By Dick Mittman
allstate400atthebrickyard.com

Sunday, August 4, 2002

First they dubbed him Awesome Bill from Dawsonville. When he won the first $1-million check in stock car racing it became Million Dollar Bill.

Now nearly 15 years later, Bill Elliott can be called by a new nickname - Brickyard Bill.

Elliott, who had slipped into a prolonged slump in NASCAR Winston Cup racing, blasted his way to a dominating victory in the ninth Brickyard 400 on Aug. 4 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It was his first victory in the race and also provided Dodge its first win at the historic track in the car manufacturer's return to the sport after an absence of three decades.

1988 Winston Cup champion Elliott passed another NASCAR veteran and past series champion, Rusty Wallace, with 11 laps to go and then outraced him to the checkered flag on a restart with four laps to go. He led five times for 93 laps and averaged 125.033 mph.

It marked his second straight victory after winning July 28 at Pocono.

For Elliott, two months shy of his 47th birthday, it was a continued resurrection to his career brought on by Ray Evernham's decision to hire the seemingly fading veteran for a new Dodge team before the start of the 2001 season.

"I came here (Speedway) and tested in '92," Elliott said in his native Georgia drawl. "To win 10 years later is a dream come true.

"I don't know what I can do in the future to top this."

Evernham, who left Hendrick Motorsports and prolific driver Jeff Gordon to start his Dodge team, chose Elliott over a number of young, aggressive chargers who were moving onto the Winston Cup scene. He hired a youthful chief mechanic in Mike Ford and picked Elliott because he had worked with him in IROC, talked to him considerably in the garages over the years and listened to Gordon's recommendation that Elliott still had the drive to win.

Gordon and Evernham won two Brickyard 400s together as a driver-crew chief combination, in 1994 and 1998. Then Gordon went one-up last year with his third victory, but Evernham is back even again. Gordon placed sixth in Sunday's race.

"I built a team with 24 (Gordon's car number)," Evernham said. "I feel like I'm now building an organization. Mike is building the team.

"It's a stunning day for me. I can't believe what these guys have done for me. I'm very proud, like a parent."

Dodge didn't give any orders to Evernham about whom he should hire as the car's first driver.

"We went with Ray's instincts, which were to get a senior veteran, a cagey veteran driver with which to lead the program and add instant credibility to that camp," said Bill Tracy, senior manager of Dodge Motorsports. "We went out and got Casey Atwood as the backup, the junior, and he's coming around nicely. Now Jeremy Mayfield has joined us. But the leader is Bill Elliott, the veteran. At a racetrack like this you need a veteran."

Elliott, who now lives in Blairsville, Ga., not far from his native Dawsonville, had owned his car from 1995-2000. He didn't win once in 216 races. That's why Elliott was so emotional as he described his feelings to the media with his 6-year-old son, Chase, nestled close to him.

He talked about the death of his father, a nephew and another person close to him, his grandparents, and said he wished they had been there to watch his finest moment. When he battled for the lead for the last time, he said he felt their presence in the car guiding toward the right moves.

"All I was thinking about was that this was for those folks," he said. "It seemed like a lifetime getting here. I can't explain it. I was always the hard-luck story of why I didn't win (the Brickyard). This race team is a viable team. This is a great start to the future. This is a building block for Evernham."

Both Elliott and Evernham noted that the key to success the last two races was the plan developed by Ford, 31, who sheepishly admitted he still was in high school when Elliott last won the Winston Cup championship in 1988.

"When we came to test, I had a plan to sacrifice a little on qualifying (speed)," Ford said. "We had our eyes set on the trophy."

Though fans continued to vote him NASCAR's most popular driver, Elliott admitted it was easy for people to count him out during his slump. He said he was losing his confidence and even considering retiring as a driver.

Elliott then joked that he thought maybe Evernham needed to visit a psychiatrist for one, becoming a car owner, and, two, hiring him.

"This is so good for me," he said. "I enjoy coming in and driving the car. Anyone who stays in this sport long enough is going on a roller-coaster ride up and down.

"I look back and feel like I've had a second chance. Ray, no matter how bad we ran, called on Monday and said we'll have a better car. You don't know how good that felt."

Young Chase laid his head across his father's shoulder as the interview reached the finish line. It was easy to tell who his hero was. He wasn't around when his dad was Awesome Bill or Million Dollar Bill.

Brickyard Bill was just fine with him.

"To come here and win is a fantastic accomplishment," Elliott said.

• News Index
• Print This Page
•