Grand Slam (NASCAR)


The Grand Slam in NASCAR is the achievement of winning all of the NASCAR Cup Series majors in a calendar year.

The Grand Slam

In 1984, R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company announced at the Waldorf Astoria New York during the annual year end awards banquet two new events that would define NASCAR for years to come. The first was an invitation only, "all-star" exhibition race called The Winston. The other announcement was that they were formally elevating the sport's four majors into a formal Grand Slam with a cash prize bonus, known as the Winston Million. The long established and recognized major events were as follows:
Prior to 1985, no driver had ever won all four races in the same season. Only once had a driver claimed a "Small Slam", winning three out of the four races: David Pearson in 1976. LeeRoy Yarbrough won Daytona, Charlotte, and Darlington in 1969, although it was considered a "Triple Crown" at the time as the Talladega event was not established until 1970.

Winston Million

From 1985 to 1997, R. J. Reynolds and brand sponsor Winston offered a 1 million bonus to any driver who won three out of the four races in a single calendar year 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 four 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 Southern 500". From 1994–1996, the program was advertised as the "Winston Select Million", as R.J. Reynolds elected to promote Winston's "Select" brand of cigarettes.

Initial success

In the Winston Million program's first year, Bill Elliott captured the million-dollar bonus, and the victory thrust him into super-stardom. He dominated the season-opening Daytona 500, then won the Winston 500 at an all-time NASCAR record speed. He remarkably came back from two laps down, having lost the laps due to having to pit due to a broken oil fitting, and he subsequently made the laps up under green. After suffering mechanical problems at Charlotte, Elliott captured the million dollar bonus at Darlington, taking command after Cale Yarborough lost power steering.
Elliott became known as "Million Dollar Bill" and appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated.

Frustration

Following Elliott's success in 1985, however, over a decade of failure followed. The relative ease with which Elliott had won the bonus led many to believe that the prize would be awarded fairly often in subsequent seasons. It would ultimately prove untrue, as the award was difficult to win, and at times, it was difficult to even have a driver in contention to win.
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 Southern 500 wins, a record in NASCAR majors. A Brinks truck led him around the victory lap, spewing bags of Winston play money. Elliott and Gordon won the only two Winston Million bonuses in its first year in 1985, and in its final year in 1997.

Winston Million race winners/results (1985–1997)

Winston No Bull 5

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 consisted of three legs of the original Grand Slam along with the Brickyard 400. The race at Talladega used for the program, however, 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 and the rear spoiler was painted day-glow orange because many cars were painted red, 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, 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.

Winston No Bull 5 winners/results

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 Darlington's major to November, but because of the Ferko lawsuit, was discontinued outright after 2004, much to the dismay of fans and competitors.
The current race at Darlington is now officially the continuation of the spring 500-mile Darlington races run from 2005 to 2014; the race moved to Labor Day weekend in 2015.
Currently, there is discussion among fans regarding the Brickyard 400 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, which began in 1994, or the current Southern 500, which moved to September in 2015, as a new fourth major. Despite the discussion, neither has been officially designated by NASCAR as a major.

Career Grand Slam Champions

Indianapolis or the Rebel 500 as a Major?

After the Ferko lawsuit brought an end to the fourth major, fans have consistently discussed the possibility of elevating either the Rebel 500 or the Brickyard 400 as new "majors". In recent years, the Talladega race has also been questioned as a major, though the original concept from R. J. Reynolds Tobacco for the 1985 season established the four majors based on richest, fastest, longest, and oldest.
Three career Grand Slam winners have completed a career grand slam with the addition of the Brickyard 400, for a Grand Slam +1, with Gordon and Johnson also having won a Rebel 500 each since the demise of the Southern 500. Of the top five all-time NASCAR Sprint Cup race winners as of the 2012 season, only two have started a Brickyard 400. As a result, official "major" status has never been granted to this race.
Current drivers must have started their first race after November 14, 2004 in order to be eligible for a Career Triple Crown. Of current drivers who have won majors, Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, and Joey Logano have won a "Career Triple Crown".
When Kevin Harvick won the 2011 Coca-Cola 600, he completed his run of winning all three majors, but he made four Darlington fall starts, so his Career Triple Crown status is questionable. He has won both disputed races, the Brickyard in 2003 and the Rebel 500 in 2014.

Television

In 2011 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Sprint announced a Summer program running from Indianapolis to Bristol, and the winner would be run at Atlanta for any driver who wins those races. The finalists would have a fan choose a driver and together the driver, fan, and Drivers choice of Charity would each receive a Million. None of the drivers running for the Showdown won. The highest running driver was Keselowski who finished 6th. Other recipients included Kyle Busch, Marcos Ambrose, and Paul Menard the later of the two, both won their first career wins in the Program.

Xfinity Series Dash 4 Cash Program

A similar program to the No Bull 5 occurs in the Xfinity Series, which began in 2008 when Nationwide Insurance sponsored the series. At a race prior to the first race in the program will be designated the top four finishers for the first race in the bonus. Those drivers in the first race in the program are eligible for a $100,000 bonus. Fans will select one of those four drivers, and a lucky fan will also win $100,000. The highest championship driver finisher in the race, eligible for points in the Xfinity race, wins the bonus and automatically qualify's for the next event. The next three highest finishers eligible for points in the series also get a chance to race for the bonus at the next Dash4Cash race.
Starting in 2015, the 30th anniversary of the million dollar cash bonus, Comcast, announced modifications to the five-race program, including a million dollar bonus. Unlike past years where the races were typically assigned to conflicting weekends to prevent Sprint Cup drivers from participating under pre-2011 rules, the four races are Dover, the Lilly Diabetes 250, Food City 250, and Darlington. As usual, the top four finishers at Charlotte participate in the program starting at Dover.
The rules are the same, but Xfinity drivers will have a chance to qualify for the Dash4Cash at Charlotte. After that, that next four races are Dover, Indianapolis, Bristol, and Darlington. If a driver wins the first three cash prizes, and then wins outright Darlington, the driver's winnings in the bonus program will be augmented to one million dollars. The driver must claim the Dover, Indianapolis, and Bristol bonuses, finish first overall in the Darlington race, and earn the 47 points for the win at Darlington to claim the $600,000 bonus.