Chat Transcript: Bill Elliott
November 15, 2001
9:30 AM EST (1430 GMT)
[NASCAR_Host3] Welcome to NASCAR.com's chat with Bill Elliott!
[Bill_Elliott] 10-4 everyone! I am ready to hammer it down and answer your questions!
[NASCAR_Host3] Question from: [Ilcricket] ALLRIGHT AWESOME BILL!!! I still have a sore throat from screaming GO, Go, Go, Go Bill!!! What were you feeling as you passed Casey and knew it was all yours and could taste the victory? How long after leaving Victory Lane did it take to really sink in that you'd done it again (as we all new you could)?
[Bill_Elliott] I am just real excited about the win and it hasn't really sunk in yet. I am just really proud of the team and all the guys.
[NASCAR_Host3] Question from: [Lanee] How do you feel about the rule changes for this weekend regarding the reduction on the Dodges and the increase given to the Fords?
[Bill_Elliott] I don't know anything about it! Whatever! I think sometimes it does more harm than good. It took us a while to sort it out and if that is what they need, good for them. We will just keep going on and do what we do.
[NASCAR_Host3] Question from: [bklmusic] Bill, what do you have planned to do with your time off in the offseason?
[Bill_Elliott] Well we have several tests slated, doing different odds and ends, and mainly just relax and stay at home. Man, these seasons are just getting longer and longer it seems like. Just regroup I guess you could say.
[NASCAR_Host3] Question from: [proud9fan] I read a quote from you on That's Racin' that stated young drivers have changed they way it used to be. Could you elaborate on that?
[Bill_Elliott] I think what I meant was that younger drivers have come in and looked differently at how we have done things. They come in and if they want to change something on the car, they aren't of the mindset that things wont work. They kind of redo the way you think about a racecar.
[NASCAR_Host3] Question from: [FrlsRita] Bill, congratulations on your win Sunday! Did you do anything special to celebrate your win?
[Bill_Elliott] I hadn't yet! I think that might happen when the season is over.
[NASCAR_Host3] Question from: [SOWEGA9] Bill, when is your annual season ending Fan Day going to be since the schedule was changed? Also, anything special planned for the event?
[Bill_Elliott] Right now we are not going to do anything at this time. We are going to have a Fan Club meeting in Atlanta on Saturday. Then normally the appreciation day we do is on Monday. We are going to do something different down the road. We were waiting for the new Thunder Road to get finished in Dawsonville and hopefully do something around it.
[NASCAR_Host3] Question from: [Noelle_dalejrfan] Hey Bill, what did your son say to you after you won the race? Was he excited to see you win? Thanks!
[Bill_Elliott] Absolutely! Tickled to death! I think it was a great moment for me from the standpoint that he is of the age that he can understand, so that really helps out.
[NASCAR_Host3] Question from: [SuperElliottFan] Bill, congratulations on your great win. What are your goals for next year? Do you see your team improving greatly in the next season?
[Bill_Elliott] I see us continuing to get stronger and consistent. If you look across the board, it looks like it has been hard for even the well-established teams between the new tires, cars, etc. Just the main thing is to just get better and more consistent.
[NASCAR_Host3] Question from: [Harvard28] Could tell me what it is like to be the teacher for a young driver like Casey Atwood, and has having a young teammate like him helped to get those competitive juices flowing even stronger inside you? Thanks and Good Luck at Atlanta!
[Bill_Elliott] I feel like we are working well together since the middle of the year. I first thought that it would be a bit tough and I wouldn't like it, but I think we taught each other things. There were certain tracks that I was good at and he wasn't, and vice versa, plus Mike and I grew stronger as a team. Casey has done a good job. I can't take anything away from what he has done and sometimes he has taught me things.
[NASCAR_Host3] Question from: [No9Dodge] Bill, what are some of the things that you think should be done to make our sport safer? Is the problem the tracks, cars, pit road?
[Bill_Elliott] I think we just need to look at every avenue we can to make things safer, whether it is the team or the track. It depends on the case. We need to take all the resources we have and make everything a better place. Sometimes it is even the driver's responsibility, too.
[NASCAR_Host3] Question from: [ElliottFanInCali] Bill, my question is this: how have you stayed so positive during the past 7 years? Is it faith in self or faith in others? I keep watching this sport because of you!
[Bill_Elliott] It is both. Sometimes you lose a little faith in yourself, but faith that you see people have in you drives you. If they give up on you, then you lose hope. It isn't "I," it is "we."
[NASCAR_Host3] Question from: [ElliottFan4Life] Congratulations on your big win! We are all EXTREMELY proud of you! Just curious about the rumors of you retiring. As a fan, I hope you drive forever, but how long realistically can we expect to see you racing? Thanks for answering! Good Luck and god bless!
[Bill_Elliott] I do know for a fact that I have a 2-year contract more with Ray and a 2-year option. I have to look in the next year or so from there how much longer I want to drive. I told Ray that if I become a negative to the team and do not do my part, I need to go on and do something else. There are several variables there that will dictate my decision.
[NASCAR_Host3] Question from: [steve_goJMgo] What effect has the media had on the drivers, as well as yourself, and the teams with all of their (the media's) speculation and rumoring regarding many of the drivers moving around in "Silly Season?"
[Bill_Elliott] I don't pay any attention to that stuff. As long as it doesn't directly affect me, it doesn't matter. Sometimes it causes a lot of problems in the teams but there isn't anything you can do about it.
[NASCAR_Host3] Question from: [skid steer] Bill, we went to Dawsonville for the Moonshine Festival and saw the Hall of Fame you are having built. It looks very nice. When will it be open to the public? Will you be there for its grand opening? Will any other drivers?
[Bill_Elliott] I am sure I will be a part of the Grand Opening. It is not my facility. It is a group in Dawsonville that is doing it. The main thing that I am doing is that I will put all my stuff in it when it opens. Dawsonville has a lot of history and me being part of that, it makes a lot of sense for me to co-work together on it.
[NASCAR_Host3] Question from: [elliottrules#1] Hey Bill! AWESOME WIN! Do you feel that you can keep your momentum going into two tracks where you have recently struggled?
[Bill_Elliott] You know, like I said in Homestead, we didn't run bad in Atlanta in the Spring. We had motor problems and just finished the race in 11th. The car wasn't running good at the end, but we finished. Hopefully we have more on track this time. We are going to give it a good effort. If we can get it going the next 2 races we can kind of gel and get things going right for next year.
[NASCAR_Host3] Question from: [VaCravenFan] Hey Bill, congratulations on that great win! My question is this: how much do you feel that NASCAR has changed since the last time you took the checkered flag while leading?
[Bill_Elliott] It has changed quite a bit. A lot of things have happened. Not only from being more competitive, but to more national recognition, to the cars changing, to the fan base. Pretty much across the board.
[NASCAR_Host3] Question from: [yatesracingrules] Hey Bill, how do you feel about NASCAR saying you have to use the same engine to race in as you do for qualifying?
[Bill_Elliott] That could be a double-edged sword. I am going to have to wait to see how that works. There are several racetracks that it will be tough to practice, qualify and race with the same engine at a distance that we may run.
[NASCAR_Host3] Question from: [SuperElliottFan] Bill, if you could pick a certain race that you would love to win more than any other what one would it be and why?
[Bill_Elliott] Someone asked me about that at the Kansas City race and winning at a new track, and I said I want to win ANYWHERE. As long as I am running good and staying competitive, I would just say any track.
[NASCAR_Host3] Question from: [AwesomeElliott] Hello Bill. My question is: how does it feel to drive a Dodge after all those years driving a Ford?
[Bill_Elliott] It has not been that hard of an adjustment. The biggest thing I have seen is just getting used to everything. I have only driven outside of myself was with Junior, and when I was with Melling I was pretty much driving my own thing. It isn't just driving the Dodge; it is getting used to the team and the motor combination we have. The cars are pretty much the same aero, but the motor combinations are a little different.
[NASCAR_Host3] Question from: [Dodge9] Do you know if you are going to sign autographs at N.H.I.S?
[Bill_Elliott] No, we won't have time. We are going there early Friday morning, have the drivers meeting, practice and race. There won't be time for anything!
[NASCAR_Host3] Question from: [NASCARDynamite] Nice Win Bill. I was wondering who you think is one of the best drivers in the Cup right now, and who do you respect the most as a driver?
[Bill_Elliott] I don't think I would single out one guy. Everybody is a very good driver or they wouldn't be there. I respect everybody, I mean I try to, regardless if it is the other way.
[NASCAR_Host3] Question from: [kitch] Hey Bill, just a quick question. My little brother wants to know what you drive off the track?
[Bill_Elliott] A Dodge Durango.
[NASCAR_Host3] Question from: [J25] Congratulations on your win. :) What is the one piece of advice you would give to a rookie?
[Bill_Elliott] Man, I don't know what to tell them. It is a tough sport and there is a lot of work and dedication. You need to do everything you possibly can. It is more of being a broader person today because you are looked at in so many different avenues, from kids, to media, to fans. You go through so many different circumstances, so that is really hard for a rookie, plus they have to learn all the racetracks.
[NASCAR_Host3] Question from: [djr8] Are you planning on running that same car in Atlanta as you did in the Spring?
[Bill_Elliott] I don't know which car we ran there earlier in the year. We are going to run the same car that we ran at Michigan.
[NASCAR_Host3] Question from: [SuperElliottFan] Bill, how is the relationship with Ray Evernham going? Was he as excited about your win as you were?
[Bill_Elliott] I think he was more excited than I was! He has stuck his neck out pretty far with this team and he just wanted to do well. I think he was happy for not only me but for all the guys that are on the raceteam, too. It was a great accomplishment for him and he has worked hard to get where he is right now, and I really enjoy the relationship.
[NASCAR_Host3] Question from: [aimee79] Bill, just curious to know what are your feelings about over the wall pit crew wearing helmets?
[Bill_Elliott] I think it is kind of up to them. It is just like certain states, you have to wear a helmet to ride a motorcycle if you like it or not. I don't know if you can mandate it or not. If you want to and you feel safer doing it, they should wear a helmet.
[NASCAR_Host3] Question from: [meluv9] Will you be driving the No. 9 next season or will that number go back to Melling?
[Bill_Elliott] No, it will be No. 9 again next year. Ray has the number.
[NASCAR_Host3] Question from: [yatesracingrules] First, congratulations on your win! I was wondering, how do you think the cars have changed over the years? And have there been too many changes? Thanks a lot!
[Bill_Elliott] I think everybody has an opinion on how things have changed. I think they have made them too aero dependent. The cars I first started driving had no downforce and the cars we run today generate a lot of downforce.
[NASCAR_Host3] Question from: [NASCARDynamite] How did you get started in racing? And if someone has no racing experience how would they be able to get started in the sport?
[Bill_Elliott] The main way is you start racing is to go to a dirt or local track and start driving whatever you can afford to do. If you cant do that, go to go-karts or something that goes fast.
[NASCAR_Host3] Question from: [jacket1515] Hey Bill, how's the pilots license coming?
[Bill_Elliott] I already have that license! All I was doing was a recurrent training. The insurance company requires you to go back and get retrained to stay current. I have had it since 1977. I've probably got 6,500 hours plus.
[NASCAR_Host3] Question from: [tazzy6] Hey Bill, when people think about Bill Elliott, what do you want them remember?
[Bill_Elliott] That is a good question. I don't know that I have any particular way that I want to be remembered, just the fact that we worked hard and we were a family unit that came into the circuit in the late '70s and early '80s with my brothers, Ernie and Dan, and all the people that have supported us.
[NASCAR_Host3] Question from: [Tay9] What plane do you fly? Or would like to fly?
[Bill_Elliott] I am typed in anything from a small single engine Cessna up to a type-rated Citation and I also have a helicopter rating.
[NASCAR_Host3] Bill, thank you! That's all the time we have this evening, do you have any final thoughts?
[Bill_Elliott] I am happy for all the fans that have supported me in the years and waited for us to win races. There have been a lot of fans that have supported me through thick and thin and I am glad they could say, "I knew he could do it!" Ray and I are going to keep working hard for these two races and keep working hard in the winter to be stronger than ever in 2002.
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