | | | | Rusty Wallace |
| standings. He scored just one win the following | | | | Preceded by |
| season in the 1994 Southern 500 while finishing 10th | | | | Cale Yarborough |
| in the championship standings. After his Darlington | | | | Daytona 500 Winner |
| victory, Elliott announced he would be starting his | | | | 1985 |
| own team with sponsorship from McDonald's in 1995. | | | | Succeeded by |
| As an independent driver and at Evernham | | | | Geoff Bodine |
| Motorsports | | | | Preceded by |
| 1997 racecar | | | | Geoff Bodine |
| After leaving Johnson's team, Elliott fielded his own | | | | Daytona 500 Winner |
| Winston Cup race team from 1995 to 2000. Elliott | | | | 1987 |
| failed to win a race during this time, though he did | | | | Succeeded by |
| manage two top ten finishes in the championship | | | | Bobby Allison |
| standings, with eighth place finishes in both 1995 and | | | | Wood Brothers Racing |
| 1997. In 1996, Elliott suffered a broken leg during an | | | | Sprint Cup drivers |
| accident at Talladega and missed seven races that | | | | Bill Elliott (#21) |
| season. Elliott would sell his team to Ray Evernham in | | | | Owners |
| 2000 and began driving the #9 Dodge Dealers/UAW | | | | Glen Wood | Wood Brothers |
| Dodge Intrepid in the the following year. The team | | | | Notable former drivers |
| found success in his first race in the #9 Dodge, as | | | | Donnie Allison | Buddy Baker | Neil Bonnett | A. J. Foyt |
| Elliott won the pole for the 2001 Daytona 500 and | | | | | Dale Jarrett | |
| finished in the top 5, bringing home a 5th place finish, | | | | David Pearson | Kyle Petty | Ricky Rudd | Elliott Sadler |
| though the race will forever be remembered for the | | | | | Morgan Shepherd | Michael Waltrip | Cale Yarborough |
| death of fan favorite Dale Earnhardt. Bill finished his | | | | Partnerships & Alliances |
| first season with Ray Evernham Racing with two | | | | Roush Fenway Racingv d e |
| poles, five top 5 and nine top 10 finishes, and a win | | | | NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champions |
| at the season ending Pennzoil Freedom 400 at | | | | 1949: Byron 1950: Rexford 1951: Thomas 1952: Flock |
| Homestead from the pole. This was his first win in | | | | 1953: Thomas 1954: L. Petty 1955: Flock 1956: Baker |
| over seven years. He finished 15th in the final | | | | 1957: Baker 1958: L. Petty 1959: L. Petty 1960: White |
| standings. In 2002 he won four poles and went to | | | | 1961: N. Jarrett 1962: Weatherly 1963: Weatherly |
| victory lane twice. His wins included the Pennsylvania | | | | 1964: R. Petty 1965: N. Jarrett 1966: Pearson 1967: R. |
| 500, and one week later an overwhelmingly dominant | | | | Petty 1968: Pearson 1969: Pearson 1970: Isaac 1971: |
| victory in that year's Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis | | | | R. Petty 1972: R. Petty 1973: Parsons 1974: R. Petty |
| Motor Speedway. He finished 13th in the final | | | | 1975: R. Petty 1976: Yarborough 1977: Yarborough |
| standings. His last win, in what became his final | | | | 1978: Yarborough 1979: R. Petty 1980: Earnhardt 1981: |
| full-time season, came in 2003 at Rockingham. A | | | | Waltrip 1982: Waltrip 1983: Allison 1984: T. Labonte |
| week later Elliott came within a lap of winning his final | | | | 1985: Waltrip 1986: Earnhardt 1987: Earnhardt 1988: |
| race as a full-time driver (he would have been the | | | | Elliott 1989: Wallace 1990: Earnhardt 1991: Earnhardt |
| only retiring driver to do so) in the 2003 Ford 400 at | | | | 1992: Kulwicki 1993: Earnhardt 1994: Earnhardt 1995: |
| Homestead-Miami Speedway. Elliott led 189 of 267 | | | | Gordon 1996: T. Labonte 1997: Gordon 1998: Gordon |
| laps and was on his way to victory, but a cut tire on | | | | 1999: D. Jarrett 2000: B. Labonte 2001: Gordon 2002: |
| the final lap gave the win to Bobby Labonte. He still | | | | Stewart 2003: Kenseth 2004: Busch 2005: Stewart |
| finished the race and maintained his ninth-place | | | | 2006: Johnson 2007: Johnson 2008: Johnson 2009: |
| position in the final points standings, his best finish | | | | Johnsonv d e |
| since an eight-place finish in the 1997 standings. A | | | | Daytona 500 Winners |
| few weeks later, Elliott announced that he was | | | | Seven-time |
| relinquishing the #9 car to Kasey Kahne and switching | | | | Richard Petty |
| to a part-time schedule driving R&D cars for | | | | Four-time |
| Evernham. | | | | Cale Yarborough |
| Semi-retirement | | | | Three-time |
| In 2004, Elliott drove the #91 Dodge Intrepid for | | | | Jeff Gordon Dale Jarrett Bobby Allison |
| Evernham in three events (along with the Budweiser | | | | Two-time |
| Shootout) and also drove the #98 Dodge Intrepid in | | | | Michael Waltrip Sterling Marlin Bill Elliott |
| one other event because of sponsorship issues | | | | One-time |
| between Coca-Cola (Elliott's sponsor) and Pepsi | | | | L. Petty Junior Johnson Panch Roberts Lund |
| (Evernham's sponsor). Elliott was listed as the owner | | | | Lorenzen Andretti Yarbrough Hamilton Foyt |
| of the #98 car, but Evernham leased the car to him. | | | | Parsons Pearson Baker Bodine D. Waltrip |
| Although he only made six starts during his first | | | | Cope Irvan D. Allison Earnhardt Burton |
| part-time season, he still managed to have some | | | | Earnhardt Jr. Jimmie Johnson Harvick Newman |
| success which included a ninth-place finish at | | | | Kenseth McMurrayv d e |
| Indianapolis and second and third-place qualifying | | | | Brickyard 400 Winners |
| efforts at Texas and California respectively. | | | | Four Time |
| In 2005, Elliott continued his part-time driving duties | | | | Jeff Gordon |
| which included driving the #39 Coors Dodge | | | | Three Time |
| Charger(in a paint scheme reminiscent of his 1987 | | | | Jimmie Johnson |
| Coors Light Ford) for Chip Ganassi Racing in the | | | | Two Time |
| Budweiser Shootout and the #91 Evernham Dodge in | | | | Dale Jarrett Tony Stewart |
| several events. Although he made three more starts | | | | One Time |
| than the previous season, he did not have the same | | | | Dale Earnhardt, Sr. Ricky Rudd Bobby Labonte Bill |
| amount of success. He managed to get an | | | | Elliott Kevin Harvickv d e |
| eleventh-place finish and a tenth-place qualifying | | | | Richard Petty Motorsports |
| effort at Michigan, along with a ninth-place qualifying | | | | Sprint Cup drivers |
| effort at Texas. He also competed in select NASCAR | | | | Kasey Kahne (#9) | Elliott Sadler (#19) | A. J. |
| Busch Series events for Rusty Wallace and also | | | | Allmendinger (#43) | Paul Menard (#98) |
| drove the #6 Unilever Dodge Charger in the Busch | | | | Primary Sponsors |
| Series for Evernham at Memphis, which celebrated | | | | Budweiser (#9) | Stanley Tools (#19) | Best Buy |
| the 40th anniversary of A Charlie Brown Christmas. | | | | (#43) | Menards (#98) |
| For the 2006 season, the 2005 owners' points for | | | | Crew Chiefs |
| the #91 team went to the new #10 Evernham team | | | | Kenny Francis (#9) | Wally Rogers (#19) | Sammy |
| and driver Scott Riggs and the 91 team was | | | | Johns (#43) | Slugger Labbe (#98) |
| discontinuted. On January 4, 2006, Elliott announced | | | | Partnerships and affiliations |
| that he would pilot the #36 Chevrolet Monte Carlo | | | | Braun Racing | Roush Fenway Racing | Yates Racing |
| SS for MB2 Motorsports in the 2006 Daytona | | | | Owners/Related information |
| Speedweeks events. This included the Budweiser | | | | Richard Petty | George N. Gillett, Jr. | Ray Evernham | |
| Shootout, the Gatorade Duel, and the Daytona 500, | | | | Boston Ventures | Petty Enterprises | Richard Petty's |
| which Elliott had not competed in since 2003. On | | | | Talladega | Kyle Petty's No Fear Racing |
| March 17, 2006, it was announced that Elliott would | | | | Persondata |
| drive the #00 Burger King Chevrolet for Michael | | | | NAME |
| Waltrip Racing in five NEXTEL Cup events which | | | | Elliot, Bill |
| included Chicagoland, New Hampshire, Indianapolis, | | | | ALTERNATIVE NAMES |
| California, and Homestead. On August 8, 2006, | | | | Elliot, William Clyde |
| Evernham Motorsports announced that Elliott would | | | | SHORT DESCRIPTION |
| return to the organization for the race at Watkins | | | | American race car driver |
| Glen driving the #19 Dodge previously driven by | | | | DATE OF BIRTH |
| Jeremy Mayfield. The team fell out of the top-35 in | | | | October 10, 1955 |
| owners' points after Indianapolis, leading to the firing | | | | PLACE OF BIRTH |
| of Mayfield, and Evernham assumed that Elliott would | | | | Dawsonville, Georgia, United States |
| guarantee a starting spot in the field by being a past | | | | DATE OF DEATH |
| champion. However, since the driver switch was | | | | PLACE OF DEATH |
| made past the entry deadline, NASCAR said that | | | | Categories: 1955 births | American members of the |
| Elliott was not eligible for the past champions | | | | Churches of Christ | American racecar drivers | |
| provisional. For the race at Kansas, Elliott teamed up | | | | Former NASCAR Cup Series champions | International |
| with R&J Racing to drive the #37 Dodge. Elliott | | | | Race of Champions drivers | Living people | NASCAR |
| finished a season-high 16th at the Banquet 400 at | | | | drivers | NASCAR owners | Daytona 500 winners | |
| Kansas, but did not qualify for the Bank of America | | | | Sportspeople from Georgia (U.S. |