Bill Elliott
Auto Racing · Hometown: Gainesville, GA
- High school
- Dawson County High School
- Pro team(s)
- Melling Racing, Coors/Melling, Junior Johnson & Associates, McDonald's/Bill Elliott Racing
- Hall of Fame
- ⭐ NASCAR Hall of Fame
William Clyde "Bill" Elliott was born on October 8, 1955, in Dawsonville, Georgia (Dawson County), in the heart of the North Georgia mountains that had been making fast cars since the bootlegging era. Nicknamed "Awesome Bill from Dawsonville" by NASCAR broadcaster Eli Gold, Elliott became the most popular driver in the sport's history — winning the NASCAR Most Popular Driver award a record 16 times, including 11 consecutive times from 1984 to 1994. His 1985 season was historic: he set the all-time NASCAR qualifying speed record at Talladega at 212.809 mph (a record that still stands at all superspeedways), swept the three longest superspeedways in NASCAR (Daytona, Talladega, Charlotte) to win the "Winston Million" bonus, and won the Daytona 500. He won the NASCAR Cup Series championship in 1988 and collected 44 Cup victories over his career, including a record-tying three Daytona 500 wins. To the people of Dawsonville, Elliott's wins are community celebrations: the town siren still blows when a Dawsonville native wins a major race, a tradition started for Elliott. He was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2015. Born and raised in Dawsonville, Georgia.