Bill Elliott Returning Should Be Hardly A Cause For Celebration

This weekend one of the most popular drivers in the history of NASCAR returns to the track in Nextel Cup Series competition at the Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway.

Bill Elliott will put the fire suit on again, this time to race for the struggling Wood Brothers Racing outfit.

Wood Brothers is one of those unfortunate teams outside of the top-35 in owner points, a victim of NASCAR’s idiotic qualifying system that gives the have’s a free pass in each week and makes the have not’s sweat out grabbing one of the few spots left after the big boys all get their guaranteed positions.

So Wood Brothers has turned to Elliott, the 1988 Cup champion, to get their cars in the field. It would be a feel good story to think they were making the move simply to use the abilities of a formerly successful NASCAR veteran to get their car up to speed and into events on qualifying time. Unfortunately it’s very clear why Elliott is in the car, and that’s not the reason why.

He’s there because NASCAR offers former Cup champions six provisional spots, or free passes, into the field during the season. With Dale Jarrett already having used up his allotment this season for Michael Waltrip Racing, Elliott can now step in and, barring Rusty Wallace or Terry Labonte coming out of retirement to drive for another lower end operation, guarantee the Wood Brothers car is in the field.

Surely fans of “Awesome Bill from Dawsonville” will be thrilled to see their man back out on the track in competition.

I on the other hand think it’s an embarrassment to NASCAR that a former Nextel Cup, Winston Cup, whatever Cup title winner can use the word champion as a way to pimp themselves to the highest bidder looking for a free ride into events.

Yes, there was a time when provisionals of this sort were needed. When the Cup Series was still competing at dusty bullrings ensuring the stars of the day had a spot in the field was imperative to making fans happy and even through NASCAR’s formative years there still was a need for a system where fans had some guarantee that the drivers they paid tickets to see would be on the track.

Times have changed though. Think the turnstile count would be any lower this weekend at Lowe’s Motor Speedway if Bill Elliott wasn’t in the Coca-Cola 600? I doubt that very highly. The majority of tickets sold for this weekend’s race were purchased and in hand long before Wood Brothers announced they would be welcoming Elliott to replace Ken Schrader and Jon Wood in their car for the time being.

There’s no excuse here, no hiding behind some ulterior motive for Wood Brothers. Are they going to say Elliott has been brought on to mentor Ken Schrader? Probably not. They brought Elliott in to use the words “former champion” to put their car in the field.

The sad part is, you can’t blame Wood Brothers for doing it. NASCAR has made this happen.

A smaller team like Wood Brothers could look for ways to improve their qualifying efforts, but even that isn’t enough. A low buck operation could out qualify half the cars entered into a race and still be left out of the field. So why put the effort there when NASCAR has a built in easy out? 

In the same way that crew chiefs spend their days searching out the next gray area in the NASCAR rulebook to take advantage of, Wood Brother’s is just doing what NASCAR has forced every team outside the top-35 to do now, which is look for a loophole to a guaranteed a spot in the field.

Is David Pearson getting fitted for a seat and fire suit somewhere? What’s next, Richard Petty in the NAPA Toyota?

To be honest, I’m surprised Michael Waltrip hasn’t yet asked his dear older brother Darrell to come back for a few weeks and give it a go with his former champion’s free pass.

Wood Brothers is not the first team to take advantage of the past champion’s provisional and they surely won’t be the last, but from my perspective the true spirit of the rule has been irrevocably broken and just serves as another sham aspect of NASCAR’s ridiculous excuse for Nextel Cup qualifying.

Elliott should sport a pair of high heels and a mini skirt for driver introductions Sunday at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. He’s basically prostituting himself out, why not dress for the part?

Shawn Courchesne, 12:15 a.m.

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Comments

[bigbillfan9]

I had no problem with your article until the last paragraph. You're a moron. You couldn't hold Bill Elliott's proverbial jockstrap. If it was about the money Elliott would have been in a car way before now. He has been offerred several rides before now. Perhaps he really just wants to help some old friends out. You were right about one thing: NASCAR has created this. They should do away with the top 35 system and and let them run.

[JOHN PARK]

My money says "Awesome Bill" will immediately UNDERWHELM the NA$CAR world !

[Jim]

First - The PCP was introduced in 1991. By this time NASCAR was hardly still racing at "dusty bullrings." You've got the 90's confused with the 60's and early 70's!

Second - Bill Elliott owes no one any explaination or apology. If he's doing for the cash - good for him. If he really is there to help the Wood Brothers - even better. Either way its his call.

As a big fan of Bill's, I just wish him luck.

Finally - The prostitute stuff is just a little over the top - stick to writing on sports - something you're pretty good at - without the bs.

[Richard Reid]

you really have no clue,if it was about the money,waltrip would have already had him in a car.you may want to think befor you speak.

[Clint]

Unlike others, I wasn't offended by your last paragraph, but the visual of Bill Elliott dressed in high heels and a dress did cause me to throw away the rest of my lunch.

The fastest 43 cars should qualify for a 43 car field....period.

Peace and chicken grease.

[ROD P]

Each Car can only use the 6 Champ Get in free points once per season.
They can NOT use another champion to get 6 more attempts.

[Zac]

I agree with "bigbillfan9" and, moreso, with what Jim wrote. This isn't a situation that the Wood Brothers would have wished for nor are they, nor Bill Elliott, responsible for the situation that is Nextel Cup is. You wrote/acknowledge as much in your article, so why mock Bill Elliott and portray him as "pimping" himself out?

Get a clue, desk jockey.

[modseriesfan]

Yes NASCAR has created this, and it is a system that can and will be abused. However, your comments and insults towards Bill Elliott are completely out of line. So what if Bill Elliott is stepping in to help the Wood Brothers? If you are looking for the true spirit of rules in NASCAR you are a bigger moron that bigbillfan9 indicated. What are you, new? The spirit of rules in NASCAR is that they make and break them as they see fit. Your are talking out of your &*$ by insulting a great driver and person like Bill Elliott.

[ELLIOTTS9GIRL]

OMG what a jerk....How dare you cut Bill Elliott down by calling him a
prostitute.....Have you ever heard of someone getting a good &*%$#-slapping?

[Tim]

Wow! I might not like the qualifying situation but, I certainly wouldn't try to degrade one of Nascar's classiest drivers. I wonder how many things you do that we would consider questionable. Bill's reason for doing this just may be to help out. God knows how much he's been helping teams out since his full time retirement. I'm sure he's compensated well for it. I just don't see the reason for the attack on his character. Oh, I get it, you want more hits on your blog. Sounds like your motive is more degrading than Bill's

[Jim4Bill]

The PCP was available for an unlimited number of races up until this season - NASCAR changed it to the 6 race limit because they knew with Toyota adding so many new cars there would be many teams going home every week. Typical NASCAR they are slow to change unless the rule involves someone getting killed (Mike Rich, Dale Earnhart, etc.)

I agree the locked in Top 35 does not make complete sense - but I don't think it makes sense to qualify the entire field on speed unless they want to bring back 2 days of qualifying (aka a 2nd chance if you screw up). Maybe lock in the Top 15 or 20 is the right number - but alot of the power teams would not like that change since they are locked in the field today.

The PCP has been called the "Richard Petty" rule because it largely was created to keep Richard in the starting field late in his career.

It rarely caused problems in the past (although DW abused it late in his career to qualify for races).

The real issue is they created this Top 35 solution when they eliminated 2nd round qualifying. Given the large number of cars trying to get in races they should unlock more spots. Those guys 20th in points or worse are VERY unlikey to make the chase so why not make them qualify on time.

And lay off the Bill in a dress bit - he is an icon and hero to ALOT of fans so upsetting us is likely to be bad for your career. Imagine if you tried that line on Earnhart - you would need a police escort to attend a race.

Jim4Bill

[Mark]

what an idiot you are dude. I agree with the person above. You threw that last damn line in there just to get hits. Well, it may work, but at least I can call you an idiot to your face.

FACT is the rule is there!! thats on NASCAR.

We all know Bill has nothing to prove.

Bill is doing this because the Elliotts and the Woods go back 30 years!

if anyone is a prositute, its you dude.

From Shawn:
If Bill Elliott was hooking up with a team to help a program get up to speed and mentor drivers that would be one thing.
He is doing it simply because he knows he can make the shows effortlessly. If that's what you call competition, than so be it. Guess you and I have a different definition of the word. I think it's sad that a man who based a career on being competitive is taking advantage of a rule that basically says you don't have to be competitive any more, we'll let you in any way.
It's more a testimony to how ridiculous NASCAR's system for qualifying has become, but it's sad that a former champion with the reputation of Elliott has sunk to the level of taking advantage of the word champion to do this.

[Mel]

Shawn you never cease to amaze me how blatantly against Toyota and anybody affiliated with them. Bill Elliott has more class in his little finger than you have period. Maybe you need to start writing about something other than Toyota or is that all you have? Toyota is here to stay so get used to it.

From Shawn:
I'm at a loss here. What does Bill Elliott's deal with Wood Brothers have to do with Toyota?

[Jack]

How about we wait and see if Bill actually needs those PCP's before we dog the man out. After all he is one of the best qualifiers out there and I'd be willing to bet that although he may end up using a few of the PCP's he's just as likely to qualify the car on speed. Why don't you try getting your but out there and earning a Championship as an underfunded team or, try getting your car into the show as anything other than a Chevy and see if you don't need a little help to make the race.

[Deborah]

Bill Elliott is racing a Toyota for Braun Racing in Saturday's Busch race, and raced a number of Cup races for Michael Waltrip Racing last season. He was also supposed to race some for Red Bull Racing last season before A.J. Allmendinger showed up. But it's no surprise that you weren't aware of those things. Anyone who would call someone like Bill Elliott a prostitute must not pay very close attention to the sport and the people in it.

From Shawn:
Yes, I was very aware of those things, but what that all has to do with Bill Elliott and his deal with Wood Brothers is beyond me.

[BenchRacingSteve]

The Wood Brothers, for the most part, haven't had a huge problem making races until very recently. The problem with the Top 35 rule is that it makes lower level teams have to set up to QUALIFY to get into the races. Meanwhile upper level teams are setting cars up and practicing to RACE. Thus NASCAR is keeping the little guys down. Eliminating the Top 35 rule and making all cars qualify will help even out the playing field. Then we can get rid of PCP and we won't have to worry about anybodys wardrobe.

[ron]

Bill actually said that since he has the PCP, the Wood Bro.'s might choose to work on race set-up during the qualifying practices. Working on race set-up would be smart since they need points. The better the car is in the race, the more points they get and the more likely they will claw their way back into the top 35. I think it's a darn smart idea. I also think if they needed to qualify on speed, that if anyone can do it- it would be Bill Elliott. Lastly, the prostitute with high heels... any protitute that can take a car 230 mph into turn one at Daytona... or 211 mph (2002) into turn three at Indy is one heck of a driver. Oh well... fast cars... fast women! Go Bill!

[ron]

well, I posted the comment above, but somehow it was attributed to "BenchRacingSteve". That's weird.

From Shawn:
Not exactly sure what you're saying.

[Nick Kroplin]

Boy do you know nothing about sports. You are sitting there taking a cheap shot at a living NASCAR legend. Bill Elliott is able to race when he wants because he is a champion. Bill Elliott has earned everything he has gotten, and if he wants to step in and race every now and then, then let him. I am 13 years old and know what a great champion, person, and driver that Bill Elliott is more than you Shawn. What I really think is maybe you should stop taking cheap shots at Bill Elliott and you try to go out there and run 600 miles at 190mph for 4 or 5 ours on Sunday. Why don't you pick on some other sports legend and leave Bill Ellliott alone, because you don't want to mess with true NASCAR and Bill Elliott fans. GO BILL ON SUNDAY, YOU SHOW THIS SHAWN GUY WHO REALLY IS WEARING THE SKIRT

[Gar9]

Are you saying you have no brains?
Jarret just did it and I'm saying Bill will not use all of his six past champ povs.You get that, champ!!!Oh,I forgot your not one.

[Casey]

Why don't you go beat up on Dale Jarrett too? Is he also a prostitute for using the past champions provisional six times this year? What about Michael Waltrip signing him for the mere fact that he had champions provisionals to fall back on? Does that make him a prostitute too?

And what about Terry Labonte prostituting his services for the #96 at the beginning of the 2006 Season so they could make their way into the top 35?

I'd like an intelligent explanation, not some "I don't understand what you're saying" crap.

From Shawn:
Absolutely you're right, although it's hard to compare Elliott's "freelance work" with Wood Brothers to Jarrett, who is running full-time. But yes, you're right about Labonte being brought in just to get a car in the show. Not saying it's any different. I'm saying that it's a testament to the sad state of what NASCAR's "qualifying competition" has become and it's an unfortunate fact that the honor of winning a championship has led drivers and teams to use the system in the way they are doing it. I'd have a lot more respect for what Wood Brothers is doing if they had hired Bill Elliott to drive for them full-time, not just as a hired gun for the free passes he has coming to him.

[scott]

if Bill were a hooker he'd be auctioned on e-bay. the 55 would make a race,10- wouldn't miss one,red bull would have wings not anchors.the Wood Bros. been here 50yrs. they will do what it takes to stay another 50.

[Mark]

I had to laugh at all the "knee jerk" reactions posted by the foaming at the mouth Elliott fans. Shawn I personally thought your comments were not only hilarious, but very true, (not counting your getting the origins of the PCP rule wrong, but everyone makes mistakes).

Fact is Bill Elliott was one of the MOST overrated drivers ever in Nascar history. He only managed to be in competition for the championship three times in his career, & won it, how many times? ONLY once! If he didn't have some sort of advantage in the teams he drove for, he was as competitive as Michael Waltrip is now. Unlike Cale Yarborough or the late Dale Earnhardt, (just to name 2), he couldn't get the best out of a car that wasn't perfect, & BTW Elliott fans, I never liked nor pulled for Earnhardt, but I can tell the difference between a real racer & a mere driver. Back when he was sponsored by McDonalds we used to joke that the company had two "red headed clowns" on the payroll.

I know, I know, you're all going to point to his incredible 1985 season as "proof" of his greatness. Let's boil down the facts regarding that:

Fact #1-In 1983 when Nascar approved the new Thunderbird bodystyle that was used from 83-86, the wheelbase was nine inches too short to be Nascar legal. Nascar let them stretch the wheelbase of the racing version to make it "legal". Well the Ford teams discovered that they could tinker with the weight distribution more, given this wheelbase stretch, (not so much illegally, but certainly in a "gray area"), than their counterparts running GM products.

Fact #2-Since the established Ford teams of that era, (basically the Wood Brothers & Bud Moore), wouldn't help the Elliots any, they got a lot of people from the Georgia short track ranks to work for them. One of those mechanics had been using the "swirl port" cylinder head technology on his own short track car. So Ernie Elliott, (that so called "great" engine builder), not only adapted it, but took credit for the idea! Once the rest of the Nascar teams adapted that same technology, bye bye to the Elliott's advantage. That's why they were so lousy in the 86 season. Remember how amazed everyone was that they couldn't even duplicate the competitiveness of the year before, not even to mention their domination? One great season does NOT a career nor a legend make.

Bottom line is this: In his era Elliott was much like Jeff Gordon & Kasey Kahne are these days, (& I like Kasey); An average driver that runs/looks good with everything perfect for them, but with no ability to carry the car to victory themselves.

I do agree that Nascar has totally screwed up qualifying with the "top 35" rule in effect now. I'd like to see the fastest 40 in on speed, 2 provisionals based on points, & 1 PCP. If a PCP isn't needed, then 3 provisionals on points. & by points, only those in the top 20 are eligible for a provisional. Elliott & Jarrett are prostituting themselves with this sad farce. At least DJ has the sense to do it for 2 entire seasons to get more money, poor Bill is getting the short end of his deal.

As to all the Toyota/MWR/DJ comments on the board, PLEASE don't get me started about those has been, (or in Mikey's case, a never was) hacks that are nothing but corporate shills now. They certainly AREN'T racers, though Jarrett used to be.

[redintrepid9]

I actually agree with some of the things you said. Mostly, however, reading your article wasted a portion of my life that I wish I could get back. One thing I agreed with is the sad state of NASCAR. Like it or not, they run the show so they can do things the way they want to. Don't like it? Quit watching and take up crochetting. Just as NASCAR runs their own show, the same applies to Bill Elliott. He has had a successful career, has made plenty of money, and can choose to do whatever he wants, basically because he runs his own life....not you. Bill surely doesn't need a second-rate journalist to critique his daily decisions and activities. Why don't you go to work and find something worthwhile to write about? I can give you a suggestion on that. If you have to write about something being prostituted, why don't you write about the way the new Brian France-led regime has prostituted NASCAR into the state you are complaining about? Seems to me that would be a lot more meaningful literary fodder than making a mockery of a NASCAR legend and icon, a man who has made historically significant contributions to his chosen profession, and to mankind in general. Aside from the unnecessary comments and your obvious disrespect for the older generation of NASCAR, your biggest blunder hasn't even been pointed out yet. The fact is that you have made a grave error by raising the dander of us Bill Elliott fans. We are seasoned veterans, work-hardened, and are devoted to Bill and whatever he chooses to do. You may think we are an insignificant group, but you are about to find out differently....

From Shawn:
I like the dramatic ending there. Like a bad mystery move, I'm about to find out differently.

[scott]

So Mark - Bill running competitevly and winning races every year in the #9 Evernham Dodge, with a brand new team, new cars & new mfgr doesn't show he can wheel a car and carry a less-than-perfect program huh? Name another driver that has taken a first year team and mfgr to wins in each of it's first three sesasons - and who did it without a teammate to speak of. I am an Earnhardt Sr. fan, but at least I can give credit to a guy who can flat out drive.