Gordon, Others Pick Up Bonus with Gatorade Front Runner Award
10 July 1997
DAYTONA BEACH, FL - For the second time in the three-year life of the program, Jeff Gordon has walked away with the $50,000 Gatorade Front Runner Award bonus. In addition to the weekly $10,000 bonus Gatorade grants the driver leading the halfway lap of each NASCAR Winston Cup championship point event, the $50,000 award is earmarked for the driver leading the Series point standings at the halfway point of the season. -- last week's 400-mile event at Daytona International Speedway. With the two bonuses Gordon has received during the season by leading at the halfway mark in Darlington, S.C., and Martinsville, Va., Gatorade's contribution to run for the championship being mounted by the DuPont Refinishes team is up to $70,000. "You hear it every time a sponsor does something like this, but Gatorade really has done a lot for this sport and we really appreciate that," Gordon said. The bonus helped push Gordon to just another $400,000 shy of the $2 million mark for the season. Since the Gatorade Front Runner program made its debut in every NASCAR division in 1995, Gordon has taken home $280,000 in bonus money from the Official Sports Drink of NASCAR. Defending NASCAR Busch Series champion Randy LaJoie picked up the $10,000 bonus when that circuit hit Dover Downs International Speedway last month, entering the race nine points behind Todd Bodine and leaving Dover with a 10 point lead. "We've traded the lead back and forth a few times this year," LaJoie said. "We were fortunate enough to be in front to pick up that check from Gatorade at Dover. Now we're shooting for that big check at the end of the season." If he could successfully defend his title, LaJoie would be the first driver to win back-to-back NASCAR Busch Series championships since Larry Pearson did so 10 years ago in 1986-87. While three other Gatorade Front Runner mid-season awards (the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, the NASCAR Featherlite Modified Tour and the NASCAR Winston Racing Series) yet to be decided, nine others are in the books. Besides NASCAR Winston Cup and NASCAR Busch Series, other Gatorade Front Runner winners are as follows: NASCAR Busch North Series, Grand National Division: Mike Stefanik, $5,000 NASCAR Winston West Series: Gary Smith, $2,500 NASCAR Slim Jim All Pro Series: Jeff Fultz, $2,500 NASCAR Featherlite Southwest Tour: Chris Raudman, $2,500 NASCAR REB-CO Northwest Tour: Kelly Tanner, $2,500 NASCAR Goody's Dash Series: Mike Swaim, Jr., $2,500 NASCAR Busch All-Star Tour: Ray Guss, Jr., $2,500 This season along, Gatorade will hand out more than $500,000 in bonus money through the Gatorade Front Runner Award. By NASCAR Public Relations
