BILL ELLIOT (No. 9 Dodge Intrepid R/T)

"Start up front run up front. It's a lot more enjoyable than the back."

Zoomster.com connected to Bill Elliot's thoughts about teams, Ray Evernham and retirement. Elliot has had a recent resurgence with his Dodge and Evernham's crew. His skills and car have moved him to the front of the pack while he looks at inevitable age factors chasing him from behind. In a sport that requires keen abilities and fortitude, Elliot has been a standout. His thoughts stand out too.

"The Dodge team has done so much and worked so hard to put this effort together and I'm proud to be a part of it. They bust their cans every week trying to get this program up to speed and Dodge, Mike Ford, Ray Evernham and all the other guys have done an excellent job. It's been a lot of fun being with them. When Ray first started this deal, I told him a lot of things, what to look for, what not to look for, how hard it was for me. Some things he listened to, some he didn't. You've got to make your own mistakes."

"Ray would call me on Monday and say, "You're doing your job. We'll get better next week. People started coming together. The car started coming together. Then I started giving good feedback. They put good stuff under me. That's been an ongoing evolution. It's been a building block. First you have to get your confidence back, because of the lean years when I was trying to run my own deal. I couldn't keep up with the technology. When you're running on a limited budget, it's hard to keep up. Everybody's got a budget, but some are bigger than others. Ray was able to have enough resources with Dodge and people around him to continue to build this deal. That's the most important part."

"I'm on the shorter end of the stick. I'm not in my `20s, `30s. I'm in my middle or late `40s. You're not going to do it forever. Nobody does anything forever. You live, die and what you do in the middle you make the best of it. I'm going to make the best of this, focus on racing and give Ray everything I can. Then there will be time to take care of other things. Take care of the fans. If we run, the rest takes care of itself."

"It favors the guy who gets his car worked out the best and he who has the best equipment for that particular day and on who use the best strategy."

"I try to put things into perspective. There is a time and place for everything. I don't look for attention. I try to stay out of the limelight. I've never been secure enough on what others thrive on. I try to take it a step at a time. It's racing. If we run well on the race track, the rest of the stuff will take care of itself. There will be a time for the media, the fans, personal time and a time to race. As long as you keep those things separated you have a good handle on the day-to-day stuff."

"The times have changed, the people have changed and it's a lot more competitive. If you do what you do to the best of your ability, you need to totally focus on it. The hardest part of this sport is trying to get a group of people together for a common goal, trying to keep them, together, try to use your resources in the best possible way.

"We need to tweak around on what we got. Everything they do is better. Whatever we learn today or tomorrow is going to help. This learning curve, that's what I'm more impressed about, how far we've come in a short period of time."

"How long I need to drive? I'm going to take that a step at a time. I haven't made any concrete decisions at what point I'm going to retire. I'll face the rest of the season race by race. Health is the most important part. You've got to stay healthy and have enough stamina to keep these cars going all day long. It's a part of the sport. You can't expect to do it forever. That's the evolution of it. Younger kids are going to come along."

"Before Ray I was staring retirement in the face. I had several lean years. When Ray came along to me I about fell over because I didn't know why he wanted me, and if he's totally crazy. Ray has done a lot for me. Whether retirement is two years or five years down the road I'm on the shorter end of the stick. There comes a point when you're going to have to lay it down. I've been thinking about it and I have no idea when.