This weekend, NASCAR hits its second checkpoint — Homestead-Miami Speedway — in the Round of 8. The upcoming race promises not just a shake-up in the playoff standings but also a hefty dose of motivation in the form of prize money, as recently highlighted by Fox Sports reporter Bob Pockrass.
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According to Pockrass, the total prize pool for the Miami weekend will be substantial. It includes all payouts across every position, contingency awards, contributions to the year-end points fund, and charter payouts that consider both weekly racing and historical performance.
Specifically, the NASCAR Cup Series will see a purse of $7,997,594, the Xfinity Series $1,496,850, and the Craftsman Truck Series $769,881.
This year’s races at Homestead-Miami have seen a boost in prize money, with the Straight Talk Wireless 400 Cup Race swelling by $363,451 and the Xfinity race growing by $63,260 from last year. Additionally, the Truck race purse has increased by $79,918 this season.
Purses for Homestead weekend incl all payouts, all positions plus season-ending awards contributions, contingency awards, etc. … for Cup, incl all charter payouts based on participation & historical performance:
Cup: $7,997,594
Xfinity: $1,496,850
Truck: $769,881
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) October 23, 2024
The majority of this prize money stems from television revenue, buoyed by expectations from new media agreements set to take effect in 2025. With NASCAR’s viewer ratings surging ahead of Formula 1, the potential for increased revenue looks promising.
For example, this past weekend, NASCAR attracted 2.3 million viewers on NBC for the first race of their round of eight—the semifinals leading up to the championship race in Phoenix.
In contrast, Formula 1 drew 1.3 million viewers, placing NASCAR a full million viewers ahead when the two competed directly. Both sports have seen a rise in viewership from last year, with NASCAR up from 2.19 million viewers and Formula 1 increasing from 1.2 million to 1.3 million this year.
Previewing the upcoming race at Homestead-Miami
The track, once the backdrop for the showdown race of the NASCAR Cup Series for nearly two decades, now sets the stage for the key Round of 8.
In the past, Toyota and Chevrolet drivers have been neck and neck for dominance at recent intermediate oval races, each claiming victories in the last five Homestead-Miami Speedway races.
In the most recent Cup Series race here, Christopher Bell navigated past Ryan Blaney and William Byron to clinch the victory. If anyone outside this trio is poised to shake things up this Sunday, it could well be Kyle Larson. Known for his abilities on intermediate ovals since the start of the season, Larson also won at Homestead in 2022.
Meanwhile, Team Penske’s Joey Logano, fresh off a series race win at Las Vegas, Denny Hamlin, who has eagerly awaited the return of oval track racing in the playoffs, and 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick, consistently strong on intermediate-sized ovals, have all been some of the best performers this season.
Not to be overlooked beyond the playoff contenders, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Martin Truex Jr. boasts the best average finish on this track at 10.7 and has led 387 laps at Homestead-Miami Speedway so far.
