Bill Elliott - California Preview

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		Kristine Curley
		Golin/Harris
		704.924.9404
BILL ELLIOTT
	NO. 9 DODGE DEALERS INTREPID R/T
CALIFORNIA PREVIEW

CALIFORNIA
"I have had some success there but it's like I said, the place has kind of
eluded me. I've never really figured it out like I needed to. I think this
year though we've got as good a shot as any the way things are going.  It's
supposed to be like Michigan but it's not really.  I'm looking forward to
going out there. Jeremy's won there before so I know he knows how to get
around that place."

TALLADEGA
"I don't know. We managed to stay out of the big wreck. We got a little bit
of damage but we were fine. It seems like that's what you've got to do, stay
out of the wreck and you'll get a decent finish at that place."

RACE NOTES

*	The No. 9 Dodge Squad tested in Richmond Tuesday and Wednesday.

STATS & FACTS

*	This will be Elliott's sixth start at California Speedway.  Elliott
has posted his best finishes in the last three California races where he
finished 19th in '99-'00 and 14th last year.  Still looking for his first
top 10 at the track, Elliott will also look to improve on his best starting
position of 12th, which he earned in the 1998 California 500.

*	If Elliott finishes in the top 10 this weekend, it will mark his
298th top-10 finish through 26 years of racing.

*	In last year's race at California, Elliott started the day at 22nd
in the No. 9 Dodge Dealers Intrepid R/T and moved up nine spots to finish
14th.  Elliott said he was having handling trouble with the No. 9 Dodge
Dealers Intrepid R/T being loose throughout the race.  As the end of the
race neared, the No. 9 Dodge Squad was ready for Elliott to come in for a
final pit stop during a late-race caution but Elliott elected to stay out
for track position, noticing that several of the cars behind him were
staying out.  The finish was the fourth 14th-place finish for Elliott in
2001 and bumped him just out of the top 10 in points at 11th.

*	In last week's race at Talladega, Bill Elliott laid back in the pack
for much of the race. It was a strategy that paid off as he was able to
avoid major trouble when the late race accident occurred. The No. 9 Dodge
Intrepid R/T did sustain minor body damage but the Dodge Squad was able to
repair the car in the pits and returned Elliott to the track to finish on
the lead lap. His 19th place finish advances his position in the Winston Cup
points standing. He moves up a spot to 12th place, 101 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).  

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