In the pits

Bill Elliott reached another milestone

Bill Elliott reached another milestone in his remarkable 34-year NASCAR career at the rain-shortened Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway, and all he had to do was start the race. By taking the green flag, Elliott made his 800th Cup Series, joining six others in the elite 800 Start Club.
     Of course, Elliott didn’t just show up at Lowe’s. He qualified 10th and went on to finish a competitive15th.
     Richard Petty, with 1,184 starts, heads the club, followed by Ricky Rudd (906), Dave Marcis (883), Terry Labonte (862), Kyle Petty (829), Darrell Waltrip (809) and Elliott.
     Elliott, the 1988 Cup champion, was one of the most successful drivers on NASCAR’s premier circuit from 1983 to 1992 when he never finished outside the top six in the season-ending point standings. The two-time Daytona 500 champion was voted NASCAR’s most popular driver 16 times.
     Other Elliott milestones as of June 1:
     44: number of wins, 14th on all-time list.
     55: number of poles, seventh on all-time list.
175: number of top-fives, 17th on all-time list.
320: number of top-10s, 13th on all-time list.
     In other news, Craftsman, the Official Tools of NASCAR, and NASCAR have announced the newest NASCAR season-ending award: the NASCAR Craftsman Wrenchman Award, to recognize a team member from each of the three national NASCAR touring series who best showcases core Craftsman attributes of trust, quality, knowledge and innovation when performing their job with the race team.
     The Wrenchman Award is open to all crewmembers, whether they work at the track or race shop. Teams will nominate one team member with a selection committee choosing the finalists. A fan voting will decide the winner on the Sprint Cup Series side, while the selection committee will choose the winners from the Nationwide and Camping World Truck series.
     The accomplishments and profiles of each of the 12 Cup Series finalists, showcasing how they embody the core Craftsman attributes, will be featured on www.craftsman.com, giving fans a unique opportunity to get a glimpse behind-the-scenes at what it takes to field a NASCAR team and to vote for their favorites.
     In addition, one lucky fan will win a trip to Champions Week in Las Vegas to make the presentation to the winning crewmember. Overall, the program is expected to award approximately $170,000 in cash and Craftsman tools to the winners.
     “The NASCAR Craftsman Wrenchman Award will celebrate and reward the everyday heroes of NASCAR who exemplify the attributes of the Craftsman brand both in the garage and at home,” says Matt McDonnell, manager of brand development Craftsman.
     Crewmember nominations by participating teams will take place this summer. A selection committee will narrow the Cup Series finalists in August. Fan voting will commence in the fall, leading up to the announcement of the Wrenchman Award winners on Nov. 22 at Ford Championship Weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
     Source: NASCAR