Bill Elliott California Speedway Preview - Fontana, California (August 29, 2006) – Bill Elliott has been busy over the past couple of weeks and his schedule seems to keep getting busier as he pilots the No. 00 BURGER KING® Michael Waltrip Racing entry at California Speedway this weekend. This is Elliott’s fourth race with Michael Waltrip Racing this season.

“I think we will be better at California Speedway, than we were at Indianapolis Motor Speedway,” Elliott said. “We gained a lot at Indy. I’ve talked to Michael (Waltrip) and Larry (Carter) over the last few weeks. We’ve got a better car for this weekend.”

The Dawsonville, Ga. native enters the two-mile D-shaped oval for the 11th time in his NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series career one week after participating in NASCAR’s Car of Tomorrow test at Michigan International Speedway in a Red Bull Racing Toyota Camry. Prior to that, Elliott ran a race for Evernham Motorsports at Watkins Glen International.

“After Watkins Glen, we participated in NASCAR’s Car of Tomorrow test,” Elliott said. “Obviously it’s going to take some figuring out from a lot of different people for everybody to be kind of on the same page. I guess they are trying to get a lot of stuff done before next year rolls around. It’s going to take everybody getting on the same page. NASCAR was pleased with how well the cars ran. In order to be truly competitive, it’s just going to take some sorting out. Who gets it figured out first is going to be the one to beat for a while.”

As Toyota made its first official on-track appearance last week with Elliott, Michael Waltrip and Dave Blaney, Crew Chief Larry Carter and the BURGER KING team traveled to Kentucky Speedway with David Reutimann to test the car Elliott will race this weekend.

“David recently tested the car for us and the test went good,” Carter said. “We are taking the same car we ran at Loudon (New Hampshire International Speedway) to Fontana. We hung a new body on it and have taken it to the seven-post shaker rig and pull-down rig.”

Elliott’s best finish at Michael Waltrip Racing this season out of three events is 22nd-place, which occurred at Indianapolis Motor Speedway earlier this month. This weekend the 44-time NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series winner looks to add to his two top-five and two top-10 finishes at California Speedway in 10 starts.

“I’ve had a couple good runs at California and I’m looking forward to going back,” Elliott said. “The guys have been working hard to get everything ready. They’ve made some gains and they’ve had a little more time to work on things.”

Bill Elliott Winston Cup / Nextel Cup Stats (California Speedway)
10 starts, 2026 of 2504 laps completed (80.9%), 16 laps led

Average start: 19.3
Average finish: 24.3
Total Winnings: $754,665
Win: 0 ( 0.0%)
Top 5: 2 ( 20.0%)
Top 10: 2 ( 20.0%)
DNFs: 4