Dawsonville’s Ernie Elliott was among five chosen recently as inductees into the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame for 2010.

Elliott’s engines powered brother, Bill Elliott, to success starting in the mid-1980s. As an engine builder, Elliott won 40 races, recorded 148 top-five finishes, 291 top 10s, 51 poles and one championship.

Brandon Reed, a racing historian, said Elliott is “definitely a good fit for the hall of fame and absolutely deserving.”

Most impressive, Reed said, were the odds the Elliott family faced.

“For that little team to come up and do everything they did ... for Ernie to build the kind of engines, to do the kind of things they did ... it was amazing,” Reed said. “These guys were the underdogs. They worked outside the NASCAR system.”

Dawsonville Pool Room owner Gordon Pirkle called Elliott “one of the greatest engine builders NASCAR ever had. He’s got all kinds of speed records to back it up. He’s got the fastest record in NASCAR history.”

Reed said Elliott set the standard for speed.

“In my opinion, for each era you have somebody that steps up and makes their own plateau,” Reed said. “Ernie took it to a whole new level.”

Elliott continues a successful engine building business today.

Others inducted into the 2010 Georgia Racing Hall of Fame include Laverne Kendrick of Tifton, and Ted Edwards, Jack Etheridge and Jerry Wimbish, all of Atlanta.

The 2010 induction ceremony will be held at 6 p.m. Oct. 22 at the Dawsonville City Municipal Complex, which houses the hall of fame.

The Georgia Racing Hall of Fame museum in Dawsonville is recognized by the state legislature as the official home of the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame, which honors prominent members of the state’s racing heritage.

A limited number of seats are available for the event. Reservations will be required. For more information or to purchase a ticket, call city hall at (706) 265-3256 or visit www.georgiaracinghof.com.