The upcoming weekend will feature the third Cup Series race in the World Wide Technology Raceway. The 1.25-mile oval was introduced to NASCAR’s premier tier in 2022 and has been a staple since. The relative newness promises a better chance to see a fresh winner this season. Adding to the incentive of conquering the track is a huge monetary reward.
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Fox Sports reporter Bob Pockrass revealed on his X handle that the purse size for the upcoming Cup race is $7,776,907. This figure includes the payouts for final positions, contingency awards, contribution to season-ending points fund, historical performances, and other such payouts. The purse for this race in 2023 weighed $7,425,976.
Purses for WWTR Gateway/Portland, includes all payouts, all positions, contingency awards, contribution to season-ending pts fund, charter payouts for racing and historical performance, etc.:
Cup (Gateway): $7,776,907
Xfinity (Portland): $1,408,568
Trucks (Gateway): $752,252
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) May 29, 2024
The other national series race that will go down at the raceway will be for trucks. The purse size for the race is $752,252. The Craftsman Truck Series has been visiting the Gateway since 1998. The Xfinity Series race for this weekend will go down at the Portland International Raceway in the Pacific Northwest. Meanwhile, the payout for the second tier will be $1,408,568.
Why the Cup Series race at Gateway is crucial for drivers looking to get their first win
When the field traveled to Illinois back in 2022 for its first race at the Gateway Motorsports Park where the World Wide Technology Raceway is, Team Penske’s Joey Logano won, en route to his second Cup Series championship. Last year, Richard Childress Racing’s Kyle Busch grabbed the honor. Those are two names without a points-paying victory yet this year.
Busch hasn’t won a race since his victory at the track last year. The calendar is more than a step into the second half of the regular season, which means drivers who haven’t locked themselves into the playoffs are running out of time to do so. There have been eight different winners in the regular season thus far. While more are expected to join the list, the biggest hopes are from four.
Joining Busch and Logano in the spotlight this Sunday will be the defending champion Ryan Blaney and Martin Truex Jr. All four are championship winners who are currently winless and have landed a top 10 spot in each of the previous races at Gateway. It wouldn’t be a shock to see one of these four reach the victory lane.
