The Winston Million was a cash prize award program in the NASCAR Winston Cup series, based on the Grand Slam concept. From 1985 to 1997, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, then the title sponsor of NASCAR's premier circuit, offered an award of $1 million for any driver who won three of the four "crown jewel" races on the schedule. From 1998 to 2002, the award program was reorganized into the Winston No-Bull 5, which offered up to five $1 million bonuses during selected races to qualified drivers. As a result of R.J. Reynolds ceasing title sponsorship of NASCAR after 2003, and in the wake of the Ferko lawsuit resulting in the demise of NASCAR's fourth major, the entire Grand Slam was discontinued and is no longer recognized. [1]
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The NASCAR Winston Cup (now the Sprint Cup) had long since established the four "crown jewel" events of its schedule. These races were:
No driver had ever won all four races in the same season. Twice prior to 1985, a driver claimed a "Small Slam" (three out of the four races): Lee Roy Yarbrough (1969, although it was considered a "Triple Crown," as the Talladega event was not established until 1970) and David Pearson (1976). Starting in 1985, R.J. Reynolds, and brand sponsor Winston, began offering a $1 million bonus to any driver that won a Small Slam in the same season. If there was no million-dollar winner, a $100,000 consolation bonus would be given to the first driver to win two of the races. If a driver went into the Coca-Cola 600 or the Southern 500 with a chance to win the million, the race was advertised as "The Winston Million Running of the Coca-Cola 600" or "The Winston Million Running of the (Heinz / Mountain Dew) Southern 500." From 1994 to 1996, the program was advertised as the "Winston Select Million," as R.J. Reynolds chose to promote Winston's "Select" brand of cigarettes in NASCAR.
In the program's first year, Bill Elliott captured the million-dollar bonus, and the victory thrust him into notoriety. He became known as "Million Dollar Bill," and appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated. The relative ease with which Elliott won the bonus led many to believe that the prize would be awarded fairly often in subsequent seasons. This, however, was ultimately deceiving, as the award proved difficult to win, and at times, it was difficult to even have a candidate in contention to win.
Following Elliott's success, over a decade of failure followed.
It would not be until 1997 that the million was won again. Jeff Gordon finally prevailed, holding off a hard charging Jeff Burton on the final lap at Darlington to win. The two cars touched coming around Turn 4 to take the white flag side-by-side, with Gordon holding on to win his third of four consecutive Mountain Dew Southern 500 wins, a record in NASCAR majors. A Brinks truck led him around the victory lap, spewing bags of Winston play money.
In 1998, in preparations for the 50th anniversary of NASCAR, R.J. Reynolds decided to revamp and reintroduce the million dollar award program. Several factors contributed to the change. After thirteen seasons, the Winston Million had been won only twice, and several times, no driver won even two events. R.J. Reynolds, along with NASCAR, the drivers, and fans, wanted a new format for the award, which allowed it to be won more often and have more drivers involved.
The four established crown jewels on the circuit were experiencing worthy competition. In 1994, the inaugural Brickyard 400 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway was held, and for several years, actually dethroned the Daytona 500 as the richest race of the season. The events at Richmond International Raceway were also fast becoming fan and driver favorites. In addition, several new venues were introduced to the schedule, all of which were offering large base purses.
The new program for 1998, titled the No Bull 5 (after a Winston marketing campaign) consisted of three legs of the original Grand Slam (Daytona 500, Coca-Cola 600, Southern 500) along with the Brickyard 400. The race at Talladega used for the program; however, it was switched from the spring race to the October race. As a result, that event changed sponsorship names and became referred to as the Winston 500. The rules were as follows:
During the No Bull 5 races, the No Bull 5 eligible drivers raced with special paint jobs. The number on the roof was painted day-glow orange, and a day-glow "$" was affixed to the passenger window along with a red dot on the windshield in races prior to 2001. Other special decals were sometimes present. This allowed fans to quickly identify and follow the progress of the five eligible drivers. The only exception was the 1998 Daytona 500 where eligible drivers had silver numbers instead of the orange.
In subsequent seasons, the races chosen for the No Bull 5 program varied. The Brickyard 400 was dropped after only one year, replaced by the Las Vegas 400. Eventually the Daytona 500 was replaced with the Pepsi 400, and the Southern 500 was replaced by the fall event at Richmond.
In its five-year span, which totalled twenty-five races, 125 eligible driver spots, and 124 eligible fans (one fan qualified twice, winning neither), the million dollar bonus was won thirteen times. Jeff Gordon won it a record four times. Including his 1997 Winston Million victory, Gordon won a total of $5 million from the bonus program.
The top five finishers in each race listed qualified to race for the bonus in the next No-Bull 5 race. For the first No-Bull 5 race, the 1998 Daytona 500, the top five finishers from the 1997 DieHard 500 were used.
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
From 1998-2004, even after the entire program was discontinued, no driver again ever managed to win three of the four majors in the same season. For 2004, NASCAR announced the new Chase format, moving the Mountain Dew Southern 500 to November, but because of the Ferko lawsuit, was discontinued outright after 2004.
It should be noted the spring race at Darlington (now carrying the monikor of Showtime 500) is officially the continuation of the Rebel 300 (a NASCAR Convertible Division race from 1957-62, then what is now the Sprint Cup Series in 1963 as a 400-mile race) and is not, and has never been considered one of the crown jewels.
| Driver | Daytona 500 | Aaron's 499 | Coca-Cola 600 | Heinz / Mountain Dew Southern 500 | GS Titles | GS Times |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jeff Gordon | 3: 1997, 1999, 2005 | 4: 2000, 2004, 2005, 2007 | 3: 1994, 1997, 1998 | 5: 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2002 | 15 | 3 |
| Richard Petty | 7: 1964, 1966, 1967, 1973, 1974, 1979, 1981 | 1: 1983 | 2: 1975, 1977 | 1: 1967 | 11 | 1 |
| Dale Earnhardt | 1: 1998 | 3: 1990, 1994, 1999 | 3: 1986, 1992, 1993 | 3: 1987, 1989, 1990 | 10 | 1 |
| Bobby Allison | 3: 1978, 1982, 1988 | 3: 1979, 1981, 1986 | 3: 1971, 1981, 1984 | 4: 1971, 1972, 1975, 1983 | 13 | 3 |
| Darrell Waltrip | 1: 1989 | 2: 1977, 1982 | 5: 1978, 1979, 1985, 1988, 1989 | 1: 1992 | 9 | 1 |
| Jimmie Johnson | 1: 2006 | 2: 2006, 2011 | 3: 2003, 2004, 2005 | 1: 2004 | 7 | 1 |
| Buddy Baker | 1: 1980 | 3: 1975, 1976, 1980 | 3: 1968, 1972, 1973 | 1: 1970 | 8 | 1 |
| David Pearson | 1: 1976 | 3: 1972, 1973, 1974 | 3: 1961, 1974, 1976 | 3: 1976, 1977, 1979 | 10 | 1 |
Three current drivers on the Sprint Cup circuit can finish a Career Grand Slam:
Three drivers (Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt, Jimmie Johnson) have completed a career grand slam with the addition of the Brickyard 400, for a Grand Slam +1. As one of the top five all-time NASCAR winners as of August 6, 1994, when the first Brickyard 400 was run, has started a Brickyard 400, official "major" status has never been granted to this race. Current drivers must have started their first race after November 14, 2004 (the final Southern 500) in order to be eligible for a Career Triple Crown (the three remaining majors). Of current drivers who have won majors, only David Reutimann, Brad Keselowski, and Trevor Bayneare eligible to be deemed "Career Triple Crown" drivers. When Kevin Harvickwon the 2011 Coca-Cola 600, he completed his run of winning all three majors (Daytona 2007, Talladega 2010, Charlotte 2011), but he started four Darlington fall starts, so he cannot be deemed a Triple Crown winner. He has an Indianapolis win (2003) to his credit.
| Driver | Major(s) Needed to Win |
|---|---|
| Bobby Labonte | Daytona 500 |
| Mark Martin | Daytona 500 |
| Jeff Burton | Daytona 500, Aaron's 499 |
| Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Coca-Cola 600, Southern 500 |