Goody's Body Pain 500
Martinsville Speedway

Eighth at Martinsville
April 9, 2000 - In the crazy world of NASCAR, your finishing position does not always indicate what kind of car that you had. Bill Elliott did not set the track on fire at Martinsville, yet brought home a solid top-ten finish, his fourth finish in the top ten of the 2000 season.

On a day that did not see the 94 Taurus make one pass for position on the track, Elliott ran a good, solid race all day long, as he was not out of the top twenty at any point in time. Instead of passing on the track, Elliott counted on his Drive-Thru Crew to gain him positions on pit road.

"It was a pretty wild day. I'm just glad it's over," Elliott said

Elliott gambled on a two-tire stop early in the race that gave him much needed track position and had him running fifth. Elliott would eventually fall back into the field and would be the final car on the lead lap, in 17th place. Leader Rusty Wallace ran on Elliott's bumper for many laps, attempting to put the McDonald's Ford a lap down, to no avail. A caution flag would allow Elliott to tighten up to the lead pack.

The defining moment came later in the race, with Elliott still in 17th, another caution flag would fly. While the leaders chose not to pit, Elliott had nothing to loose, being at the end of the lead lap, and decided to make a pit stop.

After another caution flag, Elliott then stayed out on the track as the leaders made pit stops, giving Elliott the fifth position for the second time. With only 66 laps remaining and track position so important, Elliott had a great shot at finishing in the top five.

Elliott held on to the fifth position until the restart with seven laps to go. John Andretti spun in front of Elliott, causing Elliott to momentarily check up, allowing two cars by on the outside. Jeremy Mayfield would make a pass on the 94 Ford on the last lap, giving Elliott an eighth place finish.

"We did the best we could with what we had," said Elliott. "We had a decent car, but just never could get track position and then I was kind of out of tires. I saw those guys get a jump on the restart and there was nothing you could do."

Elliott's top-ten finish allowed him to gain a spot in the point standings. Elliott now stands in the 13th position with 933 points, 313 behind point leader Bobby Labonte.

In a few races this season, Elliott has had much better cars than he had today, yet his finishing positions did not shown it. Today, Elliott's car was not that good, and he finished in the top ten. Maybe this team has turned the corner, knowing how to get the most out of every car and being able to contend, even when things are not up to snuff. That is what championship teams are made of!

Martinsville Qualifying Quotes
"That's better than I ran in practice by about a tenth and any time you pick it up, I feel like it's better. These guys do an incredible job. I mean, they make me look so good. We'll keep digging at it. It was about a tenth better. We really hadn't run that good on fresh tires. I ran like a .15 on 25-lap tires. It's so easy to screw up because you've only got one chance at it and if you blow a corner, then you just get all screwed up. I kept my act together and got four good corners, so we'll see what happens."

Martinsville Notes
After a hot start Bill Elliott has cooled a little bit the last couple of weeks