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One-on-One Daytona 500 pole-sitter proud to be driving a Dodge
After 18 years away from NASCAR, Dodge is back. Winston Cup veteran Bill Elliott won the pole for the 2001 Daytona 500 in his No. 9 Dodge Intrepid. He spoke with Sports Tonight just two days before the Great American Race.
Kara Henderson: Bill, what a week you have had. Was it all a surprise? Bill Elliott: Well, it really was. I felt like if we were in the top 10, we would have been in a decent good position. But the way it went, the guys had a little left and they put it to me when it was time to go. So I'm very pleased. Henderson: You have won two Daytona 500s, but those were back in the 1980s. How much of a different driver are you now? Elliott: Well, I almost won it a couple years ago and I was pretty close last year, and I've had some awful good runs here over the last five or six years. So, now I have to take the experience and put it to work when the green flag falls Sunday afternoon. And that's a key point to this place. It's a handling racetrack, the temperature is going to be quite significant. It's been hotter, one of the hotter Daytonas I've experienced in a long time, so you have to car your car working well in the corner, gotta be able to run with the pack when you need to and be able to go on and do what you need to do. You need a crew behind you, and that's where Ray Evernham comes in. With all that and Dodge behind you, I don't see how you can't have a good weekend. Henderson: You've hooked up with Evernham now, so how much does it help you to no longer be an owner-driver and just a driver now? Elliott: Well, that was the happiest day of my life. I guess it is kind of like buying a boat. Your two happiest days are the day you buy it and the day you sell it. That may be true in a race team also. I don't need to be a car owner. To me, I feel more comfortable behind the wheel. Ray came in and with Dodge, he decided to do it. And I am proud of him. He has had a full plate, he's done a good job and I feel like we'll do nothing but get better as the season progresses. Henderson: Can it really jumpstart a season to win this thing? Elliott: Absolutely. Even if you don't win, if you come out here with a good finish Sunday afternoon, that can put a positive momentum on your race team for the next several weeks.
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