The Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte is more than just motorsports. The entire weekend serves to honor the fallen military members on Memorial Day Weekend. From pre-race ceremonies to decals on cars, many gestures make the weekend bigger and more memorable. Adding more clout is the huge purse size that the Cup Series race commands.
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In 2024, the 600 miler will have a purse of $9,874,821. This figure includes the payouts for historical performance, final standings, year-end points fund contingencies, and etc. Notably, it represents a $400,000 increase from the rewards in 2023 when the purse weighed $9,421,275. The upcoming race will be the 65th running of the Coca-Cola 600.
Purses for Charlotte weekend, all payouts, all positions and for Cup, all charter payouts for racing, historical performance, etc.:
Cup: $9,874,821
Xfinity: $1,383,384
Truck: $782,014
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) May 22, 2024
A tier below in the Xfinity Series the purse has been affixed at $1,383,384 for Saturday’s race. In 2023, the number wasn’t far off behind at $1,317,391. The Craftsman Truck Series field will also race in Charlotte this weekend. The purse for the third tier weighs $782,014 this year as compared to $767,542 in 2023. Away from the dollar, the weekend will primarily focus on recognizing the friends, family and comrades of the fallen U.S. military.
Who stands favorite to win the 2024 Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday?
Hendrick Motorsports star Kyle Larson is, not surprisingly, the favorite to emerge as the winner at the 1.5-mile quad-oval intermediate with opening odds of +475 according to the SportsLine consensus. He won the race in 2021 and went on to win that year’s championship, the only driver in the last 24 Coca-Cola 600s to do so. He will be attempting to complete the Indy 500 along with the Cup race.
Larson is followed by Denny Hamlin with odds of +600. The Joe Gibbs Racing star won the race in 2022 and has been having a strong title campaign in 2024. Winning Sunday’s race could catapult his chances of success in the playoffs considerably. He is followed by Tyler Reddick (+700), Ryan Blaney (+850), and William Byron (+1000) to round off the top five SportsLine betting favorites.
On the flip side of things, rainy weather threatens to postpone the events scheduled on Sunday. National Weather Service forecaster Doug Outlaw confirmed the expectation to the Charlotte Observer earlier this week citing thunder clouds that were rolling into the Carolinas from the Mississippi River Valley. Notably, the race was postponed a day in 2023.
