CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Former NASCAR champion Bill Elliott has some tough words for the racing series on safety and its response to the 2001 death of Dale Earnhardt.

In a new memoir, "Awesome Bill from Dawsonville: My Life in NASCAR," Elliott accuses NASCAR of not getting serious about long-standing safety concerns until after Earnhardt's fatal crash on the final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500. He said that's disrespectful to the memory of drivers such as Adam Petty, Tony Roper and Kenny Irwin, who died in on-track accidents in the months before Earnhardt.

"No one called for investigations or softer walls, or HANS devices when these drivers died. But when Dale Earnhardt died, NASCAR went full bore, head over heels on safety," Elliott writes. "We ought not only address incidents that kill stars. Shame on NASCAR for letting a handful of good men die before finally addressing the problem after Dale died."