Posts Tagged ‘Bill Elliott’

The Sprint Cup Series had the week off, but it was no time to rest for the Penske team.

Kurt Busch and Bill Elliott two former NASCAR Sprint Cup champions spent some time at Gresham Motorsports Park, a refurbished facility located about an hour northeast of Atlanta.

On Tuesday, Kurt Busch tested his No. 2 Dodge on the newly paved half-mile paved oval, which was previously known as Peach State Speedway.

“This is a great place to test,” Busch said in a press release. “The track is really repeatable. The track is new and it’s and it’s nice and smooth. It has a lot of grip.

“If you can run the bottom, it’s pretty fast. It’s going to be really fast in a year or two when it wears out a little.”

Kurt Busch the Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway winner , was testing at Gresham Motorsports Park getting ready for the race at Martinsville later this month. The #2 Penske Dodge had the new spoiler on the rear deck lid. Busch’s Penske Racing teammate, Justin Allgaier, also participated in the test. Allgaier competes full time in NASCAR’s Nationwide Series.

Saturday night Bill Elliott, watched from the spotter’s stand  as his his 14-year-old son, Chase Elliott, finished second in the CRA Super Late Model 125 on the lightning-fast layout.

  

Augie Grill of Birmingham, Ala. dominated Saturday’s event by leading 110 of 125 laps. His winning pass came on lap 16 when he dove underneath leader Ryan Lawler in Turn 1. Grill would never be seriously challenged for the lead during the remainder of the race.

“I had a lot of fun,” said Grill, who won the pole but started third based on the inversion procedure. “My goal, normally, in a race is to get to the front as quick as I can. That was my goal tonight. We were able to get to the front in 15 laps. I feel safe when I’m out front.

“We had a great car. It was a good night.”

Elliott held off fellow Georgia residents Bubba Pollard, Jason Hogan and Mike Garvey to claim the runner-up spot.

Grill’s victory assured him a starting berth in the track’s signature event, the World Crown 300, which is held each November.

“That’s pretty neat,” Grill said. “Now we can come experiment for the World Crown and see if we can qualify faster.”

Jeff Hood  at
RacinToday.com contributed to this report

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He has always been a fan favorite and for good reason, he is such a low key mellow guy but when it comes to racing he is all or nothing.

Joe Nemechek and Bill Elliott know what it’s like to miss the Daytona 500, so it was no surprise how happy they were on Saturday after making the field for next Sunday’s Great American Race.

Elliott, Nemechek and Scott Speed were the three fastest drivers not already guaranteed a starting spot in Saturday’s qualifying, and thus they will take the green flag Feb. 14 at Daytona International Speedway.

With 35 drivers locked in based on 2009 owner points, the 43-car field is filled by two spots from each of the two 150-mile qualifying races next Thursday and then three spots from the time trials, with a final spot available to a past champion or the next fastest on speed.

Bobby Labonte can use a past champion’s provisional, if needed. That meant that three drivers could breathe easier after qualifying on Saturday. Elliott, and Nemechek were fast enough that if they don’t run well Thursday in the qualifying races, they can rely on their time-trial speeds for spots in the 500.

Elliott, who was fourth-fastest at 190.573 mph, wasn’t much of a surprise. He did the same thing a year ago after missing the 2008 race.

“It’s still always nerve-wracking because when you roll in here it’s one thing, but once you do everything you’ve got to do [through inspection] and then you leave pit road on your qualifying run, it’s a whole different world,” Elliott said. “Two years ago there’s no comparison [in this program]. Last year, [crew chief David] Hyder started turning things around about this time and I feel like last season was a tribute to the Wood Brothers and the way their team should be.”

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