NASCAR HOF Hot Facts: Bill Elliott

Bill Elliott #9 won 11 superspeedway races in 1985, earning the Winston Million in its first year. Everything that years was his and team owner Harry Melling’s – except the points championship! Credit: 301797ISC Archives via Getty Images for NASCAR

Elliott’s NASCAR career did not take off however until the 1980’s. Throughout the course of his career  Elliott ran a total of 828 races over his 37 year career.  He won a total of 44 races.  These wins include and amazing 11 races in 1985 that including the Winston Million, thus why he is sometimes also called “Million Dollar Bill.”.  He has won the Daytona 500 twice (in 1985 and 1987) and the storied Southern 500 three times (1985, 1988 and 1984).  Elliott finally won the 1988 NASCAR series championship after finishing second in the championship points twice in previous years.