INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (July 31, 2001) - The Brickyard 400 is one of the few
races on the NASCAR Winston Cup circuit that Bill Elliott has not won. He's
come close - both qualifying and finishing in the top 10 in four of seven
appearances there. But, he hopes that his debut at the Indianapolis Motor
Speedway in a Dodge Intrepid R/T will be the factor that finally puts him in
the winner's circle.
Elliott is coming off a strong fourth place finish at Pocono last
weekend, his second top five for the season and his fourth top 10 in the
last seven races. He finished third at Indianapolis last year, one of his
two best finishes for the year.
During the recent test at Indianapolis, Elliott was second fastest
in the first day of practice. After a "nose job" on the No. 9 Dodge
Intrepid R/T this week to incorporate the rules change allowing a two-inch
extension on the front air dam, Elliott hopes his race car has the downforce
and the horsepower to finally give him at win at the fabled track.
Bill Elliott, driver of the No. 9 Dodge Dealers Intrepid R/T
How important is it to win the Brickyard 400?
"The Brickyard has become an important race. We really need to run well at
Indy. This race a year ago, I ran well in my car. We tested there and were
pretty good. But with this rules change, we'll see what Indy brings us. It
really pays good, so you need to run good there.
Has the Evernham Motorsports program turned around and is a win far off?
"We needed a good run last weekend, and the guys worked hard to get one.
Everything worked good. The car drove good for the most part. That's what
we've got to shoot for each and every week. You never feel like you've got
it turned around in this business, but if we can keep running like we did
last week, you never know. We've just got to keep working through this
stuff. Ray and all the guys have really worked hard, and if we can just
keep working, we've got the team that can do it."
Bill Elliott By the Numbers
Bill Elliott has three top fives and five top 10s in only seven
appearances at the Brickyard 400. His top finish at the track is third,
which he earned in both his first (1994) and most recent (2000) visit to the
track. Elliott has either qualified or finished in the top 10 at six of his
seven visits to the track-in four Brickyard races he accomplished both.
Presently, Elliott and the No. 9 team have earned four top 10
finishes in their last seven races and five overall for the season. They
finished ninth at Michigan and Sears Point, 10th at Chicagoland and fourth
at the second race at Pocono.
This will be Elliott's 644th start in a NASCAR Winston Cup points
event. If he makes every race, his 650th start will be when he returns to
New Hampshire International Speedway for the New Hampshire 300 on September
16th.
Bill Elliott has jumped three spots in the points standings and now
ranks 16th. He has remained within the top 20 for the entire year. His
average start is 13.6 and his average finish is 19th. With $1,777,881 in
earnings, (excluding non-point events) Elliott leads all Dodge drivers with
money earned this season.