| Owner(s) | Bill Elliott, Charles Hardy |
|---|---|
| Base | Mooresville, North Carolina |
| Series | Winston Cup, Busch Series, Craftsman Truck Series |
| Notable car numbers |
|
| Notable drivers | Bill Elliott, Matt Kenseth, Jerry Nadeau |
| Notable sponsors | McDonald's |
| Manufacturer | Ford |
| Opened | 1995 |
| Closed | 2000 |
| Career | |
| Drivers' Championships | 0 |
| Race victories | 0 |
Bill Elliott Racing is a former NASCAR Winston Cup, Busch and Craftsman Truck Series team. It was owned and operated by 1988 NASCAR champion Bill Elliott from 1995 until 2000, when it was sold to Evernham Motorsports.
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The team was originally owned by Charles Hardy and ran part-time with various drivers and sponsorship from Buss Fuses. Kenny Wallace made the first start for the #44 at Talladega Superspeedway, finishing in the ninth position. Jimmy Hensley and Bobby Hillin, Jr. ran the car later in the season, but neither finished in the top-ten. Wanting to own his own team, Elliott partnered with Hardy for the 1995 season to form Bill Elliott Racing. The new team premiered at the 1995 Daytona 500 as the #94 Ford with McDonald's sponsoring. Elliott's first year as an owner/driver was marked with eleven top-tens, two poles, and an eighth place finish in the points. After a horrific crash in 1996 at Talladega Superspeedway, Elliott missed several races to recover from his injuries and was replaced by Dorsey Schroeder, Todd Bodine, Tommy Kendall, and Bobby Hillin Jr.. Returning full time in 1997, Elliott had fourteen top tens and another eighth place finish in points. His team also expanded to a multi-car operation they year when Ron Barfield drove the #92 New Holland Ford to a twenty-second place finish at the Brickyard 400. Elliott's operation went multi-car full time in 1998, teaming up with Dan Marino to field the #13 FirstPlus Financial Ford. Rookie Jerry Nadeau raced the car for the first half of the year, before he was released and replaced by multiple drivers. Elliott also fielded the #89 car driven by Dennis Setzer for one race. The year was marked with sadness when Elliott had to miss the fall Dover race to attend the funeral of his father. In his place was Matt Kenseth who finished sixth in his debut cup race.
After a disappointing 1999 season which saw his multi-car operation dissolve back into #94, Elliott announced in early 2000 he was selling his equipment to championship-winning crew chief Ray Evernham to become part of Dodge's return to NASCAR. The team would also switch to #9.
Elliott made his first start as a Busch Series team owner in 1988, driving both races at Charlotte in his #9 Ford, his best finish being a seventh. Three years later, he drove two late-season races in the #84, finishing in the top-ten both times. His next ownership run would come in 1993, when he fielded the #94 in a pair of races for his nephew Casey, who had a best finish of 20th.
In 1996, Elliott's protege Ron Barfield ran six races in Elliott's #94 New Holland Equipment Ford, garnering a best finish of 11th at Charlotte. He ran times the following season and had two ninth-place runs. Elliott's last race as a Busch owner came in 1998, when Jeff Fuller finished fifteenth in the #94 Chevrolet at the Jiffy Lube Miami 300.
Elliott began fielding Truck entries in 1996 with the #94 Super 8 Motels Ford for Barfield. He had three top-tens in his first four starts, but only made a limited schedule of seven starts. He ran just one race in 1997, an eighth place run at Walt Disney World Speedway. Late in the season, Elliott made one start at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with Team ASE Racing sponsoring, but he finished 31st after suffering engine problems.