THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, February 23, 1997 TAG: 9702230031
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BOB ZELLER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ROCKINGHAM, N.C. LENGTH: 89 lines
If the 1980s taught Bill Elliott how to be a champion, the 1990s have taught him how to live.
The 1980s presented Elliott with his first 32 victories in NASCAR Winston Cup racing, the 1988 Winston Cup championship, two Daytona 500 wins and the Winston Million. The '80s made him a celebrity, for which he wasn't ready, and a wealthy man.
Since then, however, Elliott has won no more championships and no more Daytona 500s. He has won eight more races. And he has lost a lot.
He lost one of his tire changers, Mike Rich, in a fatal pit accident at Atlanta in 1990. He lost his grandmother, and then his mother, in a nine-day span in 1991. And he lost his nephew, 21-year-old Casey Elliott, to bone cancer in January 1996.
There were other distractions as well. He broke his leg and missed seven races last year. He got married in 1992, the same year he left car owner Harry Melling and joined Junior Johnson. He had a son in 1995 - the year he formed his own team.
In the 1980s, if Bill Elliott's head wasn't under the hood of his car, it was behind the wheel. But life found ways of intruding as he got older. And the Bill Elliott of 1996, now 41, is more sensitive to the world outside racing, and more philosophical.
``We're people that get caught up in material things,'' Elliott said recently. ``We've got to have goals set in life. Back a number of years ago, I thought that all there was was driving a race car. But you realize as you get a little bit older that there's more.
``Life changes,'' he said. ``And I think (the passing of) Casey and my mother and my grandmother all made me realize that you need to spend time with your family and you need to be happy in what you're doing.
``There's a time to be focused on racing and there's a time for family, just like there's a time for fans and a time for media and everything else.''
Elliott has always been something of an enigma.
Behind the wheel, his brilliance has always been characterized by smoothness and precision.
He's been voted the most popular driver 11 of the past 13 years.
But he is such a private person by instinct and upbringing, it is almost painful to watch him endure the trappings of stardom. And yet, when he's in the mood to talk, he's full of fun and stories.
Last year, he was driving through Richmond with his team publicist, Danielle Humphrey, when he pointed to a house along the road.
``See that house? I stopped there a couple of years ago,'' he said.
``Why?'' Humphrey asked.
``Oh, the guy was washing his car and he was wearing a Bill Elliott T-shirt,'' he said. ``So I stopped to say, `Hey.' ''
Although very private, Elliott will bare his soul if he's in the mood to talk.
``As far as Casey, I miss that kid so much, it's unreal,'' he said of his brother Ernie's son. ``He was just so easygoing and so full of energy and life. He was just a very special person, and very special to me.
``A lot of times, we would go in (the hospital) and it was so hard to see him that it was hard on me. And he would turn around and cheer you up before you left, and he was the one fighting for his life.''
Elliott has learned that when he talks from the heart, his fans can relate what he's going through.
``There's times you can use that to help other people get through certain things,'' he said. ``And they realize, yeah, I'm a person and I'm no different than anyone else and I go through hardships just like anybody else.''
Has being a celebrity been worth it?
``I think sometimes it has not been worth it,'' he said. ``I've seen people on the porch on Sunday afternoon who are just the happiest people in the world because they don't have all the problems.
``I guess the biggest part that I've enjoyed is the racing. There have been hard times I've had to deal with because of racing. But it has given me a lot of satisfaction. I dislike certain things about this business, but I enjoy driving a race car.''
After nearly winning the Daytona 500 last Sunday (he finished fourth), Elliott starts at the very end of today's 43-car field for today's Goodwrench 400 at North Carolina Motor Speedway. He had to use a champion's provisional to get in.
But that's OK. He's not someone who has to win six races a year or the championship to be happy. He never really expected that to happen in the first place. And when it did, it brought headaches as well as happiness.
``I've learned to roll with it,'' Elliott said. ``I just want to be competitive. If I'm competitive, I'm fine.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
ASSOCIATED PRESS
``There's a time to be focused on racing and there's a time for
family, just like there's a time for fans and a time for media and
everything else.''
Bill Elliott