It's Official: Elliott to Dodge in 2001

ATLANTA - Nineteen eighty-eight NASCAR Winston Cup Champion Bill Elliott will be at the wheel of one of Evernham Motorsports' Dodge Dealers Intrepid R/Ts when Dodge makes its heralded return to NASCAR Winston Cup racing beginning with the 2001 Daytona 500.

There's a unique twist: Elliott, part of the seven-car Intrepid contingent, will be in familiar Car number 9. It's the same number Elliott drove to the Winston Cup title, and to 40 career victories and 46 career pole positions while competing for Melling Racing from 1983 to 1994.

"We're really excited to bring one of the most successful and most popular drivers in NASCAR history to our team," Evernham said. "He's the perfect guy to be the cornerstone of our new team. First and foremost, he's a great driver. He brings a level of experience and winning from the driver's side of things that not too many people in racing have. In addition to being a winner, Bill is the complete package you want in a driver. He's an excellent chassis setup guy. He's very much into making the car handle, and that's something I'm into as well. We'll be able to communicate and hopefully make rapid progress."

"This is another great milestone in the 500-day countdown to our return to NASCAR Winston Cup competition," said Lou Patane, Vice President, Dodge Motorsports Operations and Mopar Performance Parts. "The uniting of (team owner) Ray Evernham and Bill Elliott gives us one of the winningest combinations in racing history. To bring a driver with the credentials, the history and the immense popularity of Bill Elliott into the Dodge family is a huge bonus for us. For the more than 2,900 Dodge Dealers sponsoring this program and for our associate sponsor the UAW National Training Center, both have landed a driver they can identify with, as have the legions of Dodge enthusiasts out there. That further builds on the solid foundation on which we look to build another winning Dodge tradition at the highest levels of motorsports competition."

Just last fall, Evernham left behind his role as a successful three-time Winston Cup championship crew chief - to start his career as a Winston Cup team owner and co-architect of the new Dodge Intrepid NASCAR program. Elliott will leave his latest venture as team owner/driver of Elliott Racing to be a driver for Evernham Motorsports.

Together, Evernham and Elliott have combined for four Winston Cup titles, 87 wins, 79 pole positions, and 268 top-five finishes. They've also combined for four Daytona 500 victories.

Making the move to Evernham Motorsports with Elliott, in addition to his venerable number 9 -- that comes courtesy of his old teammates at Melling Racing -- will be key members of his current leadership at Elliott Motorsports, most notably general manager Eddie D'Hondt and car chief Mike Ford. "I'm truly excited to join the Dodge Winston Cup program and be a part of racing history once again," said Elliott, who recently was voted Most Popular Driver for a record 14th time in the American Motorsports Press Association annual fan poll.

"This gives us the opportunity to make a fresh start with a very high-profile program that all eyes in the racing world will be watching. I'm especially thankful that the Mellings have let me have my old number back, and also for the chance to bring my key people with me to Evernham Motorsports. I think it's going to be great for everybody involved."

The driver for the second Evernham Motorsports entry - car number 19 - will be announced at a later date. The two-car Evernham team will be joined in the Dodge Intrepid camp next season by the two-car effort from Bill Davis Racing, with drivers Ward Burton and Dave Blaney, and the three-car contingent of Petty Enterprises, featuring drivers Kyle Petty, John Andretti and Adam Petty.