Do you know the most exciting part of being a NASCAR driver? Surely, it is the fact that you get to live every kid’s dream by driving around super-fast cars for a living. Well, once you get over the thrill of driving, it’s the money that matters most. NASCAR teams often pay drivers a salary, but what becomes more lucrative is the purse money. The purse money gets decided depending on the standing of each driver.

This directly rewards drivers for their performance on that track, and some tracks can be worth more than others. This year Martinsville seems to have garnered an increase in overall purse for their Cup and Xfinity series. As if there was not enough on the line already, with this being the final playoff race, the purse increase has made things more spicy.

Purse money increases and crosses the $10 million mark

Joey Logano and Tyler Reddick move into Martinsville with secured seats to the Championship at Phoenix. Next in line, we have Christopher Bell, who is at a very comfortable spot and currently sitting 29 points above the cutline, along with William Byron, who is +7 above the cutline. However, just below the cutline, we have drivers like Kyle Larson, who is 7 points down, along with Hamlin, who is 18 points down. While all these drivers will be setting their eyes on victory to secure a direct seat to the Top 4, purse money is a major motivator for their non-playoff competitors.

The Martinsville Speedway will be nail-biting and all for the right reasons. Although the stress might seem to be too much for the drivers, it is the prize money that might seem to offer some kind of solace, especially when it has just crossed the $10 million mark! 

Recently, Bob Pockrass revealed the purse money for the various NASCAR series and it does look attractive. He posted on X saying, “Purses for Martinsville weekend, includes all payouts, all positions, contributions to year-end points fund, contingency awards, etc., and for Cup, charter team payouts for racing and historical performance: Cup: $8,991,338, Xfinity: $1,441,088 and Truck: $672,417”. The prize money for Martinsville has increased if you compare the same to Cook Out 400 in spring this year. While for the latter, it was around $7,669,028, the current purse shows a significant growth of $1,667,135.

The Xfinity Series purse, since the last year, has seen a slight increase of $37,465. However, things are not looking very good for the Truck Series. Instead of an increase, there has been a slight decrease in the purse by $21,425 from its original $693,842 last year. While the purse money for Cup Series looks promising crossing the $10 million mark, the Truck Series is yet to make that impact. Currently, it stands at about 6% of the Cup Series purse. Why this difference? Usually, it is the sponsorship, revenue, and similar factors that decide the purse money. Given the popularity of the Cup series, it is this series that takes the most onus. 

Who is going to take the bulk of the Martinsville purse?

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While the $10 million purse does seem to be inviting, some drivers are slightly more motivated with playoff berths yet to be decided. Going into Martinsville, Christopher Bell sits at the top and won this race in 2022 en route to his first Championship 4 appearance. A win at Martinsville on Sunday would secure his three-peat of championship 4 appearances. Since the Next Gen Cars made its debut, Bell has marked his presence at each final 4. However, he has come up short on each occasion, finishing 3 in 2022 and 4th in 2023.

Following him in the standings is William Byron, who has been incredibly consistent these playoffs as he comes into this race with top-6 finishes in each of his last four races. The Hendrick Motorsports #24 is also the defending Martinsville champ, winning on the track in April this year. Bell and Byron seem to be the favorites for this race but let’s not rule out Kyle Larson. Despite his dip in form over the last few races with consecutive finishes outside the top-10, Larson has an impeccable record recently at Martinsville. He finished in the top 3 in three of his last four races, and in the race where he wasn’t top, he still finished P6. His last win at the track came in April 2023 where he led 30 laps after starting 19th on the grid and got the win.

With the Martinsville Speedway nearing and NASCAR increasing in purse money, who do you think will take the checkered flag?