Bill Elliott - Michigan Preview
NO. 9 DODGE DEALERS INTREPID R/T MICHIGAN PREVIEW HISTORY AT MICHIGAN "There's a lot of history for me here at Michigan. I've said before that it's kind of like a home track for me in some regards. You know, back in the early days with Harry Melling and Jim Knutson, they really helped us get started. Their support was very important to my brothers and me. I've got a lot of friends up there." RUNNING AT MICHIGAN "Michigan is one of my favorite tracks. There are a lot of guys who generally run well here though. We've had good runs there in our Dodge. Earlier this year we qualified well and had a good car. Starting up front is important. It's usually a pretty competitive race. Aero will be a factor. I don't know how the new rules change (for the Pontiacs and Chevrolets) will affect us. We'll just concentrate on our stuff and not worry about the rest. Mike (Ford, crew chief) and the guys have been putting good stuff underneath me and we'll go out there and do our best." SCHEDULE SINCE THE WINS "It's been a pretty busy two weeks. You just can't do everything you need to do. We went to Peavly to run Schrader's dirt track race before Indy and then we went to New York City last week to do the Regis and Kelly show. Everyone's been great though. The fans have been so supportive of me throughout all those lean years. It's just nice to get a second chance at things again." TEAM COMMUNICATION "You can see how much this team has come together on the race track but I knew that it was just a matter of time. We were close so many times it seemed like before Pocono. I think the last couple of months have really brought this team that much closer. We've tested quite a bit. In fact, we're testing at Bristol this week. We tested at Indy right after Chicago. We've got some races under our belt now and the communication is really there and I've said this many times, that's the most important part. You've got to be able to communicate what the race car is doing and we have been able to do that pretty well so far." POINTS RACE "The points race is so close, you can't really get bogged down in thinking about it. You really have to just take it a race at a time and that's what I've said all along. If we focus on our stuff and not worry about everyone else, we'll be fine. The points will come and we'll see at the end of the season where we end up. Right now we are focused on Michigan and getting a good starting spot on Friday and then having a good clean race on Sunday. The guys have been doing a good job back at the shop, at the race track and in the pits. They're all working hard and I think it shows." RACE NOTES * The No. 9 team is bringing the same car that won races at Homestead, Pocono and Indianapolis to Michigan International Speedway this weekend. * The No. 9 Dodge Dealers team is testing at Bristol Motor Speedway on Tuesday and Wednesday. STATS & FACTS **For a complete 2002 race-by-race statistical report on Bill Elliott, please see the attached document "BillElliottBio"** <<BillElliott bio.doc>> * Bill Elliott leads all active drivers with six poles and seven wins at Michigan. He has 17 top fives and 29 top 10s in his 49 Winston Cup Series appearances at the track. He swept both events at Michigan in 1985 and 1986 and won six of eight from 1984 to 1987. Elliott has won a Michigan race from the pole position three times in his career. His most recent victory at Michigan came in the fall race of 1988. Elliott's most recent pole at the track came in the 1989 spring race. In the June race in Michigan, Elliott finished 11th after starting in the fourth position. * Elliott continued his impressive qualifying run with a fourth place starting spot for Sunday's Sirius Satellite Radio at the Glen. It was Elliott's ninth top five starting position in the last 11 races. Elliott battled in the lead pack for the first half of the 90-lap race. A caution on lap 54 brought Elliott in to top off on fuel. Restarting in the 28th position, Elliott was forced to make up track position for the remainder of the race. Several late cautions made it difficult to make up ground, but Elliott was able to battle through traffic at the notoriously difficult to pass road course to finish on the lead lap in 21st place. Elliott loses two positions in the very close Winston Cup points race. He currently sits in eighth place, but is only 38 points out of seventh, 82 points out of fifth and 188 out of first. * In the June race at Michigan International Speedway, Bill Elliott earned a fourth-place starting spot for the 200-lap event. Elliott did not make any major adjustments to the car throughout the entirety of the race. He took the lead from the pole sitter on the first lap and regained it again on lap 18, leading a total of 31 laps (the second most on the day). Elliott remained on the lead lap all day despite a caution on lap 97 that put several of the leaders out of pit sequence. Elliott was able to close up the space and battled with the leaders for the remainder of the race. A caution on lap 180 brought the No. 9 Dodge Intrepid R/T in for the final time for two tires and fuel. The leaders opted for fuel only. Elliott moved into 7th place until the race was red flagged on lap 195. Elliott stayed out for track position while several of the leaders pitted for tires under the caution. Elliott battled with several cars on the restart with just three laps to go. He would hold on to 11th place, the highest finishing Dodge. * Elliott is the leading money-winner at Michigan, having earned nearly $1.4 million in total winnings at Michigan International Speedway. * Elliott's No. 9 Dodge Dealers Intrepid R/T has led laps in six of the past ten races (17 at Dover, 26 in June at Pocono, 31 at Michigan, three at Sears Point, 35 in July at Pocono and 93 at Indianapolis). He has led in nine races this year for a total of 222 laps. Elliott led nine races in 2001 for a total of 171 laps. * Elliott looks even better in his No. 9 Dodge Dealers Intrepid R/T than he did at this point last year. Elliott ranks eight spots higher, is finishing more than five spots better in each race, and has two more wins, three more poles, two more top-five and four more top-10s than he did after 22 races in 2001. Currently, Elliott sits in 8th place, just 38 points out of seventh and 82 points out of fifth. * Elliott's win at Indianapolis was record-setting as no driver has won from the front row in that historic race. * When Bill Elliott won the Pennsylvania 500, he became the all-time winningest driver at Pocono Raceway. Driving the No. 9 Dodge Dealers Intrepid R/T, Elliott won his fifth race at the 2.5-mile track. It was also the first time this season that a driver has won from the pole. * Elliott's second-place finish at Dover was his 300th career top-10 finish in 26 years of Winston Cup racing. Elliott has nine top-10s through the first 20 races in 2002. In 2001 Elliott earned nine top-10s. He earned a career-high 24 top-10s in 30 races in 1984, finishing third in the points standings. * * Elliott's win at Pocono was his best finish since his Nov. 11th victory at Homestead-Miami Speedway last year. He has 43 victories in his 27 seasons racing in the NASCAR Winston Cup circuit.