Diecast Diaries
03 May 2019
Lionel ARC 1:24 – Credit: Dominik Wilde
Diecast diaries is back with a recent addition to the collection to tell the story of an unusual one-off comeback for one of NASCAR’s all-time greats.
Bill Elliott caused something of a surprise when he announced his plans to compete in the Johnsonville 180 NASCAR Xfinity series race at Road America last summer. The then-62-year-old hadn’t raced in any of NASCAR’s top three divisions since 2012, and the attention once focussed on him had turned to his son Chase Elliott who was enjoying a breakout season in the NASCAR Cup series for Hendrick Motorsports.
Nevertheless, the 1988 Cup series champion was offered the chance to race in the second-tier championship for GMS Racing, and he jumped at it.
“When this opportunity came up from Mike [Beam, GMS Racing Boss], I had to jump on it,” Elliott said at the time, per Drive. “Beam and I have worked together in the past so it will be exciting to get back behind the wheel and bring back some old memories.”
Despite being a NASCAR legend, Elliott was classed as a rookie for the one-off Road America appearance – Lionel ARC 1:24 – Credit: Dominik Wilde
Elliott was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2015, so his one-off outing last year made him the first active hall of famer to participate in an official NASCAR touring series race. However, due to his seven years away from the cockpit (and 15 years since his last full-time campaign), Elliott actually ran the race as a rookie, complete with rookie yellow stripes on the back of his #23 Chevrolet Camaro, something that drew comical reactions on social media at the time.
Despite his legendary status, Elliott approached the race purely to have fun. His end result wasn’t bad at all though.
The 16-time Most Popular Driver award winner started 23rd on the grid, and although he was involved in an early collision, which resulted in nose and bonnet damage, he finished the race 20th out of 40 runners. He even ran as high as seventh at one point in the 45-lap contest. During the race, which took place during an off-weekend for the NASCAR Cup series, his son served as his spotter.
“I feel like I hit everything but the lottery,” Elliott was quoted by Racer after the race. “It was a great day. It was a heck of a lot of fun.”
Elliott had never raced a Chevrolet in the Xfinity series before 2018 – Lionel ARC 1:24 – Credit: Dominik Wilde
Although it was a ‘fun’ outing, Elliott, ever the racer, noted plenty of areas for improvement.
“I felt like I needed more through [turns] nine and 10, the carousel, to carry any speed through there,” he said. “I just felt like I gave up too much in three.”
“I was not too bad in five, six, seven, eight … I got a little bit free down in 11,” Elliott added. “But all in all, it was a good day. I enjoyed it, [I] had a good time.”
The race was Elliott’s first Xfinity start since 2007 – Lionel ARC 1:24 – Credit: Dominik Wilde
Following the one-off appearance, Elliott confirmed that he has no plans to race at a high-level again, although he continues to compete in historic races in old NASCAR machinery.
Last Sunday he won the stock car feature race at the Historic Sportscar Racing Mitty at Road Atlanta, driving a 2006 Dodge NASCAR Cup car. Elliott led every lap of the stock car feature race at the event, beating 20 other entrants.
Meanwhile, 160 miles away at Talladega Chase Elliott took his fourth career NASCAR Cup series win in the Geico 500 making it an all-round good day for the family from Dawsonville, Georgia.
Elliott’s legacy has been continued by his son who made his Cup debut in 2015 (pictured) – Lionel ARC 1:24 – Credit: Dominik Wilde
Diecast Diaries is a regular series where I tell the real-world stories of the cars in my personal collection of diecast racing cars.
