NASCAR-WCUP: Elliott Near $1 Million Milestone at Atlanta Motor Speedway

12 March 1999

**Bill Elliott**

ATLANTA -- Bill Elliottt, known as "Million Dollar Bill" after winning the Winston Million in 1985, is positioned to become the second driver to reach the $1 million mark in career earnings at Atlanta Motor Speedway in this weekend's (March 14) Cracker Barrel 500 NASCAR Winston Cup race.

Elliott, driver of the McDonald's Ford Taurus, has accumulated $977,405 at the 1.522-mile speedway since 1976, when he won $950 in the Atlanta 500. The first driver to exceed the $1 million mark at Atlanta was Dale Earnhardt in 1995.

Elliott, who is third in all-time Winston Cup Series' earnings with $19,704,284, has already surpassed the $1 million mark at three tracks, Daytona International Speedway, Charlotte Motor Speedway and Michigan Speedway.

Elliott is a five-time winner at Atlanta Motor Speedway -- twice in 1992, 1987 (race #2) and twice in 1985.

Despite a disappointing premature finish in last week's Las Vegas 400, Elliott and the Drive-Thru Crew remain optimistic about the 1999 season."I felt like we had a good day going, the best we've had in a long time," said Elliott, after being collected in an accident on lap 130 while running 10th. "Man, the McDonald's Taurus was so good. It's encouraging to run as strong as we were running."

Elliott's Top 10 Tracks in Career Earnings

1.  Daytona              $2,002,517
2.  Charlotte             1,236,606
3.  Michigan              1,076,268
4.  Talladega               977,672
5.  Atlanta                 977,405
6.  Darlington              958,405
7..  Richmond                785,070
8.  Pocono                  752,760
9.  Dover                   747,355
10. Rockingham              722,935

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