DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Dale Earnhardt's race teams will mark the first anniversary of his death with a silent candlelight tribute at its North Carolina shop.

Earnhardt was killed Feb. 18 on the final lap of the season-opening Daytona 500. Dale Earnhardt Inc. will hold the memorial Monday night from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. at its Mooresville, N.C. shop.

DEI said in a statement that Earnhardt's widow, Teresa, organized the event to offer fans an opportunity to remember the seven-time Winston Cup champion at the facility he created. In the days after his death, thousands of fans showed up at the shop to mourn his death.

Each fan will be given a candle and asked to stand in silence on the lawn at DEI. A signature board will be available and later erected inside the showroom.

The Daytona 500 will be run on Sunday.

Extra incentive
Dodge has given its teams an extra incentive to win the Winston Cup championship this year, pledging a $1 million bonus to the team and a 2003 Dodge Viper to the driver who can pull it off.

Ward Burton, who led the most laps in last year's Daytona 500 before an accident relegated him to a 35th-place finish, said he'll be chasing the Viper this year for family reasons.

"My daughter says I'd look good in a Viper," Burton joked. "Dodge did a good job of showing their commitment to the race teams, they really get involved with all their teams and really support them in an unmatched way."

Dodge returned to Winston Cup racing last season after a 16-year absence. The new Intrepid won four races -- Sterling Marlin had two victories and Burton and Bill Elliott had one. Marlin finished third in the Winston Cup standings.

Now Marlin wants to go even further and collect Dodge's bonus.

"Naturally we are going to try as hard as we can to win the championship, but that extra million and Viper just gives us more incentive if that's possible," Marlin said. "We were honored to win the first race for Dodge last season. Now we'll try to be the first team to win that bonus."

New Pontiac
General Motors is on target to debut a new Pontiac Grand Prix in 2003, an upgrade of the current 7-year-old model.

The Pontiac template is the oldest one in Winston Cup and developers have been working with NASCAR for some time to design the new one.

"We will have a car at this time next year to run in Daytona if everything goes OK with the NASCAR officials," said Bob Kraut, brand manager.

The deadline to submit the model to NASCAR is July 1, and the sanctioning body must either approve it or reject it by October.

Rejection is not likely because GM has been working with NASCAR officials throughout the development process, said Winston Cup director John Darby.

Pontiac currently fields just five cars, the smallest contingent among the four makes. But the manufacturer said it prefers quality over quantity -- 2000 series champion Bobby Labonte and teammate Tony Stewart drives the Grand Prix -- and believes other teams will want to move over to Pontiac after the new car debuts.

"The question really is ... teams are shopping us because we're going to have a new race car in '03," Kraut said.

Another penalty
Tony Furr, crew chief for Jerry Nadeau, was fined $25,000 Saturday for a rules violation during Speedweeks. It's the second straight year Furr has been penalized during preparations for the 500.

Furr was penalized because Nadeau's No. 25 Chevrolet did not meet the minimum height requirement following Thursday's 125-mile qualifying race.

The minimum height requirement is 51 inches, measured from the center of the roof, and the car was found to be approximately an eighth of an inch too low. Furr blamed the discrepancy on a faulty spring that collapsed during the race, in which Nadeau finished third.

"It was obviously in no way intentional since such a defect can have a negative impact on the handling of the race car," he said. "Although a fine was levied, NASCAR officials understand the circumstances and saw no reason for additional penalties. The team is committed to abiding by the rules and looking forward to the Daytona 500 on Sunday."

A year ago, Nadeau had his speed disqualified after time trials and was fined $10,000 and suspended for four races for using suspension parts that dropped the car more than a half-inch below the minimum height requirement.