Daytona Beach, Fla. —- After 33 years on the NASCAR trail, Dawsonville's Bill Elliott is ready to head down another path.

Elliott, who did not finish high enough in Thursday's 150-mile qualifier to start Sunday's Daytona 500, said 2008 will be his last year as a Sprint Cup driver.

"I've thoroughly enjoyed it, but it's time to move on and let this other generation have it," Elliott said. "I just feel like it's good to let everyone know what my thinking is. I've kind of put it off and rolled with the flow these last few years, but it's time. It's time to go do something different."

He said he'll continue to drive the No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford on a part-time basis as he had planned, but if the Woods' other drivers, Marcos Ambrose and Jon Wood, seem ready to take on a larger role, he might cut short his planned 17-race schedule.

"Ambrose might fall into place, or Jon might fall into place, and that would be what the Woods need to do to make the next step," he said.

Another young racer is figuring into Elliott's decision, too —- his 12-year-old son Chase, who is rapidly developing into a formidable competitor in the Bandolero racing series. Traveling to Chase's races and also competing in Cup races has proved to be a logistical nightmare.

"Last summer, I'd go race with Chase on Thursday night, then I'd pick up and go to wherever the Cup race was," Elliott said. "The earliest I got anywhere was 10 p.m., and it could be up to 4 in the morning to get where I was going, depending on when we raced.

"That's crazy."

As a full-time driver, Elliott won 44 Cup races, 55 poles and the 1988 championship, but since going to part-time status after the 2003 season, he has had just one top-10 finish, at Indianapolis in 2004.

Still, he has no regrets about the latter part of his career.