Take heart, Paul Menard. Bobby Labonte's 31st-place finish at Charlotte inched him slightly closer to the FLOPPER lead. Not far behind Menard and Labonte, three other drivers are creeping within striking distance. And in the next group we find Sam Hornish Jr., who single-handedly spun himself out twice to bring out the first two cautions of last week’s race. Way to earn your FLOPPER status, Sam.

I thought it would be interesting this week to include the prize winnings of each driver in this grouping, and compare how they are totally unrelated to their place in the standings. FYI: the total combined winnings for these 10 drivers is nearly $36 million dollars this season.

Would you have guessed that Reed Sorenson has made nearly a million dollars more than David Ragan this year? That's 26 percent more than Ragan over the course of the season for basically the same performance.

Jamie McMurray's prize winnings are the lowest in this group, but he's still averaging more than $101,000 per race. Martin Truex Jr., the highest on this list, is averaging over $131,000 per race. Next week I plan to show how much money each makes per lap and per mile.

One last point: Dale Earnhardt Jr. is only one point ahead of Martin Truex Jr. in the standings. He could find himself on this table next week. Like he needs another reason to feel depressed.

(All Left Turns contributor Dale Watermill is the creator of the Watermill Score and the FLOPPER Award and edits the racing statistics blog 36 Races. E-mail him at 36races@gmail.com.)

Related links:
Updated championship probability table: Only three drivers can catch Johnson
Winning in NASCAR is like counting cards
Chase bonus points are meaningless
Jimmie Johnson has most points at Chase tracks this season
The Watermill Score: How to win a Sprint Cup title
Replacing crew chiefs has not helped Dale Earnhardt Jr.