Racing Community Embarrassed as NASCAR’s Financial Favoritism Toward Cup Series Spills Out

$9,137,793! The Ambetter Health 400’s cash prize pool isn’t something to just look past. Just ask Daniel Suarez. The driver put everything on the line last year going against Kyle Busch and Ryan Blaney as NASCAR witnessed a historic three-wide photo finish with 0.003 seconds separating the drivers. With

As NASCAR gears up for the 2025 season, excitement is building around the upcoming race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The race is set to take place in less than a week. The anticipation surrounding the event is heightened by the fact that the prize pool for this year’s race has increased. It now promises even greater rewards for the top-performing teams!

However, while NASCAR is making the Cup Series increasingly lucrative, the payouts for the Xfinity and Truck Series remain considerably lower. Fans and competitors alike are questioning the fairness of NASCAR’s financial favoritism. This disparity raises concerns about the opportunities available to drivers in lower-tier series. They argue that it could potentially impact the overall growth and competitiveness of the sport.

The financial landscape of NASCAR has drawn scrutiny as the 2025 season unfolds, particularly concerning the prize money allocated to its various series. This year’s prize pool for the Cup Series at the Ambetter Health 400 has reached an impressive $11,055,250.

This marks a significant increase from last year’s total of $9,137,793. This nearly $2 million boost highlights NASCAR’s commitment to enhancing the rewards for its premier series. But, the increase also underscores the growing financial divide between the Cup Series and its counterparts, raising concerns about equity within the sport.

In contrast, the prize money for the Xfinity and Truck Series has not seen the same level of increase. The 2025 Xfinity Series purse is set at $1,651,939, while the Truck Series will offer a total of $782,900. These figures reflect improvements over the previous year’s payouts of $1,328,978 for Xfinity and $705,481 for Truck. The numbers indicate that while NASCAR is focusing on elevating the Cup Series, the support for the other two series remains relatively stagnant.

This disparity raises questions about the sustainability and competitiveness of these series, as teams and drivers in the Xfinity and Truck Series continue to grapple with limited financial resources. As the NASCAR community gears up for the Ambetter Health 400, the conversations surrounding these prize money disparities are growing louder. Fans took to social media to voice their frustrations, highlighting the need for NASCAR to invest more equitably across all series.

Growing frustration among fans as they react to the Atlanta offerings

The announcement of NASCAR’s prize money distribution for the upcoming Atlanta race has ignited a wave of negative reactions from fans on Reddit and X. They are becoming increasingly frustrated by the stark financial disparities among the different racing series. One fan succinctly pointed out, “No wonder @CoreyLaJoie wants to run cup, can’t blame him on the payouts…” LaJoie rejected offers from the likes of McAnally-Hilgemann Racing, a championship-contending team, and preferred to stick to Rick Ware Racing, a team that hasn’t had the best luck in the Cup Series. While LaJoie didn’t admit it, looking at the numbers, the money angle might just tell the story why.

The criticism extends to the Truck Series, with many fans commenting on its struggles to attract financial support. With the lack of support from NASCAR in terms of the prize pool, it’s no wonder Truck and Xfinity Series teams are often accused of bringing in drivers because of their marketability, as was the case when Toni Breidinger announced her arrival in the Truck Series.. If the prize pool doesn’t give them enough to run their team, sponsorship is the way out. “Truck series surviving off scraps,” lamented one fan, while another remarked, “Trucks really are a poverty league.” 

Fans are shaking their heads at the thought of the Cup Series making “14x as much as Trucks and 6x as much as Xfinity,” which they deem “crazy.” One thing to note here is that the prize pool for the Ambetter Health 400 2025 is just the trigger for this outrage. The stark difference in prize purses has existed for years, decades even. Look at the data for some of the top races in the NASCAR calendar, Watkins Glen and Talladega for example. Against the Glen’s $7,572,831 Cup Series prize purse, the Xfinity Series only received $1,312,465. At Talladega, things looked very similar to last year’s Ambetter Health 400 purse split, with Cup Series getting $9,137,793, Xfinity getting $1,328,978, and Truck getting $705,481.

As the conversation continued online, one fan shared their disbelief over the Truck Series’ prize pool, stating, “That truck purse LOL, that’s so embarrassing.” Another chimed in with a tongue-in-cheek remark, asking, “Does that even cover the tire bill? Lol.” While these comments jested at NASCAR’s decisions, it’s important to understand why it’s relevant. While Truck and Xfinity Series races don’t receive as much viewership, the cost of running a team doesn’t change too much from the Cup Series.