Bill Elliott

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 Camping World 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 7 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 4 "season sweeps": Atlanta, Pocono, Michigan, and Darlington) and 11 poles, with three of those 11 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 was the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series champion. The Elliotts became the third father-son NASCAR champions in history, along with Lee and Richard Petty, and Ned and Dale Jarrett.

Personal life

William Clyde Elliott was born in Dawsonville, Georgia on October 8, 1955. According to his autobiography, many generations of Elliotts resided there. He was named after two relatives and is the youngest of three boys. His parents were Erving "George" Elliott Jr. (1924-1998) and Mildred Reece (1921-1991) His father George created a lumber company and loved racing, and later created a speed shop where Bill's brothers, Ernie (born 1947) and Dan (born 1951), worked. His father was also a Ford person and later created a Ford dealership as there were none in the area.

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, William Clyde II (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.

NASCAR career

Elliott/Melling years (1976-1991)

Elliott Racing (1976-1981)

Driving a car owned by his father, George Elliott, Elliott made his first Winston Cup Series start at Rockingham in 1976. 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 soon earned his first Top 10 finish in the Southern 500 (10th), and his first Top 5 finish 2 years later in the same race, finishing 2nd to race winner (and Elliott's boyhood hero) David Pearson.

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 12 race schedule in 1981. In the 1981 season, he had one Top 5 and seven Top 10 finishes in 13 races, including the team's first pole in the spring race at Darlington.

Melling Racing and the Beginning Years (1982-1984)

On December 1, 1981, Melling bought the team from Elliott's father George. In 1982, Elliott continued to show more and more flashes, and continued to flirt with victory lane more and more, as he finished the season with eight Top 5 finishes, and nine Top 10 finishes which included three runner-up finishes in the World 600 at Charlotte to Neil Bonnett, the Firecracker 400 at Daytona to Bobby Allison, and the fall race at Charlotte to Harry Gant