Cruising past the one-third mark of the 36-race Cup Series season, in Kansas, NASCAR travels to Darlington this weekend. The upcoming race will present a crucial opportunity for drivers from outside the camps of Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing to secure the victory flag. To end the dominance of these big sharks, drivers will have attractive monetary incentives.
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Fox Sports reporter Bob Pockrass unveiled the purse size for the triple-header weekend on his X handle on Wednesday. The main event, the Cup Series race, will carry a weight of $8,090,969. This number includes all the payouts including those for historical performance, contingency funds, year-end points contribution funds, and so on.
Purses for Darlington weekend. All payouts, all positions plus contingency awards, contribution to year-end pts funds, charter payouts based on historical performance, etc.:
Cup: $8,090,969
Xfinity: $1,371,756
Truck: $770,233
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) May 8, 2024
The last time the grid went to race in Darlington, in 2023, the prize was a tad bit higher at $8,260,258. But this was for the playoff race in September. An upgrade can be expected when the grid travels to Darlington for the second time, later this year. For the Xfinity Series race this weekend, the prize pool will be $1,371,756, and for the Truck Series race, it will be $770,233.
Who are the favorites to win the Cup Series race in Darlington?
The upcoming races will be celebrated as the “Throwback Weekend”. This means that the Darlington Raceway will be crowded with cars covered in vintage liveries from yesteryear. According to odds from DraftKings Sportsbook, Hendrick star Kyle Larson is the favorite to emerge as the winner. He won in Kansas last Sunday and holds opening odds of 4-1 to be successful again.
Second to him is the Joe Gibbs Racing veteran Denny Hamlin. With 54 career victories in his pocket, Hamlin is hunting down the elusive 60-win mark. After missing out on taking a step forward in Kansas, one of his best tracks, he will hope to set things right on the track too tough to tame. He holds odds of 5-1 and has already seen the victory lane thrice this season.
Hamlin’s teammate Martin Truex Jr. is third favorite to win with odds of 13-2. He is yet to collect the victory flag this year despite coming frustratingly close on multiple occasions. Not surprisingly, all the top picks are from the camps of Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing. The two teams have won 10 of the first 12 races this season and displayed mind-bending dominance.
