Bill Elliott attempted to qualify for the 1977 Daytona 500, but an 18th place finish in the qualifying race didn't get him into the field. He was back at Rockingham in March and qualified fairly well at 18th, though a blown clutch relegated him to a disappointing 30th place finish. At he Southern 500 September 15th 1977 Bill Elliott entered a baby blue Ford owned by his dad with white number "52" decals on the doors. That day Bill posted his first top ten, finishing 10th,12 laps off the pace. He would finish tenth again in a Mercury his dad owned at the fall race in Charlotte and those two top tens were the best finishes he had in his ten starts that year, on his way to 35th place in the points.