Jarrett Cruises to Easy Victory

CONCORD, N.C. —  Dale Jarrett is one race closer to a $1 million payday. He set himself up for a run at the bonus from series sponsor R.J. Reynolds with a dominating victory Sunday night in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

“We’re going to see if we can win us a million bucks come Labor Day,” Jarrett said. “If you’re going to win just a few, it’s good to win the big ones.”

He led the final 62 laps and finished 11.98 seconds--more than one-third of a lap on the 1.5-mile trioval--ahead of Dale Earnhardt.

The victory put Jarrett in position to join Bill Elliott as the only drivers to win the Winston Select Million. The bonus goes to any driver who wins three of the sport’s four jewels in a year.

Jarrett, who won the season-opening Daytona 500 and finished second in the Winston Select 500, can claim the bonus with a victory in the Southern 500 on Sept. 1 in Darlington, S.C.

Jarrett averaged 147.578 mph and won $165,250.