In 1982 the team became Melling Racing after Harry Melling bought the team from George Elliott on December 1, 1981, Melling first became involved in NASCAR when his company Melling Tool sponsored Benny Parsons in 1979.
Melling Racing ran 21 races with Bill Elliott in 1982 and had nine top-tens and won the pole for the Champion Spark Plug 400.

In 1983, Elliott won his first race in the season finale at Riverside International Raceway and finished third in points.
The following season, Coors became the team's new sponsor and Melling Racing responded with three wins with Elliott and another third-place points finish.
1985 was a phenomenal year for Elliott and Melling, marking a season-and-career-high 11 poles and 11 wins, with 7 of those 11 wins coming from the pole, as well as over $2 million in earnings.
During the 1984 Winston Cup Awards Ceremony, RJ Reynolds and Winston announced that starting in 1985, if a driver won 3 of the 4 crown jewel events in the same year, they would receive a million dollar bonus from the company.
The 4 events are the Daytona 500, Winston 500, Coca-Cola 600, and the Southern 500.
Most drivers thought it would be impossible to do so, but Bill Elliott would accomplish that feat in 1985.
Elliott won the Daytona 500, Winston 500 (where he lost 2 laps, but made both laps up under green and eventually won the race), and the Southern 500.
Elliott won the Winston Million in its very first year running, earning him the nickname "Million Dollar Bill".
The only major of the four he did not win in 1985 was the Coca-Cola 600 (a driver needed only to win a "small slam" of the four majors to win the bonus; Elliott, since he retired in 2013, would not finish a Career Grand Slam).
Elliott is one of only 2 drivers to win the bonus, with the other driver being Jeff Gordon, who won the Winston Million in its final running in 1997.
The winning of the bonus was the rise of Bill Elliott being NASCAR's Most Popular Driver.
With his win at Darlington, along with the Winston Million bonus, Elliott had 10 races won so far, but in the next 4 races after Darlington however, he would struggle and finish poorly.
He did not finish in the top 10 since the Darlington win.
Elliott was in jeopardy of not winning the championship.
Elliott would finally overcome his slump, and he won his 11th and final race of the season in the November race at Atlanta, putting him back in the championship hunt.
With the win at Atlanta, Bill Elliott would set a NASCAR modern era record for completing the season sweep at 4 different tracks in a season: Pocono, Michigan, Darlington, & Atlanta.
The next race after the Atlanta win would be the final race of 1985.
Elliott went into Riverside 2nd in points, only 20 points behind Darrell Waltrip, giving him a shot to rebound for the championship after a string of poor finishes in 4 of the last 5 races.
During the race however, Elliott would suffer early transmission problems, and it would unfortunately cost him the championship.
He finished the race in 31st.
Waltrip finished in 7th, gaining 81 points on Elliott.
Darrell Waltrip clinched his 3rd and final Winston Cup title, having won only 3 races to Bill Elliott's 11.
Elliott would officially lose the championship by 101 points.
This would be the 1st time in Bob Latford's Winston Cup points system that a driver winning 10 or more races in a season failed to win the championship due to poor finishes and lack of consistency in the final stretch of the season.
The team would slip to 4th in points in 1986 and won only two races, both coming at Michigan.
Even though both wins were at Michigan, Bill Elliott would become the 1st driver in NASCAR history to win 4 straight superspeedway races at one track, doing so at Michigan with season sweeps in 1985 and 1986.
Elliott and Melling rallied back in 1987 by winning 6 races, and starting off the year by winning the Daytona 500 for the 2nd time.
During the season in May, Bill Elliott would run the fastest qualifying lap in NASCAR history at Talladega Superspeedway for the Winston 500 with a lap of 212.809 mph.
Due t
In 1982 the team became Melling Racing after Harry Melling bought the team from George Elliott on December 1, 1981, Melling first became involved in NASCAR when his company Melling Tool sponsored Benny Parsons in 1979. Melling Racing ran 21 races with Bill Elliott in 1982 and had nine top-tens and won the pole for the Champion Spark Plug 400.
In 1983, Elliott won his first race in the season finale at Riverside International Raceway and finished third in points. The following season, Coors became the team's new sponsor and Melling Racing responded with three wins with Elliott and another third-place points finish. 1985 was a phenomenal year for Elliott and Melling, marking a season-and-career-high 11 poles and 11 wins, with 7 of those 11 wins coming from the pole, as well as over $2 million in earnings. During the 1984 Winston Cup Awards Ceremony, RJ Reynolds and Winston announced that starting in 1985, if a driver won 3 of the 4 crown jewel events in the same year, they would receive a million dollar bonus from the company. The 4 events are the Daytona 500, Winston 500, Coca-Cola 600, and the Southern 500. Most drivers thought it would be impossible to do so, but Bill Elliott would accomplish that feat in 1985. Elliott won the Daytona 500, Winston 500 (where he lost 2 laps, but made both laps up under green and eventually won the race), and the Southern 500. Elliott won the Winston Million in its very first year running, earning him the nickname "Million Dollar Bill". The only major of the four he did not win in 1985 was the Coca-Cola 600 (a driver needed only to win a "small slam" of the four majors to win the bonus; Elliott, since he retired in 2013, would not finish a Career Grand Slam). Elliott is one of only 2 drivers to win the bonus, with the other driver being Jeff Gordon, who won the Winston Million in its final running in 1997. The winning of the bonus was the rise of Bill Elliott being NASCAR's Most Popular Driver. With his win at Darlington, along with the Winston Million bonus, Elliott had 10 races won so far, but in the next 4 races after Darlington however, he would struggle and finish poorly. He did not finish in the top 10 since the Darlington win. Elliott was in jeopardy of not winning the championship. Elliott would finally overcome his slump, and he won his 11th and final race of the season in the November race at Atlanta, putting him back in the championship hunt. With the win at Atlanta, Bill Elliott would set a NASCAR modern era record for completing the season sweep at 4 different tracks in a season: Pocono, Michigan, Darlington, & Atlanta. The next race after the Atlanta win would be the final race of 1985. Elliott went into Riverside 2nd in points, only 20 points behind Darrell Waltrip, giving him a shot to rebound for the championship after a string of poor finishes in 4 of the last 5 races. During the race however, Elliott would suffer early transmission problems, and it would unfortunately cost him the championship. He finished the race in 31st. Waltrip finished in 7th, gaining 81 points on Elliott. Darrell Waltrip clinched his 3rd and final Winston Cup title, having won only 3 races to Bill Elliott's 11. Elliott would officially lose the championship by 101 points. This would be the 1st time in Bob Latford's Winston Cup points system that a driver winning 10 or more races in a season failed to win the championship due to poor finishes and lack of consistency in the final stretch of the season. The team would slip to 4th in points in 1986 and won only two races, both coming at Michigan. Even though both wins were at Michigan, Bill Elliott would become the 1st driver in NASCAR history to win 4 straight superspeedway races at one track, doing so at Michigan with season sweeps in 1985 and 1986. Elliott and Melling rallied back in 1987 by winning 6 races, and starting off the year by winning the Daytona 500 for the 2nd time. During the season in May, Bill Elliott would run the fastest qualifying lap in NASCAR history at Talladega Superspeedway for the Winston 500 with a lap of 212.809 mph. Due t
Melling Racing