DirecTV 500
Texas Motor Speedway

Wild Ride at Texas
April 2, 2000 - Another good car for the 94 team, more bad luck. Bill Elliott was involved in a chain-reaction crash in the DirecTV 500 at Texas Motor Speedway and finished the event 30th.

With Happy Hour rained out, the Drive Thru Crew was able to provide the 94 Ford with a good, adjustable setup and Elliott produced speeds that compared with the leaders all day before the wreck.

"We had a decent car," said Elliott. "At first I was really bad loose, we lost some spots, but we worked on the car a little bit and I felt really good with what I had. I was just trying to bide my time and work traffic right, but, par for the course."

On lap 111, while Elliott was running in the 18th position, Dave Blaney got loose going into turn two and backed off of the throttle. Jerry Nadeau checked up and got tagged in the rear by Jeff Gordon, sending the 25 car spinning. Elliott tried to slow and avoid the wreck but got hit from behind by Johnny Benson. Elliott would hit the side of the 24 car and catapult onto the hood of the Dupont Chevrolet, riding on two wheels.

"I don't know what happened, I'm just a victim," said a frustrated Elliott. "I give up, I don't know. The next thing I knew the 25 car was sideways, the 24 car just got into him, then I hit the 24 car when he checked up and then somebody hit me and that was it."

"I thought I was on the Joey Chitwood Show. Joey Chitwood, hire me. I'm up. I may have to start another line here. It wasn't that bad. I mean, I really don't know. I was just trying to see or do what I could do and try to keep from hitting anything really hard and I was kind of just along for the ride."

"It was just everybody trying to get to the wrong place at the right time."

Elliott would have to spend 38 laps behind the wall, as the Drive Thru Crew changed radiators, banged out sheet metal, and taped up the damaged race car. The McDonald's Ford would return to the race at lap 150 in the 41st position.

Elliott would get help from the event-record twelve cautions and high attrition rate to move up in the finishing order to end his day in the 30th position.

"I hope I didn't hurt the motor riding around as much as the radiator, but we really weren't that bad. We had a decent car we just lacked a little track position. I knew those guys were racing pretty hard, but I never thought that would happen that soon."

Elliott fell to 14th in the Winston Cup point standings, his 791 points place him 323 points behind point leader Bobby Labonte.

Texas Qualifying Quotes
"That is good news considering where I was at this morning. We had a problem the first practice with the motor and never recovered. We spent all the first practice changing motors and only got three laps on the track and then we played catch-up the second practice. It's just unfortunate because I know we've got a better race car than that. The race track changed quite a bit, but we'll just have to see. I'm just glad to make it in. Everything is so close nowadays that every little bit you can gain or help or whatever you can do...the guys really impressed me. We came a long way from where we started the second practice. We only ran a 29.15 or .20, but we kept chippin' on it and chippin' on it and got the car pretty good."

Texas Notes