Elliott’s Victory by 18 Inches Is Worth $272,700
Bill Elliott held off Alan Kulwicki by 18 inches Sunday to win the Pontiac Excitement 400 at Richmond, Va., for his second victory in a row.
Elliott, who started from the pole, won $272,700, including a $197,600 bonus. The bonus, which goes to a driver winning both the pole and the race, had gone unclaimed for 26 events.
The Dawsonville, Ga., racer, in his first season driving for Junior Johnson, came up with only his second short-track victory and the 36th victory of his career as he led 348 of 400 laps on the .75-mile Richmond International Raceway oval.
Harry Gant took the lead on lap 222 during a series of green-flag pit stops and held it until Elliott, who had briefly fallen to third, caught Gant and regained the lead for good on lap 269.
In the last 10 laps, Kulwicki was able to move up alongside Elliott several times, even nosing slightly into the lead coming off turn two on the final lap. But Elliott was able to rocket off the fourth turn on the high side and barely hold off the other Ford.
Elliott, giving Ford its seventh consecutive Winston Cup victory dating to October, averaged a near-record 104.378 m.p.h.
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