Elliott, the 1988 Cup Champion and two-time Daytona 500 winner, will be driving the #36 MB2 Motorsports Chevrolet that Boris Said ran nine races in during the 2005 season. Boris drove the #36 car to a 27th place finish in the 2005 Daytona 500 after starting 41st.
Bill Elliott will also be competing the week before the Daytona 500 in the Budweiser Shootout which is the non-points race for the previous season's pole winners. Elliott is eligible for that race because he won that event in 1987.
Bill Elliott?
It's not as crazy as it might sound. Although Bill Elliott hasn't run the full NASCAR schedule since 2003 he has raced in fifteen events since then. His best finish in 2004 was ninth in the Brickyard 400 while last year he managed an eleventh place effort in Michigan.
Meanwhile, the MB2 Motorsports team put together a strong restrictor plate package in 2005. Boris Said qualified on the second row at Talladega last year. Also, don't forget that this is the team car to the #01 of Joe Nemechek who had some very impressive runs in 2005.
Is Bill too old?
Restrictor plate racing like the drivers face at Daytona isn't so much about youthful bravado as it is a chess match. Bill Elliott has won restrictor plate races at Daytona twice (in 1988 and again in 1991) so he knows how to work the draft.
Also, don't forget that Bill Elliott is only one year older than Dale Jarrett who won at Talladega just last year.
Knocking the dust off
Elliott has been named the driver early enough that he will be able to take full advantage of January testing in Daytona. Plus, Bill will have the advantage of racing in the Budweiser Shootout to work the kinks out. Add in the Gatorade Duel At Daytona 150-mile qualifying race and you've got an experienced race driver who should be fully up to speed in time for the 2006 Daytona 500.
Bill Elliott is for real and has a legitimate shot at winning the 2006 Daytona 500.
