NASCAR WCUP: Race Wrap Up, Pepsi Southern 500
6 September 1999
Todays Winner: Jeff BurtonTeam: Exide Batteries Ford
* Jeff Burton won the 50th running of the Pepsi Southern 500, his fifth victory in 1999. It is his 10th career victory in 179 NASCAR Winston Cup races. His most recent victory came in the Jiffy Lube 300 at New Hampshire, six races ago. It is his 15th top-10 finish, including 13 top-fives, in 24 races this season.
* With his victory in todays race Jeff Burton won the Winston No Bull 5 $1 million bonus. Phyllis Farmer, a lucky fan from Hillsboro, MO, also became a millionaire in the They Win, You Win sweepstakes.
* Jeff Burton, Ward Burton (second), Jeremy Mayfield (third), Mark Martin (fourth) and Kevin Lepage (fifth) became eligible for the fifth and final No Bull 5 $1 million dollar bonus offered in 1999. Should one of those five drivers win the Winston 500 at Talladega in October, he and a lucky fan will both claim a $1 million bonus.
* This was Jeff Burtons second victory in 12 races at Darlington. He won the TranSouth 400 earlier this season, also in a rain-shortened race. He became the first driver to sweep Darlington since Jeff Gordon won both races here in 1996. He is the second driver this season to sweep both races at a track. Bobby Labonte swept both races at Pocono. This is the 14th sweep in 122 opportunities, since 1990 and the ninth sweep at Darlington since the track opened in 1950. It is the first sweep by a Ford at Darlington since Bill Elliott won both races here in 1985.
* With his 10th career victory, Jeff Burton moved into a tie with Donnie Allison for 43rd on the all-time winners list.
* Jeff Burton led six times for 89 of the 270 laps raced, the most of all drivers. This is the sixth time that he has led the most laps in a race this season, also the most of all drivers.
* Ford continues to lead the manufacturers points race with 11 victories and 169 points. Chevrolet has eight victories and 150 points while Pontiac has five victories and 137 points.
NOTEBOOK ITEMS...
* The NASCAR Winston Cup Leader bonus is worth $50,000 for the Exide NASCAR Select Batteries 400 at Richmond.
* Dale Jarrett holds a 168-point lead over second-place Mark Martin, losing points to Martin for the second straight race. Jarrett has lost 146 points in the last two races.
* Ward Burton (second) scored his 12th top-10 finish this season. He has scored a top-10 finish in each of the last two races at Darlington. He finished eighth here this past March.
* Jeremy Mayfield (third) scored his ninth top-10 finish in 1999. This was his fourth consecutive top-five finish in 11 races at Darlington. He finished second in the TranSouth 400 this past March.
* Mark Martin (fourth) scored his 14th top-five finish in 1999. It was his second straight fifth-place finish at Darlington and his 19th top-10 finish in 28 races here.
* Kevin Lepage (fifth) scored his career-best NASCAR Winston Cup finish. His best finish in his three previous Darlington races was 22nd this past spring.
* Tony Stewart (12th) was the highest finishing rookie for the 23rd time this season. Buckshot Jones has done so once.
* The last time that brothers finished 1-2 in a NASCAR Winston Cup race was Jeff (first) and Ward Burton (second) in the Las Vegas 400 on March 7, 1999.
* Rick Mast is the only driver to compete in all 24 races in 1999 that has not posted a DNF.
* Bobby Labonte remains the only driver to lead at least one lap in every superspeedway race this season.
* The top-10 finishers included five Fords, four Chevrolets and one Pontiac.
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