ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, December 2, 1995 TAG: 9512040040
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: NEW YORK
SOURCE: Associated Press
MEMO: NOTE: Shorter version ran in Metro edition.
WINSTON CUP CHAMPION Jeff Gordon receives the spoils of his season.
Wide-eyed Jeff Gordon couldn't believe the way he was treated this week in New York City.
The new Winston Cup champion and his wife, Brooke, were ensconced in a suite in one of the Big Apple's most fashionable hotels, chauffeured through the crowded Manhattan streets in stretch limousines, wined and dined by corporate types with virtually unlimited expense accounts and courted by the television networks for guest appearances.
Then, Friday night, the whole giddy experience was capped when the precocious 24-year-old was handed more than $2 million in checks during a black-tie dinner attended by many of the captains of American industry.
``It is truly a blast,'' Gordon said. ``I'm thrilled to death. They treat you like a true champion up here.''
Gordon was so impressed with the way things were going in New York early in the week that he telephoned Hendrick Motorsports crew chief Ray Evernham and car owner Rick Hendrick and told them, ``You better get yourselves up here. It's incredible.''
All were on hand Friday night to receive the checks and the accolades of a championship season.
Nodding toward seven-time Winston Cup champion Dale Earnhardt, who was seated at the head table each of the past two years, Gordon added, ``I see why this guy wants to do it so many times. There are lots of things to be happy about, and that's a lot of money.''
The biggest check Gordon received was $1,829,883 from R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., whose Winston Select brand is the series sponsor. That included a $1.3 million bonus from the $3.5 million Winston Cup point fund, as well as more than $500,000 in other awards.
Added to that were the $30,000 True Value Hard Charger Award, the $25,000 Unocal 76 Gasoline Award, $50,000 from DuPont as the highest-finishing eligible driver in the contingency program, $10,000 and a gold replica of his Chevrolet Monte Carlo race car from Goodyear, $30,000 for the Busch Pole Award and the $50,000 Gatorade Front Runner Award.
That total, $2,024,883, brings Gordon's record earnings for the year to $4,347,343. That includes race purses, and Gordon won a series-leading seven races and finished in the top 10 in 23 of 31 events on the way to his 34-point victory over seven-time series champion Dale Earnhardt.
Gordon and his colleagues will have the opportunity to win even more next season, with the announcement Friday night that R.J. Reynolds will raise its point fund another $500,000 to $4 million in 1996. The breakdown of how the extra money will be paid out was not announced, although the champion's share is expected to climb to $1.5 million.
Ray Evernham, Gordon's crew chief, cashed in with $25,000 as the Western Auto Mechanic of the Year, $10,000 from Busch as part of its pole award and $50,000 from UAW-GM for its Teamwork of Excellence Award.
Another big winner was Andy Petree, crew chief for Earnhardt the past three seasons, who won $50,000 from RCA for its Pit Strategy Award and the $25,000 Plasti-Kote Quality Finish Award for his work with Richard Childress Racing.
Also during Friday night's festivities, Charlie Siegers, who led the engine-building effort for Hendrick Motorsports, was presented $47,000 as the AE Clevite Engine Builder of the Year, Ricky Craven was given a check for $25,000 for winning Maxx Race Cards Rookie of the Year honors, Earnhardt received $100,000 from Unocal as the highest-eligible performer in its oil contingency program, and Sterling Marlin took home $20,000 as the highest finishing eligible driver for the STP Award.
LENGTH: Medium: 74 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP. Winston Cup champion Jeff Gordon signs an autographby CNBfor a fan in New York on Friday before NASAR's awards banquet. KEYWORDS: AUTO RACING