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NASCAR Winston Cup Leader Bonus Worth $100,000 at Pontiac Excitement 400

4 May 2000

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - One year ago, the NASCAR Winston Cup Series made its first visit of the year to Richmond International Raceway with a $60,000 Winston Cup Leader Bonus on the line if the winner of the race was also the NASCAR Winston Cup point leader. When Dale Jarrett won the race, he won the bonus, took the point lead and never relinquished it en route to winning his first career NASCAR Winston Cup title.

Several drivers will have a shot at the $100,000 bonus this Saturday night in the Pontiac Excitement 400. Should a driver win the leader bonus this weekend, it would be the third highest payout in the history of the program. With 10 different winners in 10 races so far this season, it seems unlikely that the driver who has the point lead Saturday night will hold on to it for the rest of the season, but one never knows. Bobby Labonte enters the Pontiac Excitement 400 with a 20-point lead over Mark Martin in the NASCAR Winston Cup point standings. Ward Burton trails Labonte by 73 points.

The Leader Bonus is awarded to any NASCAR Winston Cup driver who wins a race and takes or maintains the lead in the NASCAR Winston Cup point standings.

The NASCAR Winston Cup Leader Bonus was collected six times during the 1999 NASCAR Winston Cup season. After winning the season-opening Daytona 500, Jeff Gordon took home an additional $10,000 as the NASCAR Winston Cup point leader. When Jeff Burton won the rain-shortened TranSouth Financial 400 at Darlington, S.C., he maintained his point lead and won an additional $40,000 bonus from Winston. Dale Jarrett, the 1999 NASCAR Winston Cup champion, won the leader bonus four times for a total of $150,000.

The season ended with $140,000 in leader-bonus money on the table. When Jarrett did not win the season's last race, the money was divided among the top-10 drivers in the final NASCAR Winston Cup point standings. Jarrett also collected the leader bonus this year when he won the season-opening Daytona 500.

Top Five NASCAR Winston Cup Leader Bonus Individual Payouts

Winner Amount Event

Jeff Gordon $160,000 1996 DieHard 500 (Talladega)
Jeff Gordon $110,000 1998 Coca-Cola 600 (Charlotte)
Jeff Gordon $80,000 1997 Pocono 500 (Pocono)
Jeff Gordon $70,000 1996 MBNA 500 (Dover)
Jeff Gordon $60,000 1998 Pepsi 400 (Daytona)
Dale Jarrett $60,000 1999 Pontiac 400 (Richmond)

Text provided by Rob Goodman

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