Thanks to Ford Racing PR for this transcript:

On Feb. 9, 1987, Ford Racing’s Bill Elliott set a Daytona International Speedway track record of 210.364 miles per hour in his famed No. 9 Coor’s Thunderbird.  To this day, Elliott considers that one of the most impressive accomplishments of his stellar career and he talked with Ford Racing about what made that so special.

BRISTOL, Tenn. (Monday, Jan. 28, 2013) – Although it’s been a quarter of a century, Bill Elliott remembers his first short track win at Bristol Motor Speedway like it was yesterday.

Even a little incident involving Geoffrey Bodine in the waning laps wasn’t enough to keep the Dawsonville, Ga. driver from Victory Lane at the World’s Fastest Half-Mile. That April 10th win, his first of the 1988 season, catapulted Elliott to his lone NASCAR Sprint Cup championship.

In a recent interview, Elliott talked about that win, racing at BMS and his son Chase’s career, among other topics. Following is a transcript of that conversation:

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Can you believe it’s been a quarter of a century since you won at Bristol?  I was talking to somebody earlier about it being 25 years and I said “It just doesn’t seem like it was that long ago, seems like it was 25 days.” Time goes by so fast. Where has the time gone? My son (Chase) is now is 17 and he’s racing at a lot of these places, so I’m just trying to keep up and follow him around.

What is racing at BMS like?  Over the years you have your ups and down in racing and time takes its toll on you. To come out and run 500 laps round this place is not an easy task. Granted, I had some pretty decent success here, not as good as some guys, not as bad as some others. All in all, with that being said, I just love the place. The last few times I raced here I enjoyed it — I truly did.

What was your conversation with Geoff Bodine like after the race? I guess I thanked him for not getting four tires (laughs). I’ve always said as much as you loved or hated the guys you raced against, it was kind of being with your family.  Most of them would get on top of the building and jump off the building with you if that’s what you chose to do but then again they’d scrap with you if they thought you were roughing them up, like Bodine did to me.

When I was watching video (of the race), I saw how we got together in Turn 3 and he kept coming up the hill, up the hill, up the hill, I said ‘Man he really must have wanted to spin me out.’ It was a great day, a great deal for us. We had some good times here and that was the icing on the cake. I felt that was big for us but we came back for the fall race in ‘88 and really ran well, finished second to Dale (Earnhardt) that night. It was probably the best I ever ran here, hands down. I almost beat him at the end of the race — it came down to some lapped traffic and he was just hard to beat anyway.

What were you thinking at the end of the race? I was thinking that I had four fresh tires and he (Bodine) didn’t. All I was thinking was ‘beat him, just beat Geoff.’ That’s all I had in my head. I was going to do whatever it took but mainly, I wanted to beat him fair and square. Sometimes things happen, you crowd somebody or they crowd you… everybody sees it a different way. You look back at that race and a lot of guys had trouble, there was only a handful on lead lap. That wouldn’t happen in today’s world. These races today… there are lots of cars left on lead lap so decisions you’d make during the race were different then than they would be today.

Any other great memories from that race win? “Oh, yeah. Before we went green (on lap 498), I’ll never forget, Dale had had some sort of problem and he was several laps down; I pulled up beside him and he goes like this (waves his arm forward). That meant to get it done. I thought that was pretty funny

It was great race, my first short track win and it kind of led to the championship for me that year. A lot of good things came from me winning that race. It set our season on track, just where it needed to be. We hadn’t focused a lot on the short tracks in the early years because we felt a win at a (Super) Speedway helped you more. You got more focus put on you, you got more ink.

I’ll tell you, to this day, I still cherish that race win. I’ve been fortunate to do a lot in my career but looking back on it and how it all unfolded that afternoon… I mean, I spun out with just a few laps to go and somehow I didn’t tear my car up. At Bristol! Then I pitted and got four tires and somehow I won. I tell you what, that was two thumbs up.

What do you think about the changes at Bristol? Well, I haven’t been on it since the changes before the race last August but when I raced on it before those changes I really did enjoy it. The fans may not have but from driver’s side, it was really great and I liked it. This place though, just to see all improvements, they’ve been huge. I look at the pictures from 1961 to now and you know, I remember those days, people sitting on the grass up on the bank. It’s pretty amazing how spectacular it’s become.

What did you tell your son Chase about Bristol before he first raced here?: I told him it’s the neatest place you’ll ever go race. It’s just a lot of fun and it’s so unique. The concrete takes a little different finesse of the car and you have to approach it differently. When Chase ran here in K&N last year, he was leading the race and Ryan Blaney spun him out in (Turns) 1 and 2. They’re great friends but after the race…well, it’s just…well, what do you do. It can be a tough track and a lot of things can happen here and you just have to go on. You’ve got to have to have good spotter and good understanding of what can happen because something WILL happen. And you can be three or four cars back and you’ll end up being the one in the middle of it.

Why has Bristol been so popular with race fans? “Why has it thrived? Well, there’s a lot that goes into that. It’s a lot about the track but it’s also a lot about the people here in this area. They want you to be part of it, they want to see you coming through their doors. They’re happy you’re here. I don’t want to name names but one of the first years I raced after one of the new tracks was added I was driving to the track and I saw a sign that said “Red Necks Go Home.” That sticks with you.

The people here in Bristol, they have always embraced this track, even back years ago. You always get the feeling that they like having you here and that means something. It’s always a good feeling when you come to Bristol.

There’s really so much that drives Bristol’s popularity. It’s driven by the high banks and the speed and it’s so unique for the drivers. You just have to have a different mindset at this place and that kind of bleeds over into the fans. The fans love that excitement, plus they can see the whole venue unlike a lot of places we go to.  There’s always something going on here, up front, in the back and that gets the fans so involved. That just makes it special.

If you’re talking to a new fan about Bristol Motor Speedway, how would you describe it? Intense. For the fan, for the driver, and that’s how the race is. It’s very, very intense.

How is racing different now than it was during your heyday? Oh gosh, it’s so different. I think back to how hard that era really was… you didn’t go anywhere to buy cars, you handmade stuff, and that was so time consuming. We only had five or six cars, a couple of superspeedway cars, maybe an intermediate car and a short track and road course car. You know, one of each, and we kind of scrapped something together for a backup and then hoped we didn’t have to pull it out of truck. Early on, we didn’t even have backup car.

I remember going to Charlotte when we ran for the Winston Million in ‘85. We ran The Winston at that time and we took a car that was really just a car with four tires. We did OK; we saved my best car to try to win the Winston Million. I tell you, you just didn’t have the people, the manpower to do all they do today. We never had a car sitting in truck that was 100 percent ready to go. It’s so different these days; all the technology and all they have now is just so different.

We were sometimes a victim of our own demise. I look at all the mistakes we made in ’85… If we had been better prepared and had more guys that year… We had 12 guys total in the shop, that was the engine shop and the chassis shop. We worked ourselves to death and I don’t think people realize how hard we worked to do what we did. We were focused on the speedway stuff and less on the short track stuff. As time went on we did focus more on short tracks because it became a bigger part of the picture. To win a championship we knew we had to do better on the short tracks. Still our expertise was the bigger tracks. When the season ended our main goal was to run good at Daytona and we forgot about everything past that until we got to next Superspeedway. We’d just hope we didn’t tear anything up in between just so we could make it to the next one. Now, that’s not how it is. Now every single race is a big deal. You have to win at Sonoma and Daytona and Bristol to win a championship. It’s really a different deal.

You competed some last year. Will that continue? I ran twice last year and that was enough for me. Now about all I do is try to keep up with Chase and our Late Model program. We’ve helped Ben Kennedy some, T.J. Reed and Mason Massey and between those three and what Chase has going on, I haven’t had time to do anything else. It was fun to run that car at Daytona last year for Turner. That was the best car I’ve been in in I don’t know when. But, the way I look at it, if I keep doing that then I’m taking away from somebody else getting in a car so it’s kind of a doubled-edge sword.

What driver did you look up to as a kid? (David) Pearson was always kind of my hero. Just wasn’t anybody like him. Jody (Ridley) was my short track guy. There were lots of guys I looked up to and admired and respected through the years though.

If you were the president of NASCAR for a day what would you change? First off, I’m glad I’m not (laughs). But, if I was, I would try to listen more to the competitors and try to work it to where between the fans and the competitors there was a better idea of how to direct this stuff. I listen to what everybody says… They talked about how bad the track (BMS) was when they redid it (in 2007), then I listen to the race here last year when Brad (Keselowski) won. I think it was (Kevin) Harvick who he raced side-by-side with for so many laps. That was a heck of a race – I don’t care what everybody says. When you can race a guy side by side like that, lap after lap, I mean, how do you beat that? But then people didn’t like it and they wanted it changed to something else. I don’t know… I’m confused by that.

You were voted Most Popular Driver by fans 16 times, why do you think they loved you so much? Oh, gosh, I don’t know. I was just really fortunate. I was very lucky and a lot of things just happened at the right time. Ford fans hadn’t really had anybody to pull for for a long time and I just came along at a key time for them. And I think it had something to do with my family… you know, they were all in it, my mom and dad, my grandmother, my brothers and I think people liked that it was a family thing. We all had such a bond and I think that meant something to fans.

What is the biggest difference you see in racing today from when you started out? I look at how my dad did things and how I learned and it’s so different today. We had to scrap for everything we got. Now, it’s a little different for my son because of my experiences and I’ve been able to help him. These days though, you have to come in with money and sponsors or you don’t stand a chance.

Another thing is that the media guys weren’t nearly as big a part of it back in my day. I mean, you could go and get into it in a parking lot and there might be a handful of fans standing around watching because nobody really cared. Now… well, everything is out there and turned into a big thing. Now it’s all about how well you handle yourself, how you deal with the media, the fans, the sponsors. It’s all very, very different. All of that is so important now. That just wasn’t how it was back in my day.

What needs to happen for NASCAR to keep growing? That’s hard to answer. The thing is you have to look at the playing field, the fans you’re attracting and how the sport is perceived by those fans. The Baby Boomer generation is getting older and that’s a lot of our fans so you have to try to figure out how to make them and everybody else happy. I really just don’t know how you deal with that. There’s so much more technology these days and you have to worry about how the younger fan perceives NASCAR. I think there are some things that are going to have to change to keep it growing but I just don’t have the answers to what they are.

Speedway Motorsports is a leading marketer and promoter of motorsports entertainment in the United States. The Company, through its subsidiaries, owns and operates the following premier facilities: Atlanta Motor Speedway, Bristol Motor Speedway, Charlotte Motor Speedway, Sonoma, Kentucky Speedway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, New Hampshire Motor Speedway and Texas Motor Speedway. The Company provides souvenir merchandising services through its SMI Properties subsidiaries; manufactures and distributes smaller-scale, modified racing cars and parts through its U.S. Legend Cars International subsidiary; and produces and broadcasts syndicated motorsports programming to radio stations nationwide through its Performance Racing Network subsidiary. The Company also equally-owns Motorsports Authentics, a joint venture formed with International Speedway Corporation to produce, market and sell licensed motorsports merchandise. For more information, visit the Company’s website atwww.speedwaymotorsports.com.

CONCORD The future is now at Hendrick Motorsports, or at least is warming up on the sidelines.

There is another talented driver patiently waiting for his opportunity to join the iconic names of racers like Terry Labonte, Tim Richmond, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr., who have helped make Rick Hendrick one of the most successful owners in NASCAR.

This 17-year-old prodigy has a familiar last name, too.

Just over two years ago, Hendrick signed Chase Elliott – then a 15-year-old high school freshman – to a multi-year driver agreement.

Elliott is the son of fan favorite Bill Elliott, who won the 1988 championship in what now is the Sprint Cup Series.

Much like his father, Chase not only is finding success on the track – he owns victories in Late Models, Legends, Bandeleros, go-karts and the NASCAR K&N Pro Series – but he appears to be assembling a sizable fan base.

“Chase is such a quality young guy, kind of a Jeff Gordon-like personality and mannerisms. He’s got the whole package – the name, the pedigree, the talent,” Hendrick said. “I was willing to invest in that and see where it could go and what he could do.

“What most impresses me about him is his attitude about racing – it’s just like his dad’s. He’s not going to pull up and push people out of the way. He drives smart to work his way up and once he gets to the front, he’s gone.”

Chase doesn’t look at the opportunity with HMS any differently today then he did two years ago. He remains just as thankful.

“This is the opportunity of a lifetime to come race at one of the best organizations in stock-car racing,” he said. “To have a guy like Mr. Rick Hendrick behind you and supporting you and believing in my abilities – I can’t thank him enough for that.

“I don’t just want to be a Sprint Cup driver, but I want to be a champion. I want to be a part of the success here. I want to be here as long as I can possibly be.”

Bill Elliott was known for his 44 Cup victories and championship as well as his unique connection to fans.

He was named NASCAR’s most popular driver a record 16 times, including 10 years in a row (a record he shares with Dale Earnhardt Jr.).

“My dad was the man,” Chase said, “and he still is in my book.

“I hear from fans who say they look forward to seeing an Elliott back in NASCAR and I think that’s really cool.”

Hendrick has a full stable of Cup drivers in Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Earnhardt and Kasey Kahne with none likely departing anytime soon. That leaves plenty of time for Chase to continue his development.

After running a full 2012 schedule in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East, this season Hendrick will field an entry for Chase in nine Truck series races as well as five races in the Automobile Racing Club of America series. His first Truck race will be April 6 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway.

Hendrick said he “absolutely” sees Chase as a part of Hendrick Motorsports’ future.

“At some point down the road, Jimmie, Jeff or Dale, somebody will retire someday and you need someone to come along,” Hendrick said. “I just think Chase has got the talent and the way he handles himself, I just think he’s going to be a superstar. I really do.

“I think he’s going to be a Davey Allison or a Jeff Gordon. And I think he’s going to be a guy the fans connect with – and this sport needs another Bill Elliott, another Jeff Gordon.

“It needs those guys who have roots in the sport. I think Adam Petty (who died in a May 2000 crash) was going to be that. I think Chase is one of those guys.”

It sounds like a dream scenario.

“I know in the back of his mind Mr. H has a plan for where he would like me to be,” Chase Elliott said. “I caught myself last year kind of looking ahead, but that’s not how success comes.

“This year, I’m running in the Truck series and ARCA and I need to focus on that and do the best job I can behind the wheel. That’s what will determine my future.”

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (January 21, 2013) – NASCAR and Sprint confirmed today that fans will have a direct impact on several competition elements of the newly titled The Sprint Unlimited At Daytona, the 75-lap non-points race that opens the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season.

Fans will play an integral part in how the fan-favorite race unfolds on Saturday, February 16 (8 p.m. ET, FOX, FOX Deportes, Motor Racing Network Radio and SiriusXM Satellite Radio) at Daytona International Speedway. By casting their vote, fans are invited to design several competition aspects of the preseason event, including…

-       The number of laps in each segment

-       The type of pit stop a team makes after the first segment

-       How many cars will be eliminated after the second segment

Votes can be cast on NASCAR’s new official mobile app – NASCAR Mobile ’13 – or at NASCAR.com/SprintUnlimited. All votes made through the NASCAR Mobile ’13 app will count twice.

“We are excited to provide our fan base this first-of-its-kind opportunity to directly be involved in determining the race’s format and in-race decisions,” said Robin Pemberton, NASCAR vice president of competition. “By allowing our fans this type of interaction, it is our hope that more fans will be tuned in to the event than ever before.”

The voting window for the race format will close on Wednesday, February 13 at 11:59 p.m. ET. The voting windows for the pit stop and elimination will close at various times throughout the race broadcast. Vote results will be relayed to teams during each segment and announced live on the FOX race broadcast.

“Giving fans such a strong voice in the design of the race is a fitting way to launch our 10th season in the sport,” said Steve Gaffney, Sprint vice president of corporate marketing. “We are giving them the ultimate access to the sport, the decision-making power to sculpt the type of race they want to see. With today’s technology, they can make these decisions in real time as the race is happening.”

“Sprint has been a great partner for the sport and I applaud them for developing new and innovative ways to give the race fans an unprecedented role in The Sprint Unlimited,” said Joie Chitwood III, Daytona International Speedway president. “We have some of the most passionate and knowledgeable fans in sports and I’m looking forward to seeing the choices they make and how it will impact this exciting star-studded event.”

Fan voting categories, include:

Length of each of the three race segments:

o    Choice A: 40 laps, 20 laps, 15 laps

o    Choice B: 35 laps, 30 laps, 10 laps

o    Choice C: 30 laps, 25 laps, 20 laps

v  Race format voting ends at 11:59 p.m. EST on Wednesday, February 13.

       Team pit stop after the first segment:

o    Choice A: No pit stop

o    Choice B: Two (2) tire change

o    Choice C: Four (4) tire change

v  Pit stop voting concludes at the green flag of the first segment.

How many cars will be eliminated after the second segment:

o    Choice A: None (0)

o    Choice B: Two (2) cars eliminated

o    Choice C: Four (4) cars eliminated

o    Choice D: Six (6) cars eliminated

v  Elimination voting concludes at the green flag of the first segment.

Fans are encouraged to follow @NASCAR and @MissSprintCup on Twitter to engage in the #SprintUnlimited conversation throughout the voting window.

About NASCAR

The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, Inc. (NASCAR) is the sanctioning body for one of North America’s premier sports. NASCAR races are broadcast in more than 175 countries and in 25 languages. In the U.S., races are broadcast on FOX, TNT, ABC/ESPN/ESPN2, SPEED, Motor Racing Network, Performance Racing Network and Sirius XM Radio. NASCAR fans are among the most brand loyal in all of sports, and as a result more Fortune 500 companies participate in NASCAR than any other sport. NASCAR consists of three national series (the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, NASCAR Nationwide Series, and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series), four regional series, and one local grassroots series, as well as three international series. Also part of NASCAR is GRAND-AM Road Racing and the American Le Mans Series, known for competition on road courses with multiple classes of cars. NASCAR sanctions more than 1,200 races at 100 tracks in more than 30 U.S. states, Canada, Mexico and Europe. Based in Daytona Beach, Fla., NASCAR has offices in eight cities across North America. The next NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race will be The Sprint Unlimited at Daytona on Feb. 16 on FOX. For more information and a complete schedule, visit www.nascar.com. Follow NASCAR on www.facebook.com/NASCAR or on Twitter: @NASCAR.

About Sprint Nextel

Sprint Nextel offers a comprehensive range of wireless and wireline communications services bringing the freedom of mobility to consumers, businesses and government users. Sprint Nextel served more than 56 million customers at the end of the third quarter of 2012 and is widely recognized for developing, engineering and deploying innovative technologies, including the first wireless 4G service from a national carrier in the United States; offering industry-leading mobile data services, leading prepaid brands including Virgin Mobile USA, Boost Mobile, and Assurance Wireless; instant national and international push-to-talk capabilities; and a global Tier 1 Internet backbone. TheAmerican Customer Satisfaction Index rated Sprint No. 1 among all national carriers in customer satisfaction and most improved, across all 47 industries, during the last four years. Newsweek ranked Sprint No. 3 in both its 2011 and 2012 Green Rankings, listing it as one of the nation’s greenest companies, the highest of any telecommunications company. You can learn more and visit Sprint at www.sprint.com or www.facebook.com/sprint andwww.twitter.com/sprint.

BRISTOL, Tenn. – For a moment, it seemed like 1988 at Bristol Motor Speedway on Wednesday morning.

Over the public address system excited television announcers described a fierce struggle between Geoff Bodine and Bill Elliott in the Valleydale Meats 500. The iconic No. 9 Coors Ford Thunderbird was even parked in the expansive BMS infield.

Just as the final laps clicked off in this time travel experience, Elliott emerged for a press conference.

“It’s been 25 years, but it doesn’t even seem like 25 days,” Elliott said.

Before the captivating slice of theatre on April 10, 1988, Elliott had never won a Cup race on a short track. The Bristol breakthrough catapulted Elliott to a six-win season that culminated with a NASCAR championship.

Elliott, 57, looked on intently as a DVD of the race was replayed in the BMS media center Wednesday.

“I’m just not one of those guys that watched every race like a lot of the guys do today. I was just so busy in that era,” Elliott said. “But to watch that race, especially the last few laps, and see how those cars move around and slide – it’s crazy.”

The March 17 Food City 500 at BMS will mark the 25th anniversary of Elliott’s first and only victory at Bristol.

Much has changed since that day. Bristol has been transformed into a concrete-surfaced megatrack with seating for 160,000. Meanwhile, Elliott now guides the blossoming racing career of his 17-year-old son, Chase.

Elliott marvels at how the sport has evolved.

During his formative years in the 1980s, Elliott’s family-run team from rural Dawsonville, Ga., amounted to 12 people.

“And that’s counting the engine department and chassis shop,” Elliott said. “I don’t think people realized how hard we worked to do the things we were just trying to do.

“We only had five or six cars. You just had to kind of sprout something together for a backup car. To look around now at all the technology and everything else that we have, it’s just so different.”

The Elliott boys flirted with a championship in 1985 before Darrell Waltrip mounted a late-season charge.

“Sometimes we were kind of the victim of our demise,” Elliott said. “We focused on the speedway stuff and put less focus on the short tracks.”

Thanks in part to the 1985 hangover, Elliott and his crew realized the importance of doing well on half-mile tracks such as BMS.

“You had to be good everywhere to win a championship,” Elliott said.

Elliott was fast and good on that memorable April day in 1988.

That highlight moment of the race came on lap 493 when Bodine wrecked Elliott in Turn 3 while attempting to execute a pass.

“Watching that video, [Bodine] kept coming up and coming up,” Elliott said. “He must have really spun me out. He didn’t give me a chance to get caught back up.”

In a defining performance that ranks as one of the greatest in track history, Elliott charged back to regain the lead on lap 498. And to the delight of his passionate fan base, Elliott controlled the final three laps.

“We had some good times here at Bristol, and that [1988] race was just kind of like icing on the cake,” said Elliott, who edged Mark Martin by two car lengths at the finish.

Elliott added to his short track resume in the 1988 BMS fall race by finishing second to Dale Earnhardt.

“That was probably the best race I’ve run here,” Elliott said. “We almost beat Dale at the end.”

While he prefers the old asphalt version of BMS, Elliott said he has a special place in his heart for Bristol.

“This place eluded me in a lot of ways, but I always enjoyed this track,” he said. “The fans are so gracious and it’s such an inviting town. Anytime you set a mark for a place like Bristol, you couldn’t wait to get there.”

Elliott drove nearly five hours from his home in Dawsonville to Bristol on Wednesday, an the persistent rain could not spoil his upbeat mood.

“Today brings back a lot of good memories,” Elliott said.

In 44 Cup starts at BMS, Elliott recorded 14 finishes among the top 10.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Jan. 16, 2013) – Reigning NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Brad Keselowski and fellow titleholders Tony Stewart, Jimmie Johnson, Kurt Busch, Matt Kenseth, Jeff Gordon and Bobby Labonte are among more than 60 drivers from three NASCAR national series set to participate in NASCAR Preview 2013 on Saturday, Feb. 9.

The NASCAR Acceleration Weekend fan event will be held from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Charlotte (N.C.) Convention Center and feature autographs from NASCAR Sprint Cup, NASCAR Nationwide and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series drivers, on-stage Q&As, the opportunity to get a close-up look at the new NASCAR Sprint Cup Gen-6 race car and other special events.

Tickets, priced at $20, are available at www.nascaracceleration.com. A NASCAR Preview ticket includes same-day admission to the NASCAR Hall of Fame. For the full driver autograph schedule, please see the bottom of this release.

NASCAR Acceleration Weekend begins Friday, Feb. 8 at 7:30 p.m., with the NASCAR Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. Former NASCAR premier series champions Buck Baker, Herb Thomas and Rusty Wallace, championship car owner Cotton Owens and innovative mechanic, crew chief and engine builder Leonard Wood will be the fourth class enshrined.

Tickets to Friday night’s Induction Ceremony start at $45 and can be purchased at www.nascaracceleration.com and the NASCAR Hall of Fame box office.

Eight NASCAR Hall of Fame members will appear at the hall from 4-4:45 p.m. on Feb. 8 and sign autographs for those with a NASCAR Hall of Fame ticket. They include Junior Johnson, David Pearson, Bud Moore, Bobby Allison, Ned Jarrett, Dale Inman, Darrell Waltrip and Glen Wood.

NASCAR Acceleration Weekend wraps up Sunday, Feb. 10 with the unveiling of the five NASCAR Hall of Fame inductees’ granite markers. Wallace and Leonard Wood will sign autographs at 10 a.m. for hall ticket holders.

NASCAR Preview 2013 is expected to draw thousands of fans to the Convention Center to meet their favorite drivers. Last year’s event, the first of its kind in Charlotte, was the successful rebirth of what for many years officially signaled the beginning of a new NASCAR season. The 2013 season is exactly one month away and begins with The Sprint Unlimited on Feb. 16 at Daytona International Speedway – the traditional lead-in to the 55th running of the Daytona 500 at 1 p.m. ET on Feb. 24. Both races will be broadcast live by FOX Sports, Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM Satellite Radio.

Reigning series champions in all three NASCAR national series headline the list of drivers confirming their participation in NASCAR Preview 2013. Keselowski will appear at 1:30 p.m. along with NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion James Buescher. NASCAR Nationwide Series champion Ricky Stenhouse Jr. is slotted at 9 a.m.

The Keselowski-Buescher group also includes Danica Patrick, who will seek NASCAR Sprint Cup Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors in 2013 along with Stenhouse.

Driver Appearance Times

 9 a.m. – 11 a.m. (autographs begin at 9:30 a.m.)

Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Jamie McMurray, Mark Martin, Greg Biffle, Jeff Burton, Kevin Harvick, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Justin Allgaier, Eric McClure, Brian Scott, Timothy Peters, Miguel Paludo and Todd Peck.

 10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. (autographs begin at 11 a.m.)

Tony Stewart, Matt Kenseth, Kyle Busch, Clint Bowyer, Carl Edwards, Aric Almirola, Paul Menard, Joey Logano, Hal Martin, Elliott Sadler, Sam Hornish Jr., Jamie Dick, Sean Corr, Brennan Newberry, Ross Chastain and Ron Hornaday Jr.

 Noon – 2 p.m. (autographs begin at 12:30 p.m.)

Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kurt Busch, Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr., David Ragan, David Gilliland, Marcos Ambrose, Ryan Newman, Brian Vickers, Johanna Long, Austin Dillon, Michael Annett, Nelson Piquet Jr., Ty Dillon, Joey Coulter, Trevor Bayne and Todd Bodine.

 1:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. (autographs begin at 2 p.m.)

Brad Keselowski, Danica Patrick, Kasey Kahne, Juan Pablo Montoya, Bobby Labonte, Justin Lofton, John Wes Townley, Regan Smith, Parker Kligerman, Max Gresham, Jeb Burton, Dakoda Armstrong, James Buescher, Michael McDowell and Alex Bowman.

About NASCAR

The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, Inc. (NASCAR) is the sanctioning body for one of North America’s premier sports. NASCAR races are broadcast in more than 175 countries and in 25 languages. In the U.S., races are broadcast on FOX, TNT, ABC/ESPN/ESPN2, SPEED, Motor Racing Network, Performance Racing Network and Sirius XM Radio. NASCAR fans are among the most brand loyal in all of sports, and as a result more Fortune 500 companies participate in NASCAR than any other sport. NASCAR consists of three national series (the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, NASCAR Nationwide Series, and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series), four regional series, and one local grassroots series, as well as three international series. Also part of NASCAR is GRAND-AM Road Racing and the American Le Mans Series, known for competition on road courses with multiple classes of cars. NASCAR sanctions more than 1,200 races at 100 tracks in more than 30 U.S. states, Canada, Mexico and Europe. Based in Daytona Beach, Fla., NASCAR has offices in eight cities across North America. The next NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race will be The Sprint Unlimited at Daytona on Feb. 16 on FOX. For more information and a complete schedule, visit www.nascar.com. Follow NASCAR on www.facebook.com/NASCAR or on Twitter: @NASCAR.

About NASCAR Hall of Fame

Conveniently located in uptown Charlotte, N.C., the 150,000-square-foot NASCAR Hall of Fame is an interactive, entertainment attraction honoring the history and heritage of NASCAR. The high-tech venue, designed to educate and entertain race fans and non-fans alike, opened May 11, 2010 and includes artifacts, hands-on exhibits, 278-person state-of-the-art theater, Hall of Honor, Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant, NASCAR Hall of Fame Gear Shop and NASCAR Media Group-operated broadcast studio. The venue is opened 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. seven days a week and has an attached parking garage on Brevard Street. The five-acre site also includes a privately developed 19-story office tower and 102,000- square-foot expansion to the Charlotte Convention Center, highlighted by a 40,000 square-foot ballroom. The NASCAR Hall of Fame is owned by the City of Charlotte, licensed by NASCAR and operated by the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority. www.NASCARHall.com.

Before one even enters the Hall of Fame, they are greeted by one of our state’s most-favorite sons and its most iconic motorsports competitor. Yes, Awesome Bill from Dawsonville is standing outside to welcome all visitors. Okay, actually, it is just a Coke machine with a large image of Bill Elliott on the front of it, but still.

Stepping through the building’s front doors is like stepping through a portal to our sport’s history. First you see Atlantan Jack Smith’s burgundy No. 47 Pontiac, the first car to turn testing laps at the Atlanta International Raceway – now the Atlanta Motor Speedway. Behind it sits Buck Baker’s famous No. 87 1957 Chevrolet Black Widow that was sponsored by the Atlanta-based Nalley Chevrolet dealership.

Lined up across “The Alley” is an silver and black Ford driven by Dawsonville’s “Lightning Lloyd Seay,” the man whom Bill France referred to as “the best pure race driver I ever saw.” Beside it is Charlie Mincey of Atlanta’s No. 16 modified he raced in the 1960s. Then comes Gober Sosebee’s Cherokee Garage modified with which he won three Daytona Beach Course races and set the beach circuit’s record. Sitting off to the left from that trio of racers is the gold sprinter driven by Herman Wise – who will be inducted into the Hall of Fame this Friday – to a win in the 1971 Little Indy 500.

Finally, at the back of the room, sit two black automobiles. One is a ’39 Ford owned by Mr. Mincey and similar to the car with which he made many a bootleg run. Behind the car sits an actual moonshine still so that visitors can see for themselves the complexity of making the ‘shine (I told my mother I would have blown Dawson County clear off the map had I attempted to do anything like that).

The other black ride, one of the most iconic cars in all of motorsports, is one of Dale Earnhardt’s No. 3 GM Goodwrench Chevrolets. This particular car is the 1990 Lumina that lost the Daytona 500 on the last lap thanks to a flat tire. The car was converted to a road racing piece and was later driven by sports car standout John Paul Jr. at Road Atlanta in Brasleton.

After viewing a short film entitled “Saturday Night Races,” visitors move on to see even more terrific racing heritage. A car driven by the Blond Blizzard of Virginia himself, Curtis Turner, sits alongside a wall of newspaper clippings from both racing and state history including Lloyd Seay’s incredible three wins in 15 days, his murder at the hands of cousin Woodrow Anderson, the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, and highlights of Bill Elliott’s incredible career.

Speaking of Elliott, the highlight of the museum is perhaps the Elliott Family Room, which features trophies and memorabilia from Bill’s fantastic racing career, along with the 1988 Coors/Melling Ford Thunderbird with which he became the only native Georgian to claim stock car racing’s highest-level championship. The trophies he won along the way rest alongside the car, save for the Winston Cup trophy. That is housed in a case of it’s own – with other trophies for top-10 points performances – right at the room’s entrance. I’ll cover that room in more detail in Wednesday’s “Part Three: The Elliotts.”

Once you leave the Family Room, you come to five of Bill’s most-famous race cars, backed by a wall of photos, paintings, and other mementos from his career (my favorite being a handwritten note from Tony Stewart thanking Bill for his participation in the Prelude to the Dream at Stewart’s Eldora Speedway). The cars are a 2002 Dodge Intrepid he raced for Ray Evernham (and won twice at Pocono and Indianapolis), the 2000 Ford Taurus with which he competed his final race as a driver-owner at Atlanta Motor Speedway (the beating those once-pristine race cars take over the course of 500 miles, without even making contact with the wall, is very well illustrated), the 1992 Junior Johnson-owned Budweiser Thunderbird with which he won five races – including four in a row early in the season and both ’92 races at Atlanta), and his 1987 Coors T-Bird.

Finally you arrive at a room that houses cars driven by some of Georgia’s past and future homegrown stars. The Chase Elliott exhibit is quite impressive, with a wall covered in trophies Bill’s son has already attained over his short career and three of his race cars. One of the most somber exhibits in the museum is the Casey Elliott Display, which includes his 1993 NASCAR All-Pro Series race car. Casey – Ernie Elliott’s son, Bill’s nephew – was a rising star destined to join his uncle as one of the sport’s best. Sadly, his life and career were cut short by cancer in 1996 at the age of 21.

Among the other cars on display in this room is Georgia short track legend Ronnie Sanders beautiful red and white No. 18 Camaro. Sanders, who won more than 500 races in his career, was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2009. Another great looking Camaro, a red and gold No. 27 driven by 2007 inductee Bruce Brantley, is also on display.

This is just a brief overview of the incredible exhibits one can see at the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame. We’ll get into more detail over the next few days, but the words don’t do it justice. If you love racing or Georgia state history, you must take the trip through the gorgeous North Georgia mountains to Dawsonville. They are constantly adding new exhibits and memorabilia – since I was there on October 8, two new cars have already been added – but you’ll want to make at least a second trip anyway just to make sure you didn’t miss anything while picking your jaw up off the floor.

Admission to the Hall of Fame is $4 for adults, $3 for seniors, $2 for kids aged 7-13, free for children under the ages of six, and the experience is worth every single penny and then some.

By Aaron Rosser on Oct 22, 8:03a

SB Nation Atlanta

Of course, that is the chorus to Atlanta’s own Jerry Reed’s 1973 hit that bemoans how the automobile has complicated everyday life. Now we all know that Henry Ford didn’t actually create the automobile – rather he developed the means for its mass-production – but folks take it easy on writer Dick Feller. Hey, “Lord Mr. Benz” just wouldn’t have sounded right.

That verse could, however, be a fitting, factual chorus to a lament by the Sheriff’s Deputies forced to chase after rum-runners behind the wheel of sedans with Ford’s powerful flathead V8 under the hood. Those Fords were the car of choice for bootlegging, which we all know evolved into stock car racing. The drivers found the deputies to not be all that much of a challenge, started racing one another, the sport became more and more organized, and voila.

The Georgia Racing Hall of Fame pays tribute to the moonshiners that gave birth to our favorite sport. Many of them, such as famous cousins Lloyd Seay, Roy Hall, and Raymond Parks, along with Charlie Mincey and Gober Sosebee, hauled rum from Dawsonville through the moonlit North Georgia backroads.

A 1939 Ford owned by Mincey himself – who is still living – is on display at the Hall. This particular car wasn’t used for bootlegging, but one just like it was. The display is accented by an actual still that demonstrates the complexity of making the ‘shine. For all the jokes about the intelligence of mountain people, you’ve got to be a pretty smart cookie to work something like that without blowing yourself and half the county sky high.

The actual Hall of Fame itself, with the kiosks for each of the first eight inductees – Seay, Hall, Parks, Sosebee, mechanic Red Vogt, Red Byron, and Bill Elliott – is a tribute to moonshining as well. The hall is dark to give the impression of a moonlit backroad, with metal silhouettes of trees and foliage adding to the whole setting.

Finally, while not an actual part of the Hall of Fame and Museum, there is an actual moonshine distillery located in the building.

Dawson County pays homage to its heritage as a hub of rum-running with the annual “Mountain Moonshine Festival.” Both moonshiners and revenuers share tales of their exploits, including dealings with the iconic Parks, Seay, Hall, and Sosebee. A parade of period Fords like the Mincey car on display rumbles through the streets of Dawsonville. A sweet lady by the name of Faye Abercrombie told me during my visit to the Hall that once all the cars are started up, the Hall of Fame’s building literally shakes.

This year’s Festival is this very weekend, coinciding with the induction of the Hall’s 11th class. Festivities take place Saturday and Sunday from 8-5. The Parade itself commences at 9 a.m. Saturday morning. There are plenty of activities for the whole family, including games, rides, crafts, music, and of course plenty of cars. The Grand Marshal of this year’s Festival is none other than NASCAR Hall of Famer Bud Moore, who’s No. 47 Pontiac piloted by Jack Smith (the very first car to turn laps at what is now Atlanta Motor Speedway) is on display inside the museum. Several other luminaries, including the surviving members of this year’s Hall of Fame class (1970 Daytona 500 winner Pete Hamilton, NHRA Pro Stock drag racing icon Warren Johnson, and short-tracking legend Doug Kenimer) will be on hand.

By Aaron Rosser on Oct 23, 9:24a

SB Nation Atlanta

William Clyde Elliott is one of the all-time iconic Georgian sportspeople, perhaps its No. 1 icon. Awesome Bill from Dawsonville is also regarded as one of auto racing’s greatest drivers ever. His exploits in Fords are especially noteworthy: his 40 triumphs behind the wheel of Harry Melling and Junior Johnson’s Blue Ovals rank second all-time to the 43 wins Ned Jarrett recorded in Ford race cars.

Racing is a family affair with the Elliotts, however, and the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame pays tribute to the entire clan from Dawsonville with the Elliott Family Legacy Room. As the driver and therefore the name that went into the record books, Bill is largely the room’s focus. He would be the first one to tell you, however, that he was just one part of a family operation that took the sport by storm in the 1980s.

As soon as you enter the room, you are greeted by a case that stands front and center, holding the Winston Cup championship trophy Bill won in 1988. One of his Coors T-Birds from that championship season, along with the six trophies he scored for that season, sit in front of a mural of the race teams.

For Bill and his brothers, Ernie and Dan, to have dominated the superspeedways, there of course had to be a mom and pop involved somewhere. One of the glass cases in the room pays tribute to Mildred and George Elliott, with various photographs from their lives, two of Mrs. Elliott’s dresses, and Mr. Elliott’s Coors pit crew shirt among the various mementos.

From there, the row of cases becomes a tribute to the success the Elliotts put together. Every trophy that you can imagine that Bill won over the course of his career is right there. Even his Harley J. Earl Trophies from the 1985 and 1987 Daytona 500 wins – back when the trophy looked more like a trophy and less like a headstone – and the PPG Cup from his 2002 Brickyard 400 victory are on display. Various pole awards, including the one he claimed for Dodge at the 2001 Daytona 500 in the automaker’s return to top-level stock car racing, and other mementos such as the funny money that was dropped at Darlington when he won the Southern 500 at Darlington only serve to make the collection that much more impressive.

It is quite an experience to look at the trophies claimed by one of Georgia’s own and think the stories you’ve heard about those races. I can personally recall Elliott’s last 11 wins, and seeing the trophies he claimed for those victories and recalling watching those races on television was especially enjoyable.

Once Bill officially retires from driving – he outright stated that his run in the Coke Zero 400 this past July very well could be it as he has nothing else on the table – the Most Popular Driver award will fittingly carry “The Bill Elliott Trophy” as its moniker. Bill won the award a record 16 times, including ten in a row from 1991-2000. He puled himself from the voting in 2001 so that the late Dale Earnhardt would claim it, won the award once more in 2002, and then permanently removed himself from the ballot. Bill’s Most Popular Driver awards are all displayed in the same case, illustrating that he was beloved across NASCAR Nation, not just in Georgia.

The room houses one memento dedicated to someone not named Elliott. At the season-ending Atlanta Journal 500 in November 1990, Ricky Rudd locked up the brakes on his Chevrolet and spun into Bill’s No. 9 Ford as it was being serviced. Mike Rich, the 32-year-old rear tire changer for the Melling team, was pinned between the two race cars and died later that evening. One of Mike’s pit crew shirts hangs alongside a photo of the man who’s passing led to the pit road speed limit that remains in effect to this day and likely until NASCAR runs its last race after all of us are long gone.

The Georgia Racing Hall of Fame as a whole is an incredible experience that any race fan must experience, but the Elliott Family Legacy Room especially stands as a highlight. The collection of trophies, awards, and various other memorabilia serves as a demonstration of what the tall redhead from the North Georgia Mountains and his family have meant to our great sport and their influence not only on a region, but on the entire racing world.

By Aaron Rosser on Oct 24, 8:03a

SB Nation Atlanta

DOUGLASVILLE, GA (October 30th, 2012) – After earning both the Winter Flurry and the Thursday Thunder Series Championships at Atlanta Motor Speedway (GA), Mason Massey has won the Legends Pro Division National Championship race.

The 15-year-old development driver for Bill Elliott Racing piloted his No. 15 Jeff Foxworthy Full Force Energy Shot / Elizabeth Lee sponsored machine to Victory Lane at AMS after leading every lap of the 40-lap Championship event. Massey started on the pole after setting the fast time in qualifying and winning a heat race.

“Winning this title means the world to our team,” said Massey. “I cannot thank Doug Stevens and Advanced Technology Motorsports enough for giving us such awesome cars all year long and for helping us accomplish all of our goals.”

The event was the 21^st Annual Legends Asphalt Nationals, which has been held in previous years at tracks across the country including Las Vegas Motor Speedway (NV), Elko Speedway (MN), and Lake Erie Speedway (PA). Drivers from more than 20 states and Canada traveled to Atlanta for the event.

In addition to dominating the Legends Pro Division at Atlanta Motor Speedway all year, Massey has made several starts in his No. 9 Late Model and has earned his first two wins, both coming at Montgomery Motor Speedway (AL); the first of which came in only his sixth career start and the second was in the famous 48^th Annual Alabama 200 where he is now the youngest driver ever to win.

Massey will be back in the driver’s seat for Bill Elliott Racing at Five Flags Speedway (FL) for the Allen Turner Snowflake 100 as part of the 45^th Annual Snowball Derby weekend on December 1^st.

About Mason Massey

Mason Massey is a 15-year-old racecar driver from Douglasville, GA. Massey got his start racing Quarter Midgets at the age of four. After learning many lessons and accumulating over 40 wins Massey made the transition to Bandoleros for four years where he earned over 100 victories before moving up to Legend cars. The young driver saw success in the Legends Young Lions division and was moved up to the elite Pro division at the end of the 2011 racing season; he has accumulated over 60 wins in Legend cars. Now racing Late Models, Massey earned his first career victory in only his sixth start in the Show Me The Money 100 at Montgomery Motor Speedway in June. Overall, this young driver has won over 200 races in his short career, 12 championships, including three Thursday Thunder championships at Atlanta Motor Speedway, and 11 track records. For more information about Mason Massey, please visit his website atwww.MasonMassey.com.

About Jeff Foxworthy’s Full Force Energy Shot

Made in the U.S.A, Full Force is produced in a pharmaceutical facility using the best ingredients available in an energy drink, meaning your body will be running on what it needs, when it needs it. Full Force has only 4 calories a serving and lasts a long time so you can stop relying on high-sugar soft drinks with that too-familiar crash. For more information about Jeff Foxworthy’s Full Force Energy Shot, please visit www.FullForceEnergyShot.com.

About Elizabeth Lee

Elizabeth Lee is the newest young country/pop star with a sultry, raspy voice reminiscent of the best torch singers of the past. Passionate about singing, this Atlanta native has been doing it since she could talk. Winning a competition to sing the National Anthem at Atlanta Xplosion’s first home game in April 2012, she’s been performing it at multiple games throughout Marietta since middle school. A graduate of the University of Alabama with a degree in Musical Theatre, Elizabeth Lee has starred in many musical theatre productions throughout high school and college. She has built a loyal fan base who clamor to hear her sing everything from jazz to blues to country and pop in multiple venues in the Atlanta area.