Out of the frying pan into the fire.

Dale Earnhardt Jr was not the most popular man in town by the end of last Sunday's Southern 500 at Darlington after a very physical performance from the No.8 Budweiser Chevrolet driver and any thoughts of a quietly successful weekend will have to wait until after the Winston Cup's second visit of the year to the three-quarter mile bullring at Richmond.

The Budweiser No. 8 team and driver Dale Earnhardt Jr famously won the Pepsi 400 at Daytona in July, which qualifies them for the lucrative Winston No Bull 5 promotion this weekend at Richmond.

Should the team win the race Saturday evening, they will win a million dollar bonus from Winston following his victorious performance in the last No Bull event at Daytona. In addition, a lucky fan will also win a million from Winston should Dale Jr. cross the finish line ahead of the other 42 competitors.

"A million dollars... we're ready to go for it," said a pumped up Dale Jr who has the opportunity to win his first 'No Bull Million'. "The team has built an awesome new car and we're pumped up and ready to go. This has always been one of our best tracks, so I don't think the Winston deal could have come at a better time. Plus, it's a night race, and it seems like we really kick butt at night." (The Pepsi 400 was also a Saturday night event.)

"If I'm in second place on the last lap, I'm not going to be worried about points! I'm going for it," added Dale Jr in a tone assured to send a shiver down the spine of his rivals. "I mean, think about it - a million bucks..."

Dale Jr. and the Bud team have a win and three top-10 finishes in four races at Richmond in Winston Cup boding well for their chances. The team has led in three of the four races, and also grabbed their first-ever top-10 Cup finish here in 1999. In the Busch Series, they had two dominating victories in the fall event at the Virginia oval. In addition, three of the team's four Winston Cup victories have come during races run at night including Richmond (May, 2000), The Winston (May, 2000) and Daytona (July 2001).

During their days in the Busch Series, the team pulled out an old, forgotten chassis called "the red-headed step child," (because the entire chassis and interior was painted red) in a pinch. The old piece of metal turned into the favourite chassis for Dale Jr. and the team, and had a spectacular winning percentage. Now, in preparation for the Winston No Bull million dollar bonus at Richmond, the team has built a new all-red chassis for the race. Dubbed "Step Dad," the brand-new car will carry the team's hopes this weekend in Richmond.

The multi-grooved Richmond track always produces great side-by-side racing, and the added incentive of a Winston million-dollar bonus can only help to add to the drama and tension on race night. Five teams are eligible for the Winston No Bull bonus (based upon their finish in the July Daytona race): Dale Jr. and the DEI Budweiser team, Michael Waltrip and the DEI NAPA team, Elliott Sadler and the Motorcraft team, Bobby Labonte and the Interstate Batteries team and Ward Burton in the CAT-sponsored car that won the race last Sunday at Darlington.