Start your engines!
Play RPM.ESPN Stock Car Challenge!
Win a Honda S2000!
Play The CART Challenge powered by Honda!
|
|
Thursday, August 16
Elliott has a lot of history in Michigan
By Bill Elliott
Special to ESPN.com
| |  | | | Elliott |
For Bill Elliott, driver of the No. 9 Dodge Dealers Intrepid R/T, this weekend's Pepsi 400 at Michigan International Speedway will be sentimental. He is bringing the car that made him famous -- the No. 9 -- back to the track that helped make him famous -- where he collected seven wins and seven poles driving for Michigan native Harry Melling.
It's very much a home track for me. I enjoy going there because I know so many people. It always reminds me of the early days with Harry Melling and Jim Knutson. Their support really meant a lot to me and my brothers. Back then, $500 meant the world. We really struggled back then. People took us in and fed us. Mother and Daddy sacrificed a lot to get us to race tracks. We throw away better stuff today than we raced back then.
We were up there for a race. Ernie (Elliott, brother and engine builder) enjoyed fishing and I liked motorcycles. We found this motorcycle store that had fishing behind the house. They lured us in the door with fishing and motorcycles. Turns out, that was Jim Knutson's store. We went back again and became friends. I still go see him when I'm in town.
Later on, Jim put 'Good luck Bill Elliott - No. 9' on his sign out front. Harry Melling drove by and thought if Jim could get involved in racing then so could he. He began sponsoring Benny Parsons in the late 1970s and Benny got us involved together. The next step, Harry was buying from Daddy and the next step we were racing for Harry. We did so much together that it's a part of who we are. It's ironic the people you meet that you really develop relationships with just by walking through the door.
It's one of my favorite tracks. A lot of people finish the race there. It's a short race. It's a competitive race. There are usually a bunch of guys that run well there. It's the type of track that is pretty good for getting up through traffic. Aero is definitely a factor. The guy in the lead has the advantage. The way things are now, it's a little too aero-sensitive. The rest of the guys can't get caught up.
I don't care where I start. I just want to finish well. Any time you're in the top-10 is a good day. You just don't want to play catch-up all day.
Michigan is the kind of place where we could have a good run. We've got to sort out this change to the Dodge and see what happens. We had a good first race there. We weren't bad at Indy, and that will help us at Michigan. We'll just have to see. A lot of people finish the race there. It's a short race. It's a competitive race. There are usually a bunch of guys that run well there. It's the type of track that is pretty good for getting up through traffic. Aero is definitely a factor. The guy in the lead has the advantage.
We've learned a lot lately. We're sorting this stuff out. But, we're getting better each week. It will come with time. The change to a new car with a new motor is pretty dramatic. We're taking it one step at a time. We've just got to keep working in the right direction. The recent changes hampered our setups from what we tested, but we'll be OK.
Drivers, crew chiefs and car owners involved in Dodge's return to the NASCAR Winston Cup Series in 2001 will provide weekly features to ESPN.com throughout the season. Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories
|
|
|
|
