It is no secret that the per-race payout for the Cup Series and the O’Reilly Series is vastly different from each other. The former involves a massive revenue deal, big-time sponsors, and some of the best race car drivers in the world. The latter, however, is but a feeder program for the premier tier. But how much exactly do Cup Series drivers earn more than their counterparts?
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Recently publicised data has revealed that Cup Series participants make an average of about $411,000 per entry. Xfinity Series drivers, on the other hand, earn roughly $68,000 per race. What this means is that Cup Series drivers make nearly six times more than their counterparts in the O’Reilly Series. There are a lot of different reasons behind this massive difference.
The most important of them all is that the Cup Series operates under a charter system, based on which each entry gets a base payout just for participating in an event. Performance bonuses and prize money based on finishing position are added on top of this. The public filings have shown that chartered teams can make between $7 million and $18 million a season.
This figure is before including sponsorship money and is regardless of whether they attain victory or good finishes. The O’Reilly Series is still non-chartered, and the prize pools for it are a lot smaller. The overall prize money for the O’Reilly Series championship in 2025 was marked at $2.5 million. By contrast, the Cup Series season finale commanded a prize of $12.39 million.
Moreover, this prize money is divided among all teams based on finishing position. So, top drivers in the second tier earn only a fraction of what even the average performer in the Cup Series makes. Kyle Larson claimed the 2025 Cup Series championship by outpacing Denny Hamlin and Chase Briscoe. This must have ended in a massive boost to his salary and net worth.
A step below, Jesse Love prevailed in the season finale over Connor Zilisch in what was a shocking upset. Zilisch had won 10 races over the year and was on his way to becoming a historic champion who would have been remembered forever. Unfortunately, Love became a hurdle to him at Phoenix and grabbed the title, with the winnings going to him and his Richard Childress Racing crew.
