Bill Elliott

NASCAR Winston Cup

Career: 1976-present

"Awesome Bill from Dawsonville" is one of the most popular drivers on the circuit as well as one of the most accomplished. The NASCAR Winston Cup Series champion in 1988, Elliott has 40 NASCAR Winston Cup Series victories and 49 NASCAR Winston Cup pole positions in a 22-year career.

He was the first driver to win the "Winston Million," in 1985, which earned him another nickname, "Million Dollar Bill." Elliott can count two Daytona 500 victories (winning from the pole position in 1985 and '87), four consecutive victories in 1992 and a single-season record 11 superspeedway races in 1985 to his credit. His total of 49 pole positions is seventh all-time in NASCAR Winston Cup Series history.

Elliott won the Most Popular Driver Award for a record 12th time in 1997, an award he has not won only three times (1989, 1990, 2001) since 1984. He was named the Georgia Athlete of the Year in 1985 and 1988 and was inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in Jan., 1998. Elliott was also named to the American Auto Writers and Broadcasters Association All America Team in 1985, 1987, 1988 and 1992.