An accelerating career

As the years sped past, Bill Elliott could usually be found in victory lane. In 1985, he won 11 races and 11 poles on his way to winning the first Winston Million in NASCAR history, bring a new fame to himself and the sport of auto racing.. His victories in the Daytona 500, the Winston 500 at Talladega and the Southern 500 at Darlington earned him the million-dollar bonus and the nickname, "Million Dollar Bill." Elliott's "fuel-injected" success also landed him on the cover of Sports Illustrated as the first Winston Cup driver to appear on the cover. Additional glory followed and in 1988, with six wins, six poles, 11 top-five and 22 top-10 finishes in 29 races, Elliott earned NASCAR's Winston Cup championship.

Elliott ended his relationship with Melling in 1991 and in 1992 began his association with Junior Johnson. The season ended in dramatic fashion as Elliott narrowly missed his second Winston Cup championship, winning the race, but failing to lead the most laps. Alan Kulwicki won by 10 points, the smallest margin of victory in the final standings in NASCAR's history.

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