After a superspeedway, a mini-superspeedway, and a road course event, the NASCAR Cup Series is ready to shift its focus to its first intermediate race of the season at Phoenix Raceway. With Tyler Reddick riding a three-race winning streak, the rest of the field will arrive in the desert chasing their first win of the season and a big payday.
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NASCAR released purse figures for the weekend, with FOX Sports reporter Bob Pockrass sharing the totals. The Cup Series Straight Talk Wireless 500 race will pay $11,233,037, up from $11,055,250 in 2025. The figure covers payouts across all positions, including contingency awards, charter distributions, and contributions to the year-end fund.
The NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series event will award $1,653,590, an increase from $1,651,939 last season. The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is idle for two weeks and will return on March 20 at Darlington Raceway for the Buckle Up South Carolina 200.
NASCAR purses for Phoenix weekend. All payouts, all positions including all contingency awards, charter payouts, year-end fund contribution, etc.:
Cup: $11,233,037
O’Reilly: $1,653,590
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) March 4, 2026
Drivers like Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney, Kyle Busch, and Chase Elliott will enter with track records that place them in the top. Still, much of the attention will center on Reddick’s attempt to keep his winning streak alive. As per his previous records, though, in 12 starts at Phoenix, the No. 45 23XI Racing driver holds an average finish of 17.8, with two top-five finishes and four top-10 results.
Momentum can open doors, but Phoenix has not always rolled out the welcome mat for the #45 driver. Last season, a power steering issue ended Reddick’s run in the March race after he spent much of the day near the front. Later, after elimination in the Round of 12, he closed the year with a 26th-place finish in the finale at Phoenix, marking his first winless season since 2021.
So, even he knows that his runs and results in spring events at the track have outpaced those in the fall. In 2024, however, Reddick had reached the Championship 4 and returned to Phoenix to compete for the Cup title, finishing inside the top 10. The #45 team will still keep its hopes high. Yet, recent history shows that turning three straight wins into four is easier said than done.
Last year, Christopher Bell won three in succession but could not seal a fourth. Should Reddick clear that hurdle, he would approach a benchmark untouched since Jimmie Johnson strung together four consecutive victories in 2007. For now, Reddick arrives in Phoenix with the momentum at his back and a chance to keep the pot boiling.
