NASCAR returns to superspeedway racing this weekend at the Talladega Superspeedway. From Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron to Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain, more than a few names are pegged to come out on top at the end of the race and enjoy bragging rights. What these favorites will also get by pushing throttles past that extra edge is the chance to make serious dollars.
Fox Sports reporter Bob Pockrass wrote on his X handle that the purse size for the upcoming Cup Series race will be $8,234,125. The figure comprises the entire compensation from NASCAR to the teams including the year-end points based fund contribution, contingencies, payouts based on past performance, and etc. Notably, it is an increase from the purse size of the same race in 2023.
Last year’s GEICO 500 came with a purse of $7,857,314. The nearly $400,000 jump is largely owed to the new TV deals that are in place this season. Viewership has been steadily growing across the first nine races of the ongoing season alongside the purse size. While these monetaries are not close enough to what the teams have been asking of the promotion, it is a positive nonetheless.
The coming weekend will be a doubleheader with an Xfinity Series race scheduled to be run on Saturday. The purse size for that will be $1,479,274. Meanwhile, in 2023, the pie was sized at $1,438,641.
Who stands favorite to win the largest share of the Cup Series purse?
Hendrick Motorsports star driver Chase Elliott took home the biggest chunk of the $9.3 million purse in last Sunday’s Texas race. For this weekend’s event in the Dega, his teammate William Byron is the betting favorite to win as things stand. According to DraftKings Sportsbook, he has opening odds of 10-1 to emerge as the winner.
Also the top favorites alongside him are RFK Racing’s Brad Keselowski and the defending NASCAR champion, Ryan Blaney. Keselowski heads to the race on top of a 100+ race winless streak. Blaney is yet to find the victory lane this season and will hope to use the superspeedway to do it. He missed out on a potential victory in Atlanta earlier this year by 0.003 seconds.
Among other drivers who could turn a corner this Sunday are Bubba Wallace, Denny Hamlin, and Joey Logano. Hopefully, they’ll all be able to keep their cars intact till the checkered flag is waved.
