By Rick Houston
First came a dominant victory in the 1985 Daytona 500, and after that, one of the most legendary comebacks of all time in the Winston 500 at Talladega.
Afterward, the stage was set for Bill Elliott to make a run at the brand-new Winston Million bonus from R.J. Reynolds. It wasn’t just the NASCAR community excited about the opportunity for one driver to collect a cool $1 million for winning a single race. A good many who’d only vaguely recognized the sport previously were suddenly paying attention.
And Elliott, an introvert’s introvert, felt the attention weighing on him. Far more comfortable working underneath a race car with grease under his fingernails than standing polished before a bank of cameras, Elliott went into Darlington Raceway’s Southern 500 at the very center of the NASCAR universe.
Somehow … he came away with the victory, and the bonus. This is his story.
For more than 32 years, Grand National/Winston Cup/NASCAR Scene writers and photographers were there to record NASCAR history as it was being made. Join hosts Rick Houston and Steve Waid each week on The Scene Vault Podcast Presented by Q Ware as they take a look back at the extraordinary people, places and events woven into the rich tapestry that is our sport.
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