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Awesome rebirth

Close to retirement in 2000, Bill Elliott takes the Brickyard 400, his second straight win.

By JOANNE KORTH, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published August 5, 2002

INDIANAPOLIS -- Bill Elliott lowered his face to the bricks stretching across the finish line of racing's most storied venue and thought back to the hard times.

Kissed them away.

His career reborn, the 46-year-old dominated the Brickyard 400 Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, reminding everyone of the Awesome Bill he used to be -- and is again.

"It seems like it's been a lifetime getting here, and I just don't know how to describe it," said Elliott, who continued the NASCAR tradition of celebrating by kissing the speedway's bricks. "It's been a long time coming."

Elliott, who won July 28 at Pocono, was strong all day, leading 93 laps in his No.9 Dodge.

He took the lead for the final time with 12 laps left, powering past Rusty Wallace on the backstretch. On a restart with four laps to go, he quickly pulled away to secure the victory.

Wallace was second, followed by Matt Kenseth and rookie Ryan Newman. Three-time Brickyard winner Jeff Gordon, racing on his 31st birthday, finished sixth.

Elliott, the 1988 Winston Cup champion, was a force during the 1980s and early '90s, winning 40 races and 44 poles from 1983-94.

But the fan favorite fell on hard times during the late '90s, when he purchased his own team. Lacking options, he was close to retirement during 2000 when Ray Evernham approached the veteran to drive for his first-year team.

"Everybody's too easy to count you out," Elliott said. "And then you stop believing in yourself. When Ray came to me, I couldn't even think he was going to hire me with my record at that point. I thought maybe he needed a psychologist."

Evernham, who won three Winston Cup championships as a crew chief for Gordon's No.24 Chevrolet at powerhouse Hendrick Motorsports, knows what it feels like to be doubted.

When Elliott pulled into Victory Lane, Evernham was too choked up to speak.

"That's kind of not like me. I don't know where all that came from," Evernham said later. "Quite honestly, there were a lot of people that said when I left Hendrick and the 24 that I was never going to win again.

"To get over a hump with a major accomplishment like this, I think it overcame me a little bit. I didn't know what to say. For the first time in my life, I was speechless."

It was Elliott's third victory in 57 races with Evernham and seventh top 10 in nine Brickyards. He moved up three places to sixth in the points standings, 210 behind leader Sterling Marlin.

Two-time Brickyard winner Dale Jarrett emerged as a late contender, taking the lead on a pit stop with 30 laps left.

But there was miscommunication among Jarrett's team during the stop, and he left pit road with the gas line catch-can sticking out of the No.88 Ford.

Sent to the back of the field, Jarrett rallied to finish 10th. But he said it was of little consolation.

"Not right now, not when you've got a car that should have finished, at the worst, second," Jarrett said.

"Could we have beaten him? We'll never know. You just can't make any mistakes."

Elliott, who got his 43rd victory, gave credit to crew chief Mike Ford, who was in high school when Elliott won the points title, for putting together a strong team that builds strong cars.

He said he had forgotten how good it felt.

"Mike has brought something to me that I guess I've lacked for a number of years; that solid consistency, that foundation that each and every driver needs," Elliott said. "That gives me confidence on the racetrack and gives those guys more confidence in the decisions they make every minute of every day."

Elliott knows retirement will catch up to him eventually. But after a day such as Sunday, he said he is in no rush.

"I'm on the shorter end of the stick than these younger guys. The sport's eventually going to push you out," he said. "That's going to be a part of evolution. But I'm proud of where I'm at today. I'm proud of the accomplishment. I feel it's a joy coming into the garage and driving the race car.

"I feel like I've had a second chance at life. To go through the struggles and the trials and tribulations that I went through in the late '90s, I could have walked away just about as easy as I could have stayed. It was getting to that point in my career. But you know, I'm glad I stayed."

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