HOMESTEAD, Fla., Nov. 11 (UPI) -- Bill Elliott won his first race since 1994 when he passed teammate Casey Atwood with four laps remaining Sunday to capture the NASCAR Pennzoil Freedom 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Elliott drove a Dodge Intrepid to victory and gave Ray Evernham his first victory as a team owner. Elliott was able to drive underneath Atwood in the third turn. That made Atwood's car a little loose and Elliott was able to make the pass in turn 4.
"I got under him," Elliott said. "He got real loose there in turns 3 and 4 and that's all it took. It's been great this year. The relationship with Ray has been fantastic. Yesterday, I wanted to put this car in victory lane so bad, I was working too hard. Sometimes you just work too hard for something you really want."
The victory snapped a 226-race winless streak for the driver from Dawsonville, Ga.
Elliott defeated Daytona 500 winner Michael Waltrip by 1.420 seconds. Atwood, a Winston Cup rookie, finished third, followed by Jeff Burton and Sterling Marlin.
It was a 1-3-5 finish for Dodge. Waltrip was in a Chevrolet Monte Carlo and Burton drove a Ford Taurus. Burton and Atwood were involved in a crash on pit road earlier in the race.
Elliott averaged 117.438 miles per hour around the 1 1/2-mile oval in South Florida. There were 19 lead changes among seven drivers.
Waltrip's second-place finish was his best since he was second in the Pepsi 400 at Daytona International Speedway in July.
"You can't beat downforce and handling and thanks to the guys at DEI, I have that," Waltrip said.
Tony Stewart easily had the best car in the field, leading most of the race before encountering problems at the end.
First, he was shuffled back in the field after pit stops during a caution period on lap 224. Stewart entered the pits with the lead, but after changing four tires, he was back to fourth when the green flag waved 37 laps from the finish.
Stewart had trouble finding a way through the field and his problems increased during the final caution period. Kurt Busch spun to bring out the yellow flag and when Stewart decided to pit, he cut across the grass that separates the pit entrance from the track.
NASCAR officials penalized Stewart by putting him at the end of the longest line on the restart. When the green flag waved with 12 laps to go, he was 22nd and made it back only to 19th.
The race was marred by a crash on pit road that left three of Ricky Rudd's crew members and a NASCAR official injured. Bobby Burrell was the most serious of the injured, listed in serious condition but conscious at Jackson Memorial Hospital.
As cars were exiting the pits during a caution period on lap 111, Burton pulled his Dodge out of his pits at the same time Atwood was pulling his onto pit road.
The cars collided and Burton's car crashed into Rudd's Ford, injuring the crew members. A NASCAR official stationed in Rudd's pit was able to jump onto the hood of Burton's car to avoid serious injury.
The three crew members were front tire changer Burrell, front tire carrier Kevin Hall and jackman John Bryan. Burrell was transported to Jackson Memorial with head injuries. Bryan was taken to Baptist Hospital for treatment of knee injuries. Hall was treated for contusions and released from the infield care center.
NASCAR official Kenny Lawson was checked and released from the infield care center.
The collision appeared to have ended any hopes Rudd had of preventing Jeff Gordon from clinching his fourth Winston Cup title in Sunday's race. However, Gordon suffered a pit road mishap on the next pit stop when the Chevrolet driven by Mike Skinner hit Gordon's left front fender, forcing Gordon to make an additional stop and drop him further back in the field.
Rudd was 21st and Gordon 28th, leaving Gordon with a 305-point lead with two races remaining in the battle for the Winston Cup title.
Gordon finished 28th for the second week in a row and can clinch the title by finishing 32nd or better next week in Atlanta or by merely starting the season's final two races.
