Bill Elliott

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William Clyde Elliott Sr. (born October 8, 1955), also known as " Awesome Bill from Dawsonville", " Million Dollar Bill", or " Wild Bill" is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He last competed in the Superstar Racing Experience part-time in 2022. His accolades include the 1988 Winston Cup Championship and garnering 44 wins in that series, including crown jewel victories in two Daytona 500s (1985, 1987), three Southern 500s (1985, 1988, and 1994), one Winston 500 (1985), and one Brickyard 400 (2002). Elliott achieved a NASCAR record four consecutive wins at Michigan International Speedway between 1985 and 1986, and seven wins overall, the most at any one racetrack in his career. Elliott also won an additional six exhibition (non-points) races in his career, including one Winston All-Star Race win in 1986, one Busch Clash win in 1987, and four Daytona Duel wins in 1985, 1986, 1992, and 2000.

Elliott holds the track record for fastest qualifying speed at Talladega at and Daytona International Speedway at , both of which were set in 1987; the mark at Talladega is the fastest qualifying speed for any NASCAR race ever. With the usage of restrictor plates at Daytona and Talladega since 1988, it is highly unlikely that these two qualifying speed records will ever be topped. Elliott also holds the distinction of recording a track record at Talladega Superspeedway of six consecutive pole positions from 1985 to 1987.

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. In a year dominated by Elliott, Bill went on to win a "NASCAR modern-era single season record" of 11 superspeedway races (with four "season sweeps": Atlanta, Pocono, Michigan, and Darlington) and 11 poles, with three of those eleven wins being in the Daytona 500, the Winston 500, and the Southern 500, earning Bill the "Winston Million Dollar Bonus" and earning him the nickname "Million Dollar Bill".

Elliott won NASCAR's Most Popular Driver Award a record 16 times (1984-1988, 1991–2000, 2002). He withdrew his name from the ballot for that award after winning it in 2002. In 2005, the Georgia State Legislature declared October 8 as Bill Elliott Day in the state of Georgia. Regarded as one of the greatest drivers in NASCAR history, Elliott was named one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers in 1998, and has been inducted into numerous racing and motorsports Halls of Fame, including being inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in 1998, and being an inaugural inductee into the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame in 2002. He was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America at Daytona on August 15, 2007, inducted into the National Motorsports Press Association Hall of Fame at Darlington in 2015, and in the 2015 class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Elliott has also been honored by the state legislature with a stretch of roadway (the entirety of Georgia State Route 183) in his native Dawson County renamed Elliott Family Parkway.

Elliott's son Chase Elliott was the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series champion. The Elliotts became the third father-son NASCAR champions in history, along with Lee Petty and Richard Petty, and Ned Jarrett and Dale Jarrett.

Elliott has two daughters, Starr and Brittany, with the wife from his 1st marriage, Martha. Bill and his current wife Cindy, have one son together, Chase Elliott (nicknamed "Chase"). The 2014 NASCAR Nationwide Series champion and the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series champion, Chase Elliott currently competes in the NASCAR Cup Series for Hendrick Motorsports in the No. 9 Chevrolet. Brittany Elliott joined the US Air Force Security Forces.

In the fall of 1980, Elliott gained his first major sponsor in the form of $500 from Harry Melling of Melling Racing in the 1980 National 500 at Charlotte. Melling would extend his contract and give the team enough sponsorship to run a twelve race schedule in 1981. In the 1981 season, he had one top-five and seven top-ten finishes in thirteen races, including the team's first pole in the spring race at Darlington.

In 1983, Elliott picked up four more second place finishes in the season, which included finishing runner-up in the Daytona 500 to Cale Yarborough, runner-up at Rockingham to Richard Petty, runner-up in the summer race at the road course Riverside to Ricky Rudd, and runner-up in the Southern 500 at Darlington to Bobby Allison. After 115 starts beginning in 1976, and eight second place finishes between 1979 and 1983, Elliott finally broke through and won his first Winston Cup race in the final race of the 1983 season — the Winston Western 500 at Riverside. With his first win to go along with 12 top-fives and 22 top-tens, Elliott finished the 1983 season third in the final championship point standings.

Elliott gained full sponsorship from Coors in 1984 to the tune of $400,000 and won three races – the Michigan 400 at Michigan, the Miller High Life 500 at Charlotte, and the American 500 at Rockingham. He also collected four poles and finished third in the final points standings for the second year in a row. The 1984 season also brought Elliott his first season of winning NASCAR's Most Popular Driver Award, and would begin a stretch of five consecutive years, from 1984 to 1988, where he would win that award.

The 1985 season was the best season of Elliott's career. He scored 11 wins and 11 poles out of 28 races and also went on to win the first ever Winston Million in the Southern 500 at Darlington. This would give him the nicknames "Million Dollar Bill" and "Awesome Bill From Dawsonville".

Elliott started the 1985 season first with a dominating victory in the Daytona 500, leading 136 of the 200 laps, starting from the pole position. This was the "first leg" of the Winston Million promotion that Elliott captured. His second win of the season came three weeks later at his home-track of Atlanta Motor Speedway, leading 129 of 328 laps. He would win again two weeks later, his third of the season, with a win in the spring race at Darlington. Going into the "second leg" of the Winston Million promotion, which was the Winston 500 at Talladega, Elliott completed one of the greatest and most memorable comebacks in NASCAR history. Elliott was leading the race when he had to pit due to a broken oil fitting, which would then put him back about two laps. He completed one of NASCAR's greatest comebacks by making his way through the field, making up both laps under green flag conditions without the aide of a caution, and winning the race, his fourth 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. The following week, Elliott captured his 5th win of the season at Dover. Despite losing power-steering in the car, he led 336 of the 500 laps, and won the race being the only car finishing on the lead lap. Going into the "third leg" of the Winston Million promotion, which was the World 600 at Charlotte, Elliott had a chance to capture the million dollar prize. Elliott had a strong car, leading 84 of the first 155 laps, but mechanical failures relegated him to an 18th place finish. This was the only major of the four, that Elliott would not win in 1985 (a driver needed only to win a "small slam" of the four majors to win the bonus; Elliott, since he retired in 2013, would not finish a Career Grand Slam. However, Elliott had won twice at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 1984 and 1987, and had finished runner up in the World 600 twice, in 1982 and 1990).

at Talladega.]]After the disappointing finish in the World 600, Elliott rebounded with a 6th place finish at Riverside. He would then go on a tear during the summer months of 1985, first winning back-to-back races, his 6th and 7th of the season, at Pocono and Michigan. Elliott would then lead the most laps, 103 of 160 laps, and finish 2nd in the Pepsi Firecracker 400 at Daytona to Greg Sacks. He followed that up with his 8th win of the season at Pocono, then leading 100 of 188 laps at Talladega and finishing 4th, and then leading 90 of 200 laps and winning at Michigan, his 9th of the season. It was also during this stretch, Elliott would set an unprecedented NASCAR record of winning five consecutive pole qualifying sessions in 1985; the June Pocono race, the Firecracker 400 at Daytona, the July races in Pocono and Talladega, and the August Michigan race. That did not include the June Michigan race where qualifying was rained out, and the July Pocono race pole was where he started second, but further investigation led NASCAR to throw out the winning pole time for illegal fuel additives, retroactively awarding Elliott the pole award, money, and credit towards the season-long award for most poles won.

a 5th place finish at Bristol, Elliott had a chance to clinch the Winston Million Dollar Bonus in the next race, which was the fourth and "final leg" of the Winston Million Dollar promotion: the Southern 500 at Darlington. Multiple media outlets went to cover the race, as Elliott had the chance to collect the million dollar purse which at that time had never been done in stock car racing. Elliott started the race strong, but had to fend off tough competition throughout the race which included serious threats by Harry Gant and Dale Earnhardt, who dominated the early and middle portions of the race. Harry Gant led 84 laps before the engine gave way on his car, and Dale Earnhardt, who dominated most of the race leading 147 of the 367 laps, crashed out at around lap 318. 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. None the less, Elliott led 100 of the 367 laps and crossed the finish line first, winning the Southern 500 at Darlington, capturing his 10th win of the season, and winning the first ever Winston Million Dollar Bonus, which at the time was the largest single race payday in motorsports history. After the race, Elliott took a victory lap in a Pontiac Grand Am convertible with the President and CEO of Winston Tobacco Products at the time, Gerald H. Long, and NASCAR Hall of Famer Ned Jarrett conducting the victory interview. In victory lane, Long presented Elliott with the Winston Million Dollar Bonus while being showered with "Million Dollar Bills", which would then end up being one of Bill Elliott's infamous nicknames he would carry throughout his illustrious career. 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. However Elliott would lose the point lead after a string of poor finishes, which included a 12th a Richmond, 20th at Dover, 17th at Martinsville, and the transmission failing at North Wilkesboro, finishing 30th. In contrast, Darrell Waltrip won at Richmond, finished 2nd at both Dover and Martinsville, and finished 14th at North Wilkesboro, thus overtaking the points lead over Elliott. Elliott did come within twenty points of the championship lead after his 11th win of the season at Atlanta with one race to go. However in the season finale at Riverside, a 31st place finish due to a broken oil pump and a 7th place finish by Darrell Waltrip ended Elliott's championship hopes, as he finished in 2nd place in the final championship standings, 101 points behind Waltrip.

The 1985 season was still historic for Elliott. Along with winning the Winston Million, Elliott overall scored eleven wins, eleven poles (including five in a row), sixteen top-five finishes and eighteen top-ten finishes out of 28 races, while having an average starting position of 4.9 and an average finish of 8.7. His eleven superspeedway victories in 1985 set a NASCAR modern-era single season record which stands to this day, and he also tied another NASCAR modern-era record for completing the season sweep at 4 different tracks in one season: Pocono, Michigan, Darlington, and Atlanta (Darrell Waltrip had 4 "season sweeps" in 1982 at Bristol, North Wilkesboro, Talladega, and Nashville). At the end of the season, Elliott was voted the National Motorsports Press Association Driver of the Year for 1985.

.]] However, Elliott's most lasting accomplishment that year was setting two NASCAR qualifying records, which stand to this day. At Daytona for that year's Daytona 500, he set the NASCAR speed record with an average speed of . He broke his own record later that year at Talladega for that year's Winston 500, with an average speed of ; the previous record he set in 1986 was .Sun-Sentinel wire services. Sun Sentinel. Fort Lauderdale. May 2, 1986. pg. 2.C In both races, he used a Ford Thunderbird which contained an engine built by his brother Ernie Elliott. However, at Talladega, Bobby Allison was spun and went airborne into the Glossary of motorsport terms, tearing a large section away and injuring several fans. After this incident, NASCAR mandated the use of at Daytona and Talladega. As a result, Elliott's speed records will likely never be broken.

His first win of the season was at Bristol, where he was spun out by Geoff Bodine late in the race, but after pitting made his way back in the final four laps and won the race. Elliott won his second race of the season at Dover, leading 203 of 500 laps. In the June race at Pocono, Elliott finished 10th and would begin a string of 16 consecutive finishes inside the top-ten. During that run, Elliott finished runner-up in the first Michigan race, then won back-to-back races in the summer, the first one being his first Pepsi Firecracker 400 win at Daytona, followed by the July race at Pocono. After back-to-back 3rd place finishes at Watkins Glen and Michigan, Elliott overtook the points lead for the first time in the season with a 2nd place finish in the second race at Bristol. Elliott followed up taking the points lead after Bristol, by winning two of the next three races, both in dominating fashion; the first being his second Southern 500 victory at Darlington leading 154 of 367 laps, and then leading 392 of 500 laps completing the season sweep at Dover.

Going into the season finale, Elliott looked to win his first NASCAR Winston Cup championship at his home track of Atlanta. His only threat to the championship was Rusty Wallace, who entered the race winning three of the last four races and was 79 points behind Elliott. Elliott started 29th, but needed to finish 18th or better to clinch the championship regardless of what Wallace did in the race. Wallace dominated the race, starting on the pole, leading 166 of the 325 laps, and winning the race. Elliott drove careful and conservatively through the field and finished 11th to claim the 1988 Winston Cup Championship by 24 points over Wallace. Elliott finished the season with six wins, six poles, 15 top-fives, 22 top-tens (including at one point sixteen in a row), and an average finish of 6.6.

In 1990, Elliott won one race, at Dover, and two poles and finished fourth in the championship 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. As a result, NASCAR restricted the cars' speed on pit road.

The 1991 season saw Elliott's sponsorship change to Coors Light and the familiar red on the car was replaced with blue. Elliott would only win once that year in the Pepsi 400 at Daytona and won two poles. After a year of struggle, Elliott finished a disappointing eleventh in the championship standings, causing him and Coors to part ways with the Melling Racing. That lone win in 1991 would be the only time in his career that Elliott won in a car that was not painted red.

Overall, in ten seasons from 1982-1991, Melling Racing set several NASCAR records, winning the Winston Million in 1985, winning the 1988 Winston Cup Championship, and winning a total of 34 career races, all of these accomplishments with only Elliott. The success of Melling Racing may have come to an end after Elliott left at the end of 1991, but Elliott would be more successful in the years to come.

After the fall Dover race, Elliott found himself with a 154 point lead in the championship standings with six races remaining. However, much like the ending of the 1985 season, Elliott would lose the point lead after a string of poor finishes. Elliott's lead disappeared thanks to a batch of poor finishes, which included mechanical problems beginning with an engine failure at Martinsville leading to a 30th place finish, a 26th place finish at North Wilkesboro, a broken sway bar while running in the top-five with less than forty laps to go at Charlotte leading to a 30th place finish, and a cracked cylinder head leading to another engine failure at Phoenix, finishing 31st. The string of poor finishes dropped Elliott out of the points lead to third place, 40 points behind 1st place Davey Allison and 10 points behind 2nd place Alan Kulwicki, with one race to go.

The season finale in 1992 was the Hooters 500 at Atlanta, and is regarded by many as one of the greatest races in NASCAR history. It was the final career race for NASCAR legend Richard Petty, while future NASCAR legend Jeff Gordon was making his first career start. Six drivers had a mathematical shot to win the championship, with the points leader Davey Allison, Alan Kulwicki, and Elliott being the primary contenders. Harry Gant, Kyle Petty, and Mark Martin also had long shots to win the championship. After Allison crashed out late in the race, the championship came down to Elliott and Kulwicki who ran 1-2 together throughout the later stages of the race. The championship would be determined between the two, by whoever picked up the five extra bonus points for leading the most laps in the race. Elliott would go on to win the race leading 102 of the 325 laps, while Kulwicki finished 2nd to Elliott, leading 103 of the 325 laps. Kulwicki picked up the five point bonus for leading one single lap more than Elliott, and by finishing second was able to maintain and keep his ten point cushion on Elliott to win the 1992 Winston Cup Championship. Had Kulwicki not led the most laps, Elliott would have finished tied with him for the points lead and would have been awarded the championship on a tiebreaker due to him having more wins in 1992 (Elliott had won five races that year, to Kulwicki's two). Elliott finished the 1992 season with five wins, three poles, 14 top-fives, 17 top-tens, and finishing 2nd in the final championship standings for a third time, this time by only a mere ten points which remained the closet margin in NASCAR history until 2004, and eventually the 2011 season.

Elliott scored just one win the following season in 1994; his 3rd win in the Southern 500 at Darlington. It was the 40th win of Elliott's career, and would be the last win Elliott would capture in NASCAR until 2001, more than six years later. It also eventually became the final win for the team of Junior Johnson & Associates. Elliott finished the 1994 season finishing 10th in the championship standings. After his Darlington victory, Elliott announced he would be leaving Junior Johnson & Associates, and start his own team with sponsorship from McDonald's (leaving Johnson's other car, the No. 27 of Jimmy Spencer) beginning in 1995.

In 1996, Elliott missed five races to recover from injuring a broken hip at Talladega and was replaced by Dorsey Schroeder and Todd Bodine.

The 1997 season, was undoubtedly Elliott's best season as a driver/owner statistically. He finished the season with one pole, five top-five finishes, 14 top-ten finishes, and finishing 8th in the final point standings. Elliott did not win any races, but came extremely close on several occasions. He was leading late in the 1997 Daytona 500, leading with less than ten laps to go, until a late caution came out. 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's best finish during his six year run as a driver/owner was at Michigan in 1997, finishing 2nd to Ernie Irvan. Elliott also dominated that year's 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.

In 1998, Elliott teamed up with Dan Marino to form a multi-car team, the team was renamed Elliott-Marino Motorsports, adding the No. 13 and keeping the No. 94, Marino owned the No. 13 while Elliott owned the No. 94. The year was marked with sadness for Elliott when he had to miss the fall Dover race to attend the funeral of his father. Matt Kenseth drove Elliott's No. 94 and finished 6th in his Winston Cup Series debut.

After a disappointing 1999 season which saw Elliott's multi-car operation dissolve back into No. 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. The team would also switch to No. 9, which was owned by Melling, his championship-winning team. 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. He would hold the record for 10 straight years as a most popular driver from 1991 to 2000, a record that would stand until 2013, when Dale Earnhardt Jr. would win his 11th straight award. Earnhardt would win the award for fifteen straight years from 2003 to 2017, a NASCAR record.

Elliott finished his first season with Evernham Motorsports with two poles, five top-fives, nine top-tens, and one win in the Pennzoil Freedom 400 at Homestead–Miami from the pole position. Elliott won the race by passing his Evernham Motorsports teammate Casey Atwood with five laps to go. This was his first win since the Southern 500 in 1994, seven years and 226 races. As of 2025, the 226 race winless streak is the longest drought, between wins, in NASCAR history. However, after Melling yielded the No. 9 for 2001, Bill Elliott would win at Homestead driving that number, but this time, with Evernham Motorsports. It was the team's first-ever win. In another ironic twist, Elliott winning at Homestead would be the first time since Melling Racing and Elliott himself at the Pepsi 400 in 1991, that the No. 9 went to victory lane. Elliott finished fifteenth in the final points standings for 2001. Elliott also withdrew from the ballot as NASCAR's Most Popular Driver for fans to vote for Dale Earnhardt.

After the back-to-back victories at Pocono and Indy, Elliott was sixth in points. Four weeks later after a 3rd place finish in the Southern 500 at Darlington, Elliott then found himself seventh in points with eleven races to go, and on his way to finishing the season in the top-ten in points for the first time since 1997. After a fifth place finish at Kansas and a 19th place finish at Talladega, Elliott was eighth in points with six races to go. However, a string of five consecutive finishes of 30th or worse, which included a 42nd place finish after a crash at Martinsville, and a bad water pump leading to a 39th place finish at Rockingham, ultimately dropped Elliott from 8th to finishing a disappointing 13th in the final points standings. Elliott finished the 2002 season with two wins, four poles, six top-fives, 13 top-tens, and for the 16th and final time in his career, Elliott was voted as NASCAR's Most Popular Driver.

In the final seven races of the season starting at Kansas, Elliott started 8th and led the most laps, 115 of 267 laps, and finished 2nd to Ryan Newman who won on fuel strategy. Elliott followed that up with a 4th place finish at Charlotte, a 9th place finish at Martinsville, and a 4th place finish at Atlanta. Two weeks later, Elliott captured what would be the final win of his career at Rockingham (Ironically enough, at the same track where he made his first career NASCAR start back in 1976). Elliott officially started 5th, but had to start dead last in the back of the field due to an engine change after qualifying. He still managed to climb through the field and lead the most laps of the race, leading 140 of the 393 laps, en route to capturing his 44th and final NASCAR race win over future seven-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson. A week later in the season finale, Elliott came within a lap of winning his final race as a full-time driver in the Ford 400 at Homestead–Miami. Elliott dominated the entire race, leading 189 of the 267 laps and was on his way to victory, but a cut tire on the final lap in turn two allowed Bobby Labonte to score the victory (which ended up, being the final win of Bobby's career). Elliott still finished the race in 8th place and maintained his 9th place position in the final points standings, his best points finish since finishing 8th in the 1997 standings.

Elliott officially withdrew from the ballot as NASCAR's Most Popular Driver, giving the award to Dale Earnhardt Jr., who would go on to win for 15 straight years from 2003 to 2017, a NASCAR record. A few weeks later after the 2003 season ended, Elliott announced that he was relinquishing the No. 9 car to Kasey Kahne and switching to a part-time schedule driving R&D cars for Evernham.

In 2005, Elliott continued his part-time driving duties which included driving the No. 39 Coors Dodge Charger (in a paint scheme reminiscent of his 1987 Coors Light Ford) for Chip Ganassi Racing in the Budweiser Shootout and the No. 91 Evernham Dodge in several events. Although he made three more starts than the previous season, he did not have the same amount of success. He managed to get an eleventh place finish and a tenth place qualifying effort at Michigan, along with a ninth place qualifying effort at Texas. He also competed in select NASCAR Busch Series events for Rusty Wallace and also drove the No. 6 Unilever Dodge Charger in the Busch Series for Evernham at Memphis, which celebrated the 40th anniversary of A Charlie Brown Christmas.

For the 2006 season, the 2005 owners' points for the No. 91 team went to the new No. 10 Evernham team and driver Scott Riggs and the No. 91 team was discontinued.

On August 8, 2006, Evernham Motorsports announced that Elliott would return to the organization for the race at Watkins Glen driving the No. 19 Dodge previously driven by Jeremy Mayfield. 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. However, since the driver switch was made past the entry deadline, NASCAR said that Elliott was not eligible for the past champions provisional.

Elliott attempted to qualify for the 2007 Daytona 500, but failed to make the race in the No. 37.

Season still in progress

Ineligible for series points
     

Season still in progress