After Christopher Bell’s commanding performance in the first four races, winning in three, the NASCAR grid shifts its focus to Las Vegas this weekend for the season’s second intermediate track event: the Pennzoil 400. Scheduled for Sunday, March 16, 2025, at 12:30 p.m., the show promises 267 laps of rivalry spanning 400.5 miles. Spotlighting drivers such as hometown hero Kyle Busch, Joey Logano, and Kyle Larson, the race will present a rousing speed and boast a substantial purse, reflecting an increase from the previous year.
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According to Fox Sports’s Bob Pockrass, the financial stakes for the Vegas weekend are notably high. The Cup race will distribute a total of $11,055,250, containing all payouts, positions, contingencies, and points fund contributions. The Xfinity race boasts a purse of $1,651,939, whereas the Craftsman Truck Series competitors will vie for a purse totaling $782,900.
This year’s Cup Series event purse has risen by $1,669,196 compared to last year’s amount. Conversely, the Xfinity Series purse experienced a reduction of $149,339, although the Truck Series saw a modest uptick of $46,686.
Compared specifically to last fall’s event in Las Vegas, the upcoming race features enhanced prize money, with the Cup Series benefiting from an additional sum of $2,897,438 and the Xfinity Series purse augmented by $242,194.
Purses for Vegas weekend, incl all payouts, all positions plus contingencies and pts fund contribution. For Cup, incl all associated charter payouts for racing and charter historical results.
Cup: $11,055,250
Xfinity: $1,651,939
Truck: $782,900
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) March 12, 2025
Despite the newly inked television deal, last year’s increment in purse values fell short of fan expectations. Nonetheless, NASCAR has endeavored to level the financial playing field, ensuring greater consistency in prize allocations across events, reserving big variations primarily for marquee races such as the Daytona 500.
For instance, the Cup race at Phoenix last weekend also featured a purse of $11,055,250 [the same amount as given out for the upcoming Las Vegas race], precisely mirroring the purse amount distributed at COTA.
Likewise, the purse allocated for the Phoenix Xfinity Series remained steady at $1,651,939, directly matching the sum awarded during the Xfinity event at COTA.
Which drivers to look out for in Las Vegas?
Although fans would be hoping for Las Vegas to be Kyle Busch’s resurgent track, to snap his 61-race dry spell, where his track record stands — an average finish of 11.3 across 27 starts, including a solitary victory in 2009, alongside 12 top fives and 15 top tens — Busch is not the only contender to watch on his home turf.
Take Joey Logano, for instance, a three-time NASCAR Cup Champion who won the last time the series raced in Las Vegas. Logano’s abilities on this track are notable, with four wins in the Cup Series. His record of nine top fives and fourteen top tens from 23 starts, boasting an average finish of 9.5, marks him as a strong opponent in the upcoming race.
Additionally, Kyle Larson emerges as a main driver on the track, boasting the highest average finish of 9.4 over 17 starts at Las Vegas among all the active drivers. With a promising start to the season, which includes two top-five finishes at Atlanta and Phoenix, Larson is ready to potentially emulate last year’s success.
Having won three races on the Las Vegas track, including last year’s Pennzoil 400, the HMS driver is well-positioned to perhaps initiate a winning streak on the track.
