07.25
July 25, 2010
A 31st-place starting position for the 17th running of the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway didn’t bode well for Bill Elliott and the Wood Brothers’ No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion. But Elliott and his David Hyder-led crew showed their true racing colors and turned in an impressive performance in one of NASCAR premier events, a race that is second in stature only to the Daytona 500.
When the checkered flag fell, Elliott and the No. 21 had moved up 13 positions to an 18th-place finish, the team’s second top-20 finish in seven starts so far in the 2010 season. The other was a 16th-place run at Texas Motor Speedway.
On Sunday at Indianapolis, the Wood Brothers team took advantage of some skillful driving by Elliott, a former Brickyard 400 winner, along with some smooth pit stops and good pit calls by Hyder to run among the top 20 for most of the afternoon and come away with a solid finish that they hope will lead to even better results when the Motorcraft/Quick Lane team returns to action in three weeks for the Carfax 400 at Michigan International Speedway.
Elliott’s driving skills were key to making it past the first lap at the Brickyard. When Kyle Busch and Sam Hornish Jr. spun just in front of him triggering a multi-car crash, Elliott steered the Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion through the smoke and spinning cars, emerging without a scratch on his car.
“That was close, real close,” Elliott said.
He also managed to avoid several other incidents and stayed on the lead lap throughout the race, even as some of the top contenders fell a lap or more behind.
In the closing laps, Elliott was involved in some of the closest racing of the day, and in doing so got himself and his team some quality TV time from the ESPN broadcast crew, which pointed out to viewers what a strong run the Wood Brothers team had going.
In the end, many of the drivers who had fallen a lap or more down took advantage of the wave- around rule to rejoin the lead lap. But Elliott held his ground in the final run to the checkered flag and delivered the team a momentum-building finishing position.
“It was a good day all around,” said team co-owner Eddie Wood. “The car was good. The FR9 engine was strong. Everything seemed to come together.
“We had good calls on the pit stops. Hyder and Bill [Elliott] worked together to make the car better, and Bill drove a really good race.”
Wood said he believes the progress the team made with a brand-new car at Indianapolis is a sign that the struggles of mid-season are behind them.
“A run like we had today is something to build on,” he said.
Check out Wood Brothers Racing’s new website at woodbrothersracing.com
18th is better than we’ve been doing. Hoping for a little better in Michigan. All in all, a good run today. Main thing: no bad luck. Now if we can just get some good luck!
Good job today. You gotta walk before you can run!! Let’s hope for a trot at Michigan.
Good run Bill! “forever a Bill Elliott fan”
good run bill smooth driving looked good out there
Congratulations on a good & steady run. WOW…that wreck/mess was
close! Congrats to the Wood Bros too…..now on to Michigan!!
Good job Bill ! Hope to see you in person @ Michigan… Cindy if you can give any info or help it would very much be appreciated. We’ll be there (Michigan) friday nite late…
Great run at Indy, considering track position. We need to add Pocono to our schedule. Bill is tremendous on the flat tracks. See you at Michigan. Forever Elliott fan…
Bill great job your still as smooth as ever. I have been a fan since you started and never want you to retire caus you still got it in you to WIN!!
Bill,
Great run, especially that close racing at the end. You showed your real talent.
Keep on Trucking forward.
I will post what I know but am not sure if I will be there or at the ARCA race with Casey or at the Pensacola/Mobile race with Chase since they are all three racing that weekend.
Good Luck to all 3!!! Masterful driving to get through lap 1. Any news on a sponsor for next year? I know you can’t say Cindy, but are we getting close? A possibility? Anyone in particular we need to mass e-mail? I can’t relax until Bill wins at least 1 more Sprint Cup race. My son wants a DVD with a Bill Elliott victory. Any suggestions? How about just letting him see one on live TV? OK? Sounds like a plan!!!!!!!
thansk for keeping the sight updqated for us Bill Fans. Good Job on Sunday Bill and 21 Team.
Id like to see Bill run the Pocono race next year before Indy, being some of the turns are almost the same. I think they could get a better run at Indy next year if they do this. All and all it was a good day for Bill and the team.
I think Bill should clean up the Brickyard car and run Pocono this weekend. I know that probably can’t happen , but i could see a top 10 based on the huge run he turned in at Indy. Bill and the Woods looked like they are getting on track. Keep the momentum alive!
I would like to see Bill run two full seasons again. It would take a full season for any team to get caught up with the top teams. I believe in the second season Bill could run in the top ten. If the #9 car is available? we fans can dream what might be. Could Woods racing and richard petty racing merge or form some kind of alliance.
Looks like RPM may not even be around next year. They are looking at downsizing to fewer cars or possibly shutting down if sponsorship isn’t found. Boy, NASCAR better let these boys drag a car out of the junk yard and go race it (like Bill did his first car). Otherwise, there may not be but 30 cars showing up next year. Things have just gotten rediculously expensive.
anything at all would be most certainly appreciated Cindy… I know there are people that haven’t seen Bill probably longer than I.. Been @ least 10 years we’re pretty sure…
GOOD RUN (NOT A WIN BUT STILL A PRETTY GOOD RUN)
Nice performance by Bill and the Wood Brothers crew, keep up the good work and on to Michigan and another strong finish. Go Bill Go!
It was nice to hear the announcers mention your name Sunday. It’s a shame that a driver has to be in the top 10 or 20 for tv/radio to even acknowledge he’s racing.
It was nice to hear your name mentioned by the announcers Sunday. It’s a shame that a driver has to be in the top 10 or 20 in order for tv and radio to even acknowledge he’s in the race. Great job Bill. Keep racing.
Great Run by the 21. Looks like Bill got hung on the outside on that 2nd to last restart. Nice racing though on the last restart. Bill even got it a little slide-ways after nipping the grass and got it back together for a strong top 20 at a very tough track. I agree that Pocono is a good track that the Woods and Elliott should run. Remember when Bill won the Brickyard 400 in 2002 he also won at Pocono the week before with a very ballzy outside pass in turn 1 against ole Sterling Marlin. Beat Rusty Wallace too at the Brickyard. That was some top notch racing and I know Bill still has that in him should he be able to get that 21 up front. Things look good and if they could get some sponsor $$ a full season would be just the ticket to punch out a very popular Woods Racing/Bill Elliott win. What a day that would be!
BILL ELLIOTT IS STILL THE BEST!
I sat high in turn 4 last Sunday and watched the Brickyard 400 with my scanner on the entire race. I saw how hard Bill was driving to get the finish he did, but I can’t forget the pit stop where Bill asked for a drink and didn’t get it. He had to come back in for his drink, and lost four spots. As hot as it was sunday in the stands, I can’t imagine just how hot it was in the car, and to not give your driver a drink every time he came to pit road, was inexcuseable. One thing for sure Hyder never let them forget the rest of the day. Bill I really enjoyed your interview at the Sprint Pavillion, I got to stand front and center while you explained how hard it is to race on a part time basis, compared to full time. Great Interview, Great race, and an AWESOME driver. Looking forward to Michigian. Good Luck!!!
Yeah, I wasnt very happy about that either since I heard him ask for it a couple of times….any nice of you to notice.
Cindy, obviously you read these posts and I wanted to send a big Thank You your way! The reason is b/c a while back the “Official Bill Elliott website” wasn’t all that good. It lacked updates, fan interaction, and all of the new graphics and layouts that this current site has. I actually wrote a long comment one day on that old sight pleading someone to do something about it and make it more fan friendly. Bill has the most loyal fans in all of racing and we need a place to be updated and able to chime in on what’s going on. I don’t know for sure but I think you may have had something to do with that. If nothing else you got the ball rolling. I now enjoy this site and since Chase and Casey are up and coming starts that will eventually try to fill in where Bill leaves off, I am glad there will be a place to come and get updates on what is going on in the racing world of the Elliotts and BEDD. Thanks again for all the hard work that goes into keeping the site relevant. Good luck choosing who to go watch the weekend of the michigan race! You must be a busy woman!
Too reiterate Kevin Grube “Thank You Cindy” for everything that you do for us, as fans.
Yes, I do. And I agree the website was looking very poor and never updated so I had them give me the permissions to update and now I do all of that but they really worked with me and stepped up the graphics and how the navigation throughout the sites works. I am always changing it. In fact Chase’s website homepage should look quite a bit different, hopefully, before today is out.
We are always open to your ideas so please do not hesitate to comment on what you like and what you don’t.
Cindy, you deserve a capital “C”. What are the odds we get to run fulltime next year? 50/50? Better? Worse? I am hopeful but not confident. Thank You!
Not good at all. I would say the odds are stacking up against us rapidly. Less than 50% chance. Sorry, I know this isn’t what you wanted to hear.
Time to pray! All of us! We need divine intervention. Maybe in the form of a miraculous run in Michigan to open some eyes. And some sponsors check book.
Oh I agree! Just be reminded that the answer is not always what we want to hear.
I forgot to ask one question in my previous note. Bill was the 48 incident in the pit at Indy a payback for him blocking you on the track?
Unanswered prayers can be positive!
Full time or not, we all see that on any given Sunday Bill can run with the better half of the field even in a single team operation that runs part time on a tight budget. I mean, just look at the go or go home teams. The 21 team makes every race they attempt on time and is usually the fastest of that group. That’s against full time go or go homers. No doubt that the 21 team would be a top 35 team throughout the season if full time. A sponsor should realize that and step up to the plate with some cash. I think Ford/Motorcraft needs to be the ones to step up and make that 21 team a priority. They owe it to themselves, Bill and the Woods who have been so loyal to Ford over the years.
Oh absolutely. I didn’t meanthat at all. Just want to be open to the direction God send us always.
No, not at all.
I agree, but don’t think that will happen while Bill is in the car. Things are too uncertain with the Wood’s, Bill the entire racing community really. we should have a direction for 2011 by now but we honestly don’t. I cannot speak for the Woods of course but as far as Bill he has been given no positive direction from anyone.
Cindy, got to ask you this so it is settled in my mind once and for all. Did Bill quit full time driving 100% on his own after 2003? And if so, does he sort of regret it now? I can’t help but always wonder what 2004 would have brought in that 9 car.
On that note, how awesome would it have been if Bill had won that race at Homestead and went out winning 2 in a row to end his career. He could have just got out, and walked off into the sunset without saying a word. Everyone would have known what that meant!
I think they should give every car on the track at least a few seconds of camera time and say a few words about them. You’d think the sponsors of the cars at the back of the track would complain to Nascar about that. What do you guys think? (just an idea)
Would Bill even run full-time next year if sponsership became available? That is the question we should ask. If Bill has no interest in running full time then we can stop worrying about it. haha.. I would love to see him run full-time whether it be in the 21 or some other car out there.
And one more question…would Bill run for a different team if given the chance or is he determined to stay with the Wood Brothers with a limited schedule.
As always Cindy, thanks for all your hard work and replies to our questions
Hey Cindy, I posted a comment last week on the great race Bill had and also about my Dad and I being a fan of Bill since 1984 when we actually became eat up with racing. I made a comment that was referring to Montoya whining over the 4 tire change and of course the winner took 2 tires. When Bill won the Brickyard, Mike Ford and Bill went with 4 tires and Bill blistered the field. I was actually complimenting Bill about that and the fact that he controls the car and could’ve won the race if he had track position this year. These indy car guys are used to the car driving them around according to Dave Despain. They’re computer controlled basically. There’s never been a better driver in my opinion than Bill Elliott. I wish he could run 1 more full time season also but I would like him to have the sponsorship dollars for him to have the best equipment.
That would certainly be nice. Bill has never been gien the credit for his tallent as far as I am concerned.
Bill would probably run a full schedule if he had the opportunity. Hs deal with the Wood Brother’s is annually so that has yet to be determined for 2011.
What do I think? I think that the sponsor woul have to pay NASCAR and TV to get the coverage. That’s how it works, sorry.
I really cannot answer that. Sorry.
I think your statement says enough that I can read between the lines.
Ok, another question. Has Bill ever thought about or tried to run a full schedule along with a teammate? Maybe someone like Terry Labonte or Mark Martin (once he goes part time). Bill could run all the races that he likes and the other driver could do the same. That way, the team would have a shot at staying in the top 35 and being a full time team should be more competitive. To make things run smoother, one driver could run the short tracks and the other could run the big tracks. That way, there would be a natural separation in the cars/setups. They could even split the Daytona and Talledega races. Plus, they could put a road course “specialist” in the car if they wanted to skip those races (although I have always thought that Bill was one hell of a road course driver).
Heck, if Bill could do that himself (start his own team again), he could start putting Casey and then Chase in the car down the road. There’s got to be some teams looking to sell out right now where Bill could pick up some cars and equipment for fairly cheap. I’d almost guarantee you that RPM will have some cars to unload!! And they have been fairly competive this year. We just need a SPONSOR!!! Let me talk to my neighbor – he has an electric company – maybe he can shell out 20 million!!
Hey Cindy-maybe you could treat Bill to a Braves game in Atlanta ? One time made the trip to Fulton County Stadium. Dave Justice was new to the team then. Had a lot of Fun but wow was it hot…
Bill Elliott is the best.
I think that NASCAR should sponsor Bill for an entire season, shoot; he basically sponsored NASCAR, when they needed it back in the 80’s. How soon they forgot.
I hate to be so blunt, but the way you get your name and sponsor mentioned is to run up front and be competitive. Case in point was Indy this year. Bill cracks the top twenty and mixes it up with some top drivers during the last run and what do ya know… the TV guys have something to say about Bill and the 21 car.