Bill Elliott
In 1985, Elliott made NASCAR history by winning the first-ever Winston Million, a million-dollar bonus to any driver that could win three out of the four crown jewel races of NASCAR in a single season: The Daytona 500 at Daytona, the Winston 500 at Talladega, the World 600 at Charlotte, and the Southern 500 at Darlington.The Elliotts became the third father-son NASCAR champions in history, along with Lee and Richard Petty, and Ned and Dale Jarrett.He qualified 34th in a field of 36 cars, and finished 33rd; Elliott only lasted 32 laps that day before the oil pump failed in his Ford Torino.Elliott toiled for five years in the Winston Cup Series without corporate sponsorship, and along the way showed flashes that he could compete with the established veterans of the sport.In mid-1977, Elliott bought a Mercury Montego from Bobby Allison after his split from Penske Racing to replace the inferior Torino, and the move paid off.He completed one of NASCAR's greatest comebacks by making his way through the field, making up both laps under green flag conditions, and winning the race, his 4th of the season, and capturing the "second leg" of the Winston Million promotion, which also guaranteed Elliott at the very least, the $100,000 consolation bonus in the Winston Million promotion.In the final stages of the race, Elliott was leading and had to fend off a hard charging Cale Yarborough who was battling an ill-handling racecar after he broke a power-steering line.After the race, Elliott became the second NASCAR driver to be featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated, following Cale Yarborough after his win in the 1977 Daytona 500.After winning the Southern 500 at Darlington along with the Winston Million, Elliott had built a 206 point lead in the championship standings with eight races to go.With the season sweep at Michigan, Elliott became the first driver in NASCAR history to win 4 straight superspeedway races at one track (the record would later be tied by Dale Earnhardt Jr. at Talladega in 2003).However, at Talladega, Bobby Allison was spun and went airborne into the catch fence, tearing a large section away and injuring several fans.Going into the season finale, Elliott looked to win his first NASCAR Winston Cup championship at his home track of Atlanta.Elliott drove careful and conservatively through the field and finished 11th to claim the 1988 Winston Cup Championship by 24 points over Rusty Wallace.After a year of struggle, Elliott finished a disappointing 11th in the championship standings, causing him and Coors to part ways with the Mellings.After a disappointing 27th place finish in the Daytona 500, Elliott would then win the next four consecutive races at Rockingham, Richmond, Atlanta, and Darlington.Six drivers had a mathematical shot to win the championship, with the points leader Davey Allison, Alan Kulwicki, and Bill Elliott being the primary contenders.In 1996, Elliott missed five races to recover from injuring a broken hip at Talladega[15] and was replaced by Dorsey Schroeder and Todd Bodine.On the ensuing restart, he would then get ganged up by the Hendrick Motorsports teammates of eventual winner Jeff Gordon, Terry Labonte, and Ricky Craven, ultimately finishing 4th.Elliott also dominated that year's Mountain Dew Southern 500 leading 181 of the 367 laps, but finished 4th to eventual winner Jeff Gordon, who ironically, along with winning the race also joined Elliott as the only winners of the Winston Million, as Jeff won the "final running" of the Winston Million promotion in 1997, while Bill won the "initial running" of the promotion in 1985.94, Elliott announced in early 2000 he was selling his equipment to championship-winning crew chief Ray Evernham to become part of Dodge's return to NASCAR.Even though he struggled the entire six years as a driver/owner and did not win a single race, Elliott's fans still voted him as NASCAR's Most Popular Driver.6 Unilever Dodge Charger in the Busch Series for Evernham at Memphis, which celebrated the 40th anniversary of A Charlie Brown Christmas.The team fell out of the top-35 in owners' points after Indianapolis, leading to the firing of Mayfield, and Evernham assumed that Elliott would guarantee a starting spot in the field by being a past champion.Although he only made three starts during his first part-time season as a driver, he still managed to have some success which included a 3rd-place qualifying effort at California respectively.00 Burger King Chevrolet for Michael Waltrip Racing in five NEXTEL Cup events which included Chicagoland, New Hampshire, Indianapolis, California, and Homestead.21 replacing Elliott at a testing session at Talladega Superspeedway due to the team being back in the Top 35 in owner's points.[21] Elliott qualified for ten races that season, with a best finish of 20th in the Sunoco Presents: The American Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono Raceway.[22] On Memorial Day May 25, 2009, Elliott became the 7th member of the "800 club", with his 800th career Sprint Cup start at Lowes Motor Speedway.Elliott made his third start of the 2012 season driving for Turner Motorsports in the July race at Daytona International Speedway, in the No.In 1998, Elliott was selected as one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers in its history, and has been honored by being inducted into numerous racing and motorsports Halls of Fame.
Richmond RacewayDawsonville, Georgia1988 Winston Cup Series1987 Daytona 500Brickyard 400Southern 5001985 Winston 5001986 The WinstonBusch ClashGatorade Twin 1252001 Daytona 500Michigan International SpeedwayTalladega SuperspeedwayNASCAR1987 Winston 5002002 Winston Cup SeriesMost Popular DriverNASCAR's 50 Greatest DriversGeorgia Sports Hall of FameMotorsports Hall of Fame of AmericaNASCAR Hall of FameNASCAR's 75 Greatest DriversCup SeriesCarolina 500Rockingham2012 Coke Zero 400DaytonaWinston Western 500Riverside2003 Pop Secret Microwave Popcorn 400Xfinity SeriesMello Yello 300Charlotte2018 Johnsonville 180Road AmericaFay's 150Watkins GlenCraftsman Truck SeriesCarquest 420KLas Vegasstock car racingCamping World Superstar Racing Experience1988 Winston Cupthat seriesDaytona 500Winston 500TalladegaDaytona International SpeedwayWinston MillionNASCAR's Most Popular Driver AwardGeorgia Racing Hall of Famestate legislatureGeorgia State Route 183Dawson County2020 NASCAR Cup SeriesRichard PettyDale JarrettWilliam Clyde II2014 NASCAR Nationwide SeriesNASCAR Cup SeriesHendrick MotorsportsWinston Cup Seriesoil pumpFord TorinoMercury MontegoBobby AllisonPenske Racing2 years laterDavid PearsonHarry MellingMelling RacingNational 500DarlingtonWorld 600Neil BonnettFirecracker 400Harry GantCale YarboroughRicky RuddMichigan 400Miller High Life 500American 500Dover Downs International SpeedwayR. J. Reynolds Tobacco CompanyWinstonDawsonvilleInternational Motorsports Hall of FamePepsi Firecracker 400Greg SacksJune Pocono raceBristolDale EarnhardtNed JarrettSports Illustrated1977 Daytona 500Darrell WaltripMichiganDale Earnhardt Jr.The 1986 WinstonAtlantaTalladega 500TranSouth 500The 1987 WinstonFord Thunderbirdcatch fencerestrictor platesWinston Cup ChampionshipGeoff BodineRusty Wallacehis championship seasonJody Ridleythe 1989 season1991 seasonCoors LightPepsi 400MellingsJunior Johnson & AssociatesGeoffrey BodineBudweiserRichmondSonomaDavey AllisonAlan KulwickiHooters 500Jeff GordonKyle Petty