The NASCAR Cup Series has wrapped up its first 26 races and the regular season, with William Byron winning the crown of regular season champion. Now the top 16 drivers turn their attention to the final 10 playoff battles, beginning with the Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington, the opener for the Round of 16. Victory there not only secures an automatic berth in the next round but also delivers a shot at the ten-million-dollar prize on the line for all competitors.
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This year’s Southern 500 doubles as a celebration of the race’s 76th anniversary, and with it comes a significant bump in purse money. Bob Pockrass reported on his X feed that the Cup field will divide $10,447,135, covering payouts for performance, historical merit, points-fund contributions, and contingency bonuses. By comparison, last year’s purse, when the event closed out the regular season, was $8,644,143.
In the Xfinity Series, the purse for the Portland race has been set at $1,651,939, with that division still in the thick of its regular season and two events, Portland and Gateway, left before drivers roll into the Round of 12 playoffs. Meanwhile, the Truck Series event at Darlington will award $782,900 to the winner.
Purses for Darlington and Portland with all payouts, all positions and contingency awards, year-end pts fund contributions, etc; for Cup includes all charter payouts.
Cup (Darlington): $10,447,135
Xfinity (Portland): $1,651,939
Trucks (Darlington): $$782,900
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) August 27, 2025
Darlington Raceway’s egg-shaped layout already carries a reputation as one of NASCAR’s toughest tests. Add in the grueling 500-mile distance and the lucrative prize pool, and chasing a slice of that payout becomes a tall order, even for the sport’s elite.
Favorites for the NASCAR 2025 Southern 500 race
Hendrick Motorsports teammates Kyle Larson and William Byron enter the playoffs deadlocked atop the standings, yet their margin over the cutoff line sits at just 26 points. It marks the slimmest cushion any top seed has ever carried under the current format, shrinking what was once a luxury into little more than a thin margin from the outset.
Looking at the numbers, Denny Hamlin, third in the standings, arrives as the odds-on favorite. He boasts an average finish of 7.9 with five wins in 26 starts at the track, including a win this spring, and has collected stage points in all but six of the 30 stages contested.
Hamlin has also led laps in 11 straight races at the venue, a streak stretching over five years and echoing Darrell Waltrip’s famed 17-race run in the 1970s and ’80s. His 23XI driver, Tyler Reddick, enters below the cut line with a 12.3 average finish on the track. Though winless in 12 starts at the track, Reddick has logged five top-five results.
Larson, Joey Logano, and Christopher Bell also sit on the watchlist, each carrying a proven record of strong performances there. One year ago, Chase Briscoe clawed into the playoffs with a NASCAR Cup win at this very race. Now sitting eighth with just a four-point cushion, he’ll look to defend that win and keep his postseason run alive.
