"I really don’t have anything to prove": When Bill Elliott hinted at his 'retirement race' but left the door open for more

Former NASCAR driver and Cup Series champion Bill Elliott made a surprise return to racing at the Xfinity Series race at Road America about seven years ago. Elliott won 44 Cup Series races over 37 years, including two Daytona 500s. He stopped racing full-time in 2003 but continued part-time for several years.

During an August 2018 appearance on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio's "Dialed In" show, the 1988 Cup Series champion admitted he did not have anything left to prove but was still curious to get back behind the wheel.

"I would say in the (NASCAR) national series, this will be my last race. I’m not saying I wouldn’t do something else....I was watching the Xfinity race (at Watkins Glen on Saturday) and man, those guys are good. I just would like to see how are these cars are today, how are things going along and just kind of see what it’s all about," Bill Elliott said (via Motorsport).

"We kind of got to talking about it and they asked me to do it and I thought, ‘Well, what the heck.’ I mean I really don’t have anything to prove. I don’t know what my expectations are," he added.

GMS Racing announced that Elliott would drive the No. 23 Chevrolet in the Johnsonville 180 on August 25, with a design honoring his 1994 win. Before his 2018 comeback, his last NASCAR race was at Daytona International Speedway in 2012. Elliott started the race from 23rd position, moved up to 17th but spun out and finished 20th, at 62 years old.

Bill Elliott has had one win, eight top-fives, and 16 top-10s in the Xfinity Series over 44 starts.

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"Great to see what it’s like" - Bill Elliott on returning to NASCAR after six years

Bill Elliott, driver of the #23 ISM Connect Chevrolet, sits in his car during practice for the NASCAR Xfinity Series Johnsonville 180 at Road America on August 24, 2018 - Source: Getty

Bill Elliott was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2015. During his career, he set many records, including NASCAR’s fastest qualifying speeds at Talladega and Daytona.

Elliott, a 16-time NASCAR Most Popular Driver award winner, handed his No. 9 car at Evernham Motorsports to Kasey Kahne and decided to race part-time after the conclusion of the 2003 season. The Dawsonville, Georgia native also helped test cars for Evernham. During the same 2018 interview before the Xfinity race, he spoke about never officially retiring and said:

"I texted my team and said you all might want to put A.J. (Allmendinger) back in the car after what he did today (finished second). I haven’t driven one of these cars in a while and I thought wouldn’t it be great to see what it’s like. Win, lose or draw, go up there, first off have a good time, enjoy the moment and just see what goes from there. I never have officially retired." (via Motorsport)

Bill Elliott is part of only the third father-son duo to win Cup titles, alongside Lee and Richard Petty and Ned and Dale Jarrett. His son, Chase Elliott, won the Cup title in 2020.