DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- The bright red truck is parked on the back lot at Daytona International Speedway, and Bill Elliott, stock car racing's most popular driver, is sitting as far back in that truck as he can get.
Far from the main stage, the former Winston Cup champion is dressed in street clothes, relaxed and smiling.
"It's much more comfortable back here," he said of his position out of the mainstream. "People have to search me out here. They're not just going to stumble across me as they move down that row where [Dale] Earnhardt, [Rusty] Wallace and [Dale] Jarrett are parked. It's really good to be back home. I think there is a point in time for everything."
Elliott, who won the Winston Million in 1985 and a national championship in 1988 while racing for Melling Racing and his family team out of Dawsonville, Ga., has returned to the fold after three frustrating years with the Junior Johnson-owned team in Ronda, N.C.
He has a co-owner, Charles Hardy, a 61-year-old car dealer from Dallas, Ga., who got involved "because I thought Bill belonged back in Dawsonville and because I thought that team and that family belonged together."
And he has taken the major sponsorship of McDonald's home with him, which means there is big money involved and his low-key approach will go only so far. The small operation that used to number only 12 men from the engine room -- where Bill's brother, Ernie, reigned and reigns again -- to the chassis department and pit crew has grown to 35.
Today, in the second of the Gatorade Twin 125 qualifying races for Sunday's 36th Daytona 500, the team will get its first real test.
"The main thing [today] is to see how competitive we are," said Elliott, who will be driving a Ford. "If we're not competitive, we won't even be in the classroom. We've got to evaluate ourselves and get a toehold on what's going to happen Sunday.
"We need to see how the General Motors products shake out. They've done their homework; we know that. We have to see if we can run with them."
Elliott, 39, said that he is too old to be nervous about this debut, but that he hasn't changed much from the 29-year-old who showed up here 10 years ago and led Winston Cup racing into a new era.
"It did put racing in a different era," he said. "Somebody came out of nowhere to win the Daytona 500, and it just grew from there. It's still amazing to me."
This shy man found stardom, as he added the Winston Million bonus to his winnings that season, and his youthful, red-headed image was on the cover of Sports Illustrated and every motor sports publication in the country.
"I grew up in a small town where I couldn't get three people together to say two words," he said yesterday. "And I'm still that guy.
"I never wanted anything, you know. When I started racing, all I wanted to do was race. That was my goal. I didn't care about nothing else. I didn't want to be a popular guy. I didn't want to be nothing. I just wanted to race.
"Oh, I like the success. but it's the attention I didn't like and don't want. But I'm getting along better now because the older I get, I get a better perspective. I understand it ain't going to be like this forever. I won't be racing forever."
For the most part, Elliott has done the racing just fine. He has 40 victories, including two Daytona 500 victories, going into this season. And 10 years later, he is still the only driver to win that Winston Million.
Perhaps one of the most amazing accomplishments in those 10 years is his continued relationship with the fans. Somehow, despite his reticence and squawking all the way, he has managed to win their hearts. His fan clubs are recognized as the most dedicated in Winston Cup racing.
Nine times he has been voted the sport's most popular driver, winning the award in some seasons when he seemed to do nothing to earn it.
His disposition has been a mystery to many in the sport that thrives on its fan-friendly atmosphere. Elliott said that he tries to remember the fans' perspective but that it is still difficult to get out of his race car after a bad day and face someone who is thrusting a card in his face for an autograph.
Seven-time Winston Cup champion Dale Earnhardt said the working relationships for the team in Dawsonville suit the Elliotts. And he laughed when he recalled bumping into Bill in the garage the other day and hearing how pleased he was to be hiding in the overflow parking area. But Earnhardt doesn't understand the attitude.
"I know he's happy back there, but I don't want to be in the back," Earnhardt said. "It's his problem. I don't mean to be short about it. But you accept your livelihood and your place in life or you don't. You can't have the racing anymore without all the rest. It's the commitment you make to the sponsor, to your fans and to the press.
"If you don't like it, quit and go home. I'm not saying it just about Bill. That's just the way it is for everybody."
Elliott has gone home at least, though he shows no signs of quitting.
NOTES: Marylanders Donnie Neuenberger of Bowie, driving the Canby Motors Chevrolet, and Barry Fitzgerald of Westminster, in the Vass & Hastings/Barnes Service Center Chevrolet, both qualified for tomorrow's Goody's Dash Series race.
Neuenberger qualified 29th in the 42-car field with a run of 149.581 mph, which made for a relatively relaxing day.
Fitzgerald spent a much more nerve-racking day. He clocked 145.898 mph in first-day qualifying and decided to stand on the speed yesterday, which meant he had to wait until the last car ran before knowing if he'd make it. He just made it, taking the 40th starting spot.
"It's not where you start," said Fitzgerald. "It's where you finish, and I have the opportunity to be the rookie who improved the most in the race."
Lineup for Saturday's Goody's 300
1. Michael Waltrip, Davidson, N.C., Pontiac, 185.326; 2. Dale Jarrett, Hickory, N.C., Ford, 185.303; 3. Jeff Green, Owensboro, Ky., Chevrolet, 185.136; 4. Mike McLaughlin, Waterloo, N.Y., Chevrolet, 185.082; 5. Jeff Purvis, Clarksville, Tenn., Chevrolet, 185.060;
6. Elton Sawyer, Greensboro, N.C., Ford, 184.445; 7. Derrike Cope, Huntersville, N.C., Ford, 184.294; 8. Jason Keller, Greenville, S.C., Chevrolet, 183.985; 9. Mike Wallace, Concord, N.C., Ford, 183.872; 10. Larry Pearson, Spartanburg, S.C., Chevrolet, 183.797;
11. Rodney Combs, Lost Creek, W.Va., Pontiac, 183.790; 12. Bobby Hamilton, Nashville, Tenn., Pontiac, 183.685; 13. Dennis Setzer, Newton, N.C., Ford, 183.430; 14. Joe Bessey, Scarborough, Maine, Chevrolet, 183.423; 15. Bobby Dotter, Chicago, Chevrolet, 183.385;
16. Joe Nemechek, Mooresville, N.C., Chevrolet, 183.284; 17. Jeff Fuller, Auburn, Mass., Chevrolet, 183.270; 18. Bobby Hillin, Charlotte, N.C., Ford, 183.240; 19. Johnny Benson, Grand Rapids, Mich., Chevrolet, 183.109; 20. Rich Bickle, Concord, N.C., Ford, 183.109;
21. Steve Grissom, Liberty, N.C., Chevrolet, 183.087; 22. Robbie Reiser, Allentown, Wis., Chevrolet, 183.024; 23. Mark Martin, Daytona Beach, Fla., Ford, 182.730; 24. Kirk Shelmerdine, Philadelphia, Chevrolet, 182.660; 25. Tracy Leslie, Mt. Clemens, Mich., Chevrolet, 182.290;
26. Tim Bender, Colden, N.Y., Ford, 184.949; 27. Hermie Sadler, Emporia, Va., Chevrolet, 183.217; 28. Rick Wilson, Bartow, Fla., Ford, 182.931; 29. Curtis Markham, Fredericksburg, Va., Pontiac, 182.452; 30. Tommy Houston, Hickory, N.C., Ford, 182.430;
31. Kenny Wallace, Concord, N.C., Ford, 182.426; 32. Ken Schrader, Concord, N.C., Chevrolet, 182.290; 33. David Green, Owensboro, Ky., Chevrolet, 182.275; 34. Stevie Reeves, Speedway, Ind., Chevrolet, 182.227; 35. Patty Moise, Jacksonville, Fla., Ford, 182.153;
36. Doug Heveron, Liverpool, N.Y., Ford, 182.057; 37. L.W. Miller III, Dushore, Pa., Ford, 181.998; 38. Jim Bown, Portland, Ore., Chevrolet, 181.973; 39. Bobby Labonte, Trinity, N.C., Chevrolet, 181.818; 40. Phil Parsons, Denver, N.C., Chevrolet, 181.708;
41. Glenn Sullivan, Westbury, N.Y. Chevrolet, no speed, provisional starter; 42. Chad Little, Charlotte, N.C., Ford, no speed, provisional starter; 43. Steve Hoddick, Cheektowaga, N.Y., Ford, no speed, provisional starter; 44. Tim Fedewa, Holt, Mich., Ford, no speed, provisional starter; 45. Jamie Aube, N. Ferrisburg, Vt., Chevrolet, no speed, provisional starter.