Elliott Returns to Victory Lane

By: Jeff Holtzclaw
February 18, 2000 - Awesome Bill Elliott is awesome once again! Elliott returned Victory Lane on Thursday afternoon in race number one of the Gatorade Twin 125s. The win was Elliott's best showing since a fifth place finish at Louden last season.

Starting second, Elliott dominated the event, leading flag-to-flag. Elliott made the pass for the lead on the very first lap and was not challenged the rest of the way.

As I opened up the Sports section of my local newspaper, there on the front page was a picture a very happy man. Elliott emerging from his car in Victory Lane, both arms outstretched, smiling like a kid at Christmas! Remember that Christmas morning when you got what you had always wanted? Remember your reaction? That is how Bill looks in this picture.

Elliott hadn't visited the winner's circle since 1994 at Darlington, when Elliott battled an overheating race car to take the win. That win has stuck out in my mind for years, mainly because it was the last time that Elliott had scored a win. I still remember the crew members with a hose, spraying water on the radiator, trying to keep it cool enough to make it to the end, and me, on the edge of my seat hoping that he would make it.

He did.

I still remember the joy that I felt on that day, and the relief! Well, on Thursday, both of those feelings were duplicated!

As I sat, listening to the race on the radio, I was on the edge of my seat the entire 50 laps. Given Bill's luck over the past few years, I was sure that something would go wrong.

It didn't.

It is a great feeling to know that Elliott still has it in him to take a car to the front. I was walking on cloud nine most of the day. Others, even non-Elliott fans, were happy to see the good ole' boy from Georgia return to Victory Lane.

Even fellow drivers offered congratulations to Elliott.

"I'm real proud of Bill Elliott right now," said Rusty Wallace. "I'm really, really excited. It's a morale booster for him. Every driver knows they can get the job done if it's in their heart and Bill's been fighting some chassis and cars the last couple of years. It looks like he's got it right now."

"It's great to see him back in victory lane," said defending Winston Cup champion Dale Jarrett. "We knew going in that he had a car that was capable of winning the race today and winning the 500. Bill is one of the best at drafting. We always here a lot about Dale Earnhardt being one of the best, but Bill knows as much about the draft as anybody here and does a great job. Man, his car looked great. The 50th lap didn't look any different from what I saw the first lap. He could take it in wherever he wanted, cut the car down, and it just looked like it drove really, really well. It's good for the sport, I can tell you that. It's great that he gets back up there, but we don't want him to have too much glory. He got his on Thursday and now Rusty and I will fight it out for Sunday (laughing)."

"I was just riding a little bit too much, compared to Bill (Elliott)," said Bobby Labonte. "Congratulations to him."

Still other drivers weren't too happy with the new rules handed down by NASCAR and seemed to try to take away Bill's thunder.

Dale Earnhardt said, "That's the worst racing I've seen at Daytona in a long time. They took NASCAR Winston Cup racing and made it some of the sorriest racing. They took racing out of the hands of the drivers and the crews. We can't adjust and make our cars drive like we want. They just killed the racing at Daytona. They took good racing and turned it into this. This is a joke. It's a joke. To have to drive a race car under those conditions, to take the crew chief and the driver out of it, just throw some springs in and go boys. That's all you've got. The cars that have the best aerodynamic advantage is going to win. It's a (dang) joke to have to race like this."

"They (NASCAR) have (taken racing out of the drivers hands)," said Jeff Gordon. "I really wish that the shock deal was a little bit different. Any time Daytona turns into a handling race track, you're going to see a poor race."

Well if it was "some of the sorriest racing," "a (dang) joke," and "a poor race" to Earnhardt and Gordon, it was the best (dang) race for me and many others!

Even though I am very excited about this win, let's put it in perspective. The win in the 125 assured Elliott of the third starting position, that is all. The win doesn't add to his victory total, nor does it gain him any Winston Cup points. Simply stated, the win places Elliott on the inside, second row for the Great American Race.

That said, a win is a win is a win! I matters not to me that it was a 125, it is still a win, something that has eluded Elliott for years. I have to say that I could not be happier about Bill's showing on Thursday.

Sunday's race could bring more of the same for Elliott, the McDonald's crew, and his fans.