A Review of the book, AWESOME BILL FROM DAWSONVILLE, MY LIFE IN NASCAR, by Bill Elliott and Chris Millard, as submitted to Amazon.com.
I have been a NASCAR fan since before it was NASCAR. I can remember going with my Daddy to races at Daytona, FL when they were held on a course that was part beach and part paved road. I loved racing then and I love it now. The primeval growl of the engines, the excitement of head to head finishes and the spectacle of it all still thrills me as much today as it did when I was seven years old.
During all that time I never pulled for one particular driver over the others, that is until Bill Elliott and his brothers Dan and Ernie came on the scene in the late 1970’s. Their outfit was so rag-tag at first that you just could not help but root for them. It became a habit for me and for a lot of other people. Then along about 1984 the Elliotts begin to win races! At first just one here and there and later lots of them. They won the first Winston Million in 1985 along with eleven super speedway races and eleven poles. Three years later the Elliotts won the 1988 Winston Cup Championship, beating a very determined Rusty Wallace by just a few points.
During a career that has spanned over twenty-five years the Elliotts have set closed course speed records at Talladega, won the "Most Popular Driver" NASCAR award a record number of times, won forty-four NASCAR races and over seventy-three million dollars in purses. The Elliotts became the best known family in any sport in America. Bill Elliott was the first NASCAR driver to ever appear on the cover of SPORTS ILLUSTRATED MAGAZINE. All this was accomplished while working their magic from a tiny operation just outside of Dawsonville, GA. Racing against the likes of Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt, Sr., Bobby Allison and most of the biggest names in NASCAR, the shy red-headed country boy, William Clyde Elliott, became the superstar athlete "Awesome Bill form Dawsonville."
The National Association of Stock Car Racing, NASCAR, owes much of its current popularity to the Elliott Family. As the Elliotts grew in the hearts of their fans so did NASCAR grow from a regional, little appreciated, sport into the worldwide multi-billion dollar industry it is today. In his book, Awesome Bill From Dawsonville, My Life in NASCAR, co-written by Bill Elliott and Chris Millard, Mr. Elliott details the hardships and glories that a professional racecar driver can experience. While this book is about racing, it is even more about the relationships between the three Elliott brothers, Ernie, the oldest, Dan, the middle brother, Bill the youngest brother and their father, George, and the bonds of family and determination that held their operation together.
As literature, Awesome Bill From Dawsonville, My life in NASCAR, ain’t Shakespeare, but, it works very well as the story of three brothers who make good and of their father who instilled in them the virtues of hard work, honesty and drive. This is not exactly a "rags to riches" story, but it serves as a reminder to all of us that you get out of life in exact proportion to that which you put into it. The Elliotts never dreamed that they would one day be at the pinnacle of their sport, but through hard work, some good beaks and family loyalty they made it. They will go down in sports history as one of the finest families in NASCAR. Their red and gold number nine Thunderbird is forever etched in automobile racing history.
I have been a NASCAR fan since before it was NASCAR. I can remember going with my Daddy to races at Daytona, FL when they were held on a course that was part beach and part paved road. I loved racing then and I love it now. The primeval growl of the engines, the excitement of head to head finishes and the spectacle of it all still thrills me as much today as it did when I was seven years old.
During all that time I never pulled for one particular driver over the others, that is until Bill Elliott and his brothers Dan and Ernie came on the scene in the late 1970’s. Their outfit was so rag-tag at first that you just could not help but root for them. It became a habit for me and for a lot of other people. Then along about 1984 the Elliotts begin to win races! At first just one here and there and later lots of them. They won the first Winston Million in 1985 along with eleven super speedway races and eleven poles. Three years later the Elliotts won the 1988 Winston Cup Championship, beating a very determined Rusty Wallace by just a few points.
During a career that has spanned over twenty-five years the Elliotts have set closed course speed records at Talladega, won the "Most Popular Driver" NASCAR award a record number of times, won forty-four NASCAR races and over seventy-three million dollars in purses. The Elliotts became the best known family in any sport in America. Bill Elliott was the first NASCAR driver to ever appear on the cover of SPORTS ILLUSTRATED MAGAZINE. All this was accomplished while working their magic from a tiny operation just outside of Dawsonville, GA. Racing against the likes of Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt, Sr., Bobby Allison and most of the biggest names in NASCAR, the shy red-headed country boy, William Clyde Elliott, became the superstar athlete "Awesome Bill form Dawsonville."
The National Association of Stock Car Racing, NASCAR, owes much of its current popularity to the Elliott Family. As the Elliotts grew in the hearts of their fans so did NASCAR grow from a regional, little appreciated, sport into the worldwide multi-billion dollar industry it is today. In his book, Awesome Bill From Dawsonville, My Life in NASCAR, co-written by Bill Elliott and Chris Millard, Mr. Elliott details the hardships and glories that a professional racecar driver can experience. While this book is about racing, it is even more about the relationships between the three Elliott brothers, Ernie, the oldest, Dan, the middle brother, Bill the youngest brother and their father, George, and the bonds of family and determination that held their operation together.
As literature, Awesome Bill From Dawsonville, My life in NASCAR, ain’t Shakespeare, but, it works very well as the story of three brothers who make good and of their father who instilled in them the virtues of hard work, honesty and drive. This is not exactly a "rags to riches" story, but it serves as a reminder to all of us that you get out of life in exact proportion to that which you put into it. The Elliotts never dreamed that they would one day be at the pinnacle of their sport, but through hard work, some good beaks and family loyalty they made it. They will go down in sports history as one of the finest families in NASCAR. Their red and gold number nine Thunderbird is forever etched in automobile racing history.
posted by Conservatoid at 11:16 AM
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