Later Years and End of Team
Donnie Allison only drove 3 races for the team in 1980 before he left to join Kennie Childers's team. David Pearson ran 9 races that year, winning once. It was the last win for both Pearson and Ellington's team. in 1981, Buddy Baker drove 15 races, scoring 9 top 10 finishes and Pearson drove 1 race, finishing 8th. Four different drivers (Benny Parsons, Kyle Petty, Buddy Baker, and Donnie Allison) drove for Ellington including Donnie Allison for one race. Of the 14 races the team ran, they only scored 2 top 10 finishes and one pole, all by Buddy Baker. In 1983 and 1984, Lake Speed drove for the team. He ran 18 races in 1983 and 17 in 1984. Overall during Speed's time with Ellington, he scored 4 top 5s and 12 top 10s. Pearson returned for 8 races in 1985. Donnie Allison's nephew Davey ran 3 races, while Rick Wilson and Pancho Carter each ran 1 race. In 1986, Sterling Marlin ran a partial schedule for Ellington scoring 2 top 5s and 4 top 10s, including the Firecracker 400 where he led 6 laps and almost won, coming in second. In 1987, Brett Bodine and Ron Bouchard shared the car, with Bouchard scoring the only top 10 for the team all year. The team's last season was in 1988, when Dale Jarrett drove 8 races for Ellington, with a best finish of 11th and. In the team's last race the season finale at Atlanta, Jarrett qualified 34th but finished 41st after crashing on the fifth lap. The team shut down after attempting to qualify for the 1989 Daytona 500 in an unsponsored Buick with driver, Doug Heveron. Unfortunately, a blown engine on lap 1 of the Gatorade 125 Qualifying race forced the team to miss the race.
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Famous quotes containing the words years and/or team:
“... it is only after years and years that you can speak of penury in the midst of opulence, of hunger in the midst of almost sinful plenty. You must never speak of the immediate experience unless and until you have learned its consequent value. Otherwise you grow old in bitterness which is barren and futile....”
—E. M. Almedingen (b. 1898–?)
“I doubt if men ever made a trade of heroism. In the days of Achilles, even, they delighted in big barns, and perchance in pressed hay, and he who possessed the most valuable team was the best fellow.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)