Bill Elliott update

Bill Elliott, who fractured his left kneecap in a home accident in Blairsville, Ga. Tuesday afternoon (Aug. 22), was discharged today (Thursday afternoon) from HEALTHSOUTH Medical Center in Birmingham where he had surgery Tuesday evening. No decision has been made on whether Elliott will drive the McDonald's car in this weekend's (Aug. 26) Winston Cup race -- goracing.com 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway.

"Dr. Andrews once again did a fantastic job in putting me back together," said Elliott. "With his (Dr. Andrews) input I plan to take this one day at a time and see how much progress I can make on my recovery before making any final decision."

NASCAR Busch Series driver, David Green, will substitute for Elliott in Friday's practice and qualifying sessions. If Elliott is not ready to return to action, Green will also drive the McDonald's car in Saturday night's 250-mile, 500-lap event.

Elliott's 90-minute surgery was performed by Dr. James Andrews, who was also Elliott's surgeon when he fractured his left thighbone following a racing accident during the Winston 500 - April 29, 1996 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway.

McFlurry Ford in Bristol... The McDonald's No. 94 Ford Taurus will have a different look at this weekend's goracing.com 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway.

The blue, red, yellow and white paint scheme on the McDonald's car will showcase McDonald's popular dessert item - the McFlurry. The creamy treat features McDonald's soft serve ice cream mixed with a customer's choice of four core toppings -- crushed M&Ms, Nestle Crunch, Oreo and Butterfinger.

"The McFlurry is a popular item with all of our customers, especially with the motorsports fan," said Georgina Roy, McDonald's motorsports manager. "The McFlurry commemorative car will offer the same refreshing appeal as does the delicious dessert item served in our restaurants. Through the years McDonald's has successfully utilized its motorsports sponsorship by communicating a relevant marketing message through its promotional cars."

The McFlurry car joins a series of commemorative racecars introduced by McDonald's since 1995. Other commemorative McDonald's racecars included: Thunderbat, Monopoly, Mac Tonight, Get Wild With McRib, Get Back With Big Mac, Ronald McDonald, NASCAR's 50th Anniversary, QPC Code Name Game Car and Toy Story 2.

The McFlurry Ford Taurus will also run in the MBNA Gold 400 (Sept. 24) in Dover, Del.