BILL ELLIOTT
ATLANTA PREVIEW
NO. 9 DODGE DEALERS INTREPID R/T
Racing at Atlanta
"Atlanta is always fun. I really enjoyed the old Atlanta, the way the racetrack used to be. It was always a lot of fun. It was a unique racetrack to itself and I enjoyed running it. Still, the new one tends to be getting a little better. I've kind of got it figured out a little bit better. All-in-all, it's kind of a home territory. A lot of good friends and people come down there and I enjoy running that place."
If the team will make adjustments due to the one-engine rule at Atlanta "We have already, and I think you see it in a lot of teams. They don't run as much as they have in the past (in practice because of the one-engine rule). Until we get a better feel of what this rule is all about, we'll just have to see. I think Atlanta and some of the other longer races will be a good test. I mean, you've got a 500-mile race, it's a high rpm racetrack and that's going to really tell the tale if a motor and its components are going to live.
"I just drive and let those guys worry about their own stuff. If they say, 'OK, you've run too much,' then I quit. Mike Ford and I establish what we want to try to change and get ready to start the race. This business, whatever curve NASCAR throws at us, we're going to have to respond to it and figure out how to do it. There isn't any rule change that doesn't cost some money. You're trying to figure out how to get all the power you can out of a motor, then you've got to get durability out of it, also."
Comparing this season to 2001
"If I look back on our performance last year, I think our team really started coming together June, July and August. There was a lot of racing circumstances we fought. I think we tried some things that we didn't have all of the information on and kind of went the wrong direction. As temperamental as these racecars are, it's hard to get everything perfect week in and week out. That's what we're striving for. I think having Jeremy on board and still having Casey Atwood as part of the deal will help us get to where we need to be quicker. Those are the keys that I see. I think they're going to bring me along. I think they're going to keep me young."
STATS & FACTS
This weekend's race marks Elliott's 51st career start at Atlanta.
He has four poles, five wins, 12 top fives and 18 top 10s at the track. His total of 51 starts will mark the most times Elliott has visited a single track. He leads all active drivers at Atlanta with four poles and five wins. The 1.5-mile track ranks second to Michigan (seven) on Elliott's all-time career win list.
In last November's NAPA 500 Elliott started sixth (his best starting position at Atlanta since March of 1992). He ran in the top 20 all day, getting as high as third in the early stages of the race. A tight handling car kept Elliott from maintaining his top five position, but he was able to run with the lead pack for the entire race, gaining valuable spots in the closing laps to finish 14th. He also gained a valuable spot in the points race, moving from 16th to 15th.
Elliott had another consistent outing last week in Las Vegas after starting his day in the 23rd spot. Elliott was competitive from the beginning, advancing into the top 10 early on, at times posting the fastest time on the track. Elliott would spend the day moving around the top 10 despite a car that was handling a little loose. He took two tires on his last stop and maintained track position to finish eighth. It was Elliott's third top-10 finish at the track in five races and his third consecutive top-15 finish of the season.
Elliott's finish at Las Vegas moved him up two positions in the points race to sixth place. He is just 12 points out of fifth place. Coming into Atlanta last year Elliott ranked seventh in the points race, just 22 points behind his current total.
Elliott is making up plenty of ground after the green flag drops.
His average start this year is 26th, but his average finish (10th) ties Elliott for the fourth best average among drivers who have started in all three races this season.
Elliott is one of only six drivers who have completed all 860 laps in the three races this season.
