Elliott contemplates future

The NASCAR veteran, who made his first start in the series nearly 28 years ago, has been considering retiring following the season. Driving for Evernham motorsports, Elliott had a disappointing start to the season, but his performance has improved dramatically since August.

"I think, in fairness to everybody, Ray's [team boss Ray Evernham] got decisions to make and I've got decisions to make," said Elliott. "Nobody is going to live my life for me or vice versa.

"The way we're running right now, you can look at it one way or the other. I'm eventually going to retire. Right now, we've fought through some things, but we haven't made a decision. Right now, things have got to line up. On the other hand, as good as we're running right now and you get those stars lined up and as good as everything is coming together right now, it makes it hard in other respects.

"I want to concentrate on [the final race of the season at] Homestead. Once Homestead is over with, we'll worry about next year and what we all end up collectively doing. All in all, I'm very proud of the guys and very proud to be a part of it."

If Elliott doesn't retire, he has several options for 2004. He could continue for another full season with Evernham, although continuing reports suggest that he may run a partial schedule, taking in only NASCAR's most prestigious races.