Driver Waltrip Is First to Top $10 Million

rell Waltrip became the first driver in motor sports history to surpass $10 million in career winnings with his 14th-place finish in the Daytona 500.

Waltrip won $49,340 in Sunday’s 500-mile NASCAR Winston Cup stock car race at Daytona International Speedway, pushing his career winnings total to $10,036,481.

“I’ve known since the end of last season that sometime this year I’d go over $10 million. It’s a great feeling because that was one of my goals when I first started racing,” the 43-year-old three-time Winston Cup champion said.

Dale Earnhardt is second in motor sports career winnings with $9,808,903, while Bill Elliott is third with $9,177,639.

“I knew there was no way I would ever win the most Winston Cup races of any driver, not with Richard Petty sitting there with so many,” said Waltrip, who has 79 career wins to Petty’s 200. “So I set my sights on being the all-time leading money winner in motor sports.”