Elliott's pole position this year at Texas was his second of the year (Atlanta), and third in the span
of 10 races - dating back to the November 11 race at Homestead/Miami last year. It was Elliott's
53rd career Bud Pole in 668 Winston Cup races, placing him third behind David Pearson (57) and
Darrell Waltrip (59) in Modern-era Winston Cup career poles (Elliott ranks first among active
drivers).
* This will be Elliott's 51st start at Talladega Superspeedway, marking the most times Elliott has ever started in a "points-race" at any track on the NASCAR circuit. In his 50 starts at Talladega, Elliott has two wins, 10 top fives and 22 top-10 finishes. He has started in the top five in his last four visits to the track.
* Elliott holds Talladega track records for the fastest qualifying time (212.809 mph, 44.998 seconds, April 30, 1987) and for the most poles by any active driver (eight). He has earned six straight pole positions at the track from 1985 to 1987, and went on to win the first and last of those six races - his only wins at the track. Elliott's most recent pole was earned in the fall Talladega race of 1993.
* If Elliott finishes in the top 10 this weekend, it will mark his 298th top-10 finish through 26 years of racing.
* In last fall's race at Talladega, Elliott was looking for his third victory at the 2.66-mile tri-oval after he rolled off the grid in fifth place. It was his 18th top five start at the superspeedway. The Georgia native kept his No. 9 Dodge Dealers Intrepid R/T out of trouble and avoided major on-track incidents until a last lap melee put him in 20th place. In the spring race of 2001, Elliott started third and led the race before running out of gas with 89 laps to go - he finished 32nd on the day.
* In last week's race at Martinsville, Elliott nearly put the No. 9 Dodge Dealers Intrepid R/T on the pole during Friday's qualifying session. His sixth-place qualifying run was his best at the track since April 1996 when he started third. Elliott and the Dodge Squad ran with the leaders until he reported trouble with the front brakes more than 170 laps into the 500-lap race. Elliott was forced to pit to alleviate the problem and had to play catch up with the field, finishing five laps down. He ended the day in 31st place and slipped three spots in the Winston Cup points race to 13th, 86 points out of the top 10.
* Elliott's pole position this year at Texas was his second of the year (Atlanta), and third in the span of 10 races - dating back to the November 11 race at Homestead/Miami last year. It was Elliott's 53rd career Bud Pole in 668 Winston Cup races, placing him third behind David Pearson (57) and Darrell Waltrip (59) in Modern-era Winston Cup career poles (Elliott ranks first among active drivers).
It was a history-making weekend at Texas. During Friday’s qualifying session, Elliott put his No. 9
Dodge Dealers Intrepid R/T in the record books with a speed of 194.224 mph. The lap was the
fastest ever recorded at the 1.5-mile track and good enough for the pole. (Elliott also holds the track
record at Daytona and Talladega.) Elliott is currently third on the list of all time pole winners in the
modern era. He leads all active drivers with the most poles (53).
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Driver Profile:
True to the form he exhibited in 2000, Bill Elliott continued to scratch and claw his way back toward the elite ranks in Winston Cup racing in 2001. He earned his first victory in seven years in a first-year program.
Elliott, who sold his team to Ray Evernham, rebounded from two straight seasons of finishing 21st in the points to finish 15th. More importantly, Elliott proved he could still win by capturing the Pennzoil 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November.
Elliott, who was strongest through the middle portion of the 36-race schedule, scored five top-fives and nine top-10 finishes and won $3,618,017 after scoring only two DNFs.
Elliott began the 2001 season with a bang, winning the Bud Pole for the Daytona 500 and finishing fifth in the "Great American Race." But several erratic stretches through the year, including a 13-race stretch before he scored his second top-10 of the year, hurt his chances for a better finish in the points.
Elliott's best point finish since 1997 only could have improved the Cumming, Ga., native's already immense popularity. Elliott, however, removed himself from the running for the NASCAR Most Popular Driver Award early in 2001.
In 2000, fans voted him as NASCAR's most popular driver for the 10th straight year, the 15th time that he had won the honor in the previous 17 seasons.
Last year, Elliott, the 1988 Winston Cup champion, proved he had lost none of his qualifying prowess with 16 top-10 starting spots. He made his 650th career start at Dover Downs in September.
Elliott started racing on short tracks in Georgia with his brothers, Dan and Ernie. He started in the Sportsman division in 1970, made his Winston Cup debut in 1976 and competed in his first full Winston Cup season in 1983.
His first win came in his 117th start, in the Winston Western 500 at Riverside, Calif., in 1983. His first pole came in his 56th attempt, in the 1981 Rebel 500 at Darlington, S.C. In 1992 Elliott won four consecutive races to tie the modern-era record. He won a single-season record 11 superspeedway races in 1985. That year, he won the Winston Million, from which came the nickname "Million Dollar Bill."
He owns the fastest recorded time in a stock car, qualifying for the 1987 Winston 500 at Talladega with a speed of 212.809 mph.
Elliott's greatest loves, aside from family and racing, are snow skiing and flying. He has multi-engine rated and helicopter-rated pilot's licenses.
His lengthy list of career accomplishments includes being one of only 10 drivers to top $20 million in career winnings in Winston Cup racing, joining Jeff Gordon, the late Dale Earnhardt, Dale Jarrett, Mark Martin, Rusty Wallace, Terry Labonte, Bobby Labonte, Ricky Rudd and Jeff Burton in that elite club.
He was named the driver of the decade for the 1980s in a fan poll conducted by ESPN Speedweek.
Many of you have asked about the Most Popular
Driver voting for 2002. As Bill stated last year when
he had his name taken off the ballot, it was his intention
to be removed permanently from voting consideration.
After having done so, the NMPA voted and agreed to
honor Bill by naming the award after him upon the
completion of his career.
Upon advising Bill of their decision, Bill was thrilled. "I
really appreciate the support that my fans have shown
me throughout the years," said Bill. "I'd especially like
to thank the members of the Bill Elliott Fan Club, who
have provided tremendous support over the years.
They are the people responsible for me winning this
award 15 times. I consider it a great honor to my fans
that because of their years of hard work this award will
be named in my honor. The fans are what make this
sport what it is today.
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