Car Number Histories: No. 9

ATLANTA -- Only 60 percent of Bill Elliott's 731 career starts have come behind the wheel of the No. 9, but 38 of his 44 victories have been in cars bearing that numeral.

Elliott is easily the winningest driver to race the No. 9, but others have shared that achievement, most notably Herb and Donald Thomas, Joe Weatherly and Roy Tyner.

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Herb Thomas finished 12th on the Daytona beach course in 1949, while Raymond Lewis was eighth at North Wilkesboro and Len Brown 28 th at Langhorne that season.

Tim Flock drove four races in the No. 9 in 1950, with a best of fourth at Vernon. Art Lamey was fifth at Daytona and Donald Thomas made his NASCAR debut driving for his older brother at Charlotte, finishing seventh. Brown ran three more races that season, including 12th at Canfield.

In 1951, Iggy Katona ran three races, including the Southern 500. His best finish was 11th at Langhorne. Bill Osborne was fourth at Mobile and Dick Meyer ran mainly on the West Coast, finishing second at Gardena.

Both Thomas boys posted victories in the Fabulous Hudson in 1952. Herb, who usually drove the No. 92, won in the No. 9 at North Wilkesboro, while Donald, normally in the No. 72, went to Victory Lane at Atlanta. Jack Smith was 11th in the 1952 Southern 500.

In addition, Ed Samples was second at Atlanta and Smokey Yunick made his only appearance as a driver, winding up 18th at West Palm Beach.

Donald Thomas was seventh at Richmond and Jim Reed fourth at Langhorne in 1953. Thomas ran the No. 9 seven more times over the next two seasons, with a best of fourth at Weaverville in 1955.

Weatherly's Ford carried No. 9 from 1955-1957. In five starts that first year, Weatherly posted four top-10s, including a fourth at North Wilkesboro.

He had seven top-10s in 12 races in 1956, the best being a third at Columbia. Jim Cook was fifth at Eureka that same season.

Weatherly ran Daytona and Darlington in 1957 before switching to the No. 12.

In 1958, Jesse James Taylor, who had been using No. 13, was 37th in the Southern 500.

	Bill Elliott. Credit: Autostock

Tyner began a long association with the numeral in 1959. Through the 1970 season, Tyner drove 226 races in the No. 9, but failed to win a race.

Tyner had 14 top-10s in 24 races in 1959, including a fourth at Weaverville. The next season, he was fourth at Charlotte in 15 starts.

In nine 1961 events, Tyner's best was a 10th at Hillsboro. Bunkie Blackburn also drove five times in the No. 9, including a 39th-place finish in the Southern 500.

Tyner missed the entire 1962 season, then returned for eight races in 1963, all of which he failed to finish for a variety of reasons. Art Brady was 21st in the 1962 Southern 500, while Cale Yarborough finished 25th at Charlotte and T.C. Hunt was 19th at Chattanooga.

Things improved for Tyner in 1964, as he posted 17 top-10s in 46 races, finishing 16th in the final standings. Bill Amick drove a No. 9W out west, finishing fourth at Riverside.

Tyner had six more top-10s in 1965, including a fourth at Greenville, then was seventh at Columbia in 26 starts in 1966. Paul Goldsmith used the No. 9 once that season, finishing 21st at Bristol, while Larry Frank was 10th in the 1966 Daytona 500.

Tyner made 27 more starts in 1967, posting a 10th-place finish at Richmond. Ken Spikes was 21st in the Southern 500 that season.

Tyner's best season came in 1968, when he had 14 top-10 finishes in 48 races, 21 of those in the No. 9. Ben Arnold also drove a Tyner- owned car at Darlington, while Bill Vanderhoff ran three races, including a 16th at Montgomery.

Tyner was 10th at Bristol in 1969 and eighth at Richmond in 1970 as he began running a limited schedule.

The numeral went unused until 1973, when Pete Hamilton drove a No. 9 Plymouth at Daytona, finishing 40th in the 500. The next year, Tony Bettenhausen ran 25 races in a Chevrolet, including a seventh at Richmond.

Mel Larson used the No. 9 in 1975 before a young Bill Elliott ran his first race at Rockingham in 1976, finishing 33rd. Jim Danielson, David Hobbs, Al Holbert, John Kieper, Bill Hollar, Jim Vandiver, Frank Warren and Jimmy Insolo also used the numeral before Elliott began running full-time on the circuit in 1983.

Even though Elliott didn't win until capturing the season finale at Riverside in 1983, he was a steady top-10 performer early on. In 1977, Elliott was 10th at Charlotte. He was sixth at Talladega and Darlington in 1978, sixth at Talladega again in 1979 and sixth at Charlotte in 1980.

Elliott won his first pole at Darlington in 1981, finishing fourth in that race. He then won another pole at Michigan in 1982 and wound up second on three occasions.

Elliott was third in the final standings in 1983, thanks to his Riverside win and 22 top-10s. The next season, he won three races and earned 24 top-10s, remaining third in the points.

He broke through in 1985 with 11 victories, including the Daytona 500, swept both races at Michigan, Pocono, Darlington and Atlanta, 11 pole positions, earned the Winston Million and finished second behind Darrell Waltrip for the championship.

	Bill Elliott. Credit: Autostock

Elliott won twice more in 1986, not counting The Winston, then was dominant at Daytona the following season, winning the pole, the Busch Clash and the Daytona 500. Elliott would go on to win five more races and eight poles, finishing second in the points.

Elliott's only championship came in 1988, when he scored six victories, six poles and had 22 top-10 finishes.

Elliott slipped to sixth in 1989, but won races at Michigan, Pocono and Phoenix. He improved to fourth in 1990, despite only one victory -- at Dover.

Elliott won the Pepsi 400 at Daytona and poles at Bristol and Atlanta in 1991, but finished 11th in the points. He moved to the No. 11 for the 1992 season.

For the next three seasons, a number of drivers used the No. 9 on a limited basis. In 1992, Phil Parsons, Dorsey Schroeder, Dave Mader III, Bill Schmitt and Chad Little combined for 22 starts. The next season, Little was joined by Greg Sacks and P.J. Jones.

Joe Ruttman, John Krebs, Rich Bickle and Parsons shared the ride in 1994 before Lake Speed returned the No. 9 to full-time status in 1995.

Speed was eighth at the Coca-Cola 600, one of two top-10 finishes in 1995. He wound up 23rd in the final standings that year -- and again in 1996, when he was eighth at Pocono in 31 starts.

Speed ran a total of 41 more races over the next two seasons without cracking the top-10. Jeff Davis and Butch Gilliland made one start each during that time frame.

Jerry Nadeau took over the ride from Speed for the final 16 races of 1998, then ran 23 times in 1999, with a best of fifth at Watkins Glen. When Nadeau moved to the No. 36 midway through the year, Steve Grissom, Rich Bickle and Stacy Compton split driving duties.

Compton ran 27 races in the No. 9 in 2000, with a best of 16th at Loudon, while Bobby Hillin had one start.

Then in 2001, Elliott returned to the numeral and immediately put it on the pole for the Daytona 500. He also put it back in Victory Lane at Homestead, finishing 15th in the final standings.

Elliott improved to 13th in 2002, thanks to wins at Pocono and Indianapolis and 13 top-10 finishes. He was even better in 2003, scoring his first top-10 finish in the points since 1997.

Elliott came on strong at the end of the season, scoring six top-10 finishes in his final seven races, including a victory at Rockingham, the 44th of his career. A cut tire on the final lap cost him a chance to win the season finale at Homestead.