Elliott Lack Sponsors for Atlanta Race

HAMPTON, Ga. (AP) _ Bill Elliott is enjoying semiretirement so far. <br><br>``It's been great watching the races,'' Elliott said. ``To tell you the truth, I know I made the right decision.

Friday, March 12th 2004, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

HAMPTON, Ga. (AP) _ Bill Elliott is enjoying semiretirement so far.

``It's been great watching the races,'' Elliott said. ``To tell you the truth, I know I made the right decision. It was the best decision I ever made.''

He'll be watching Sunday's Golden Corral 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway from the radio booth, part of an audition of sorts as an analyst for the Performance Racing Network. It's the first time the former champion of NASCAR's top series has missed a race at his home track since 1979.

His team, Evernham Motorsports, couldn't put together a sponsorship package to make this event part of his partial schedule.

``Bill Elliott brings a timely and unmatched perspective to our broadcast team,'' lead announcer Doug Rice said. ``We are all excited and honored to have Bill join us.''

Last week at Las Vegas, the 48-year-old Elliott ran his first official event of the year and finished 10th. He was 14th in the Bud Shootout _ a non-points race _ at Daytona in February, and he's spent much of his time helping his team develop a new style of car.

That might be all he'll be able to do. So far, Elliott has a deal for only one more Nextel Cup race, the Samsung-Radio Shack 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on April 4.

Part of what helped his adjustment go so smoothly has been the performance of his replacement, rookie Kasey Kahne. The 23-year-old Kahne has back-to-back second-place finishes and a pole at Las Vegas.

After he narrowly lost to Matt Kenseth at Rockingham, Elliott was one of the first people to call Kahne and congratulate him.

``That meant a lot, that Bill would take time to do that,'' Kahne said.

It's all part of Elliott's new role as Kahne's mentor. The two worked together at a few preseason tests, and when Kahne had trouble during a session at Atlanta a few weeks ago, he talked it through with Elliott.

``He told me things that could fix that from the driver's standpoint,'' Kahne said. ``Bill's got a lot of knowledge.''

That's especially true at Atlanta, one of the fastest tracks on the circuit and only about 100 miles south of Elliott's hometown of Dawsonville. In 54 starts, he gave his fans plenty to remember, winning five times, including a sweep in 1992.

Along the way, the 1988 Winston Cup champion was voted NASCAR's most popular driver 16 times, a record that probably will not be broken. Kahne hopes to get some of those fans by keeping the No. 9 Dodge up front.

``I think there's probably a lot of ups and downs with fans,'' Kahne said. ``Some of them want to pull for me and some don't. If the 9 car is still running good, hopefully we can get more of them.''

Getting Elliott more opportunities on the track is the goal of team owner Ray Evernham. His organization debuted three years ago, and Elliott has the only four victories in that span.

So Evernham feels a responsibility to help Elliott end a 27-year career on his terms.

``He's been really, really happy with the success that Kasey has had,'' Evernham said of Elliott. ``He certainly should get a feeling of accomplishment. He's got a big part of where Evernham Motorsports is at.''

Either way, Elliott will continue to work with Kahne.

``He's a good kid, and he's got his act together,'' Elliott said. ``I think I might be able to throw a couple of things his way at some tracks.

``He's going to get to do it his way. I'm not in his face. If he has a question, I'll be there to answer.''