The upcoming Cup Series race on Sunday will be the 7th event on the 2024 calendar and will go down at the Richmond Raceway in Virginia. Contenders will race in what will be the 3rd short track race of the season and the prize pool has been announced. Fox Sports’ Bob Pockrass reported that the purse size for the Cup Series race is valued at $7,886,627. This figure includes all the payouts to the teams based on their past performances, the year-end contributions, and so on. Notably, this is an increase from the purse size that was announced for this race in 2023.
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Last year, the prize for the Cup Series race was $7,529,485. The upgrade falls along a trend that has been on since the beginning of the ongoing season. Almost every top-tier fixture has seen its purse size increase from that of last year. This is mostly attributed to the new TV deals that have been announced. However, not all is green a step below, in the Xfinity Series.
The purse size for the Xfinity race in Richmond has been cut down from last year’s. For the forthcoming event, the payout will be $1,456,191, whereas in 2023 it was $1,721,030. While the reasons for the decrease are unknown, it is a break from what has become the ordinary in this season.
The favorites to get the largest piece of the $7.8 million pie
The season’s initial short track races in Phoenix and Bristol had their fair share of drama. The upgraded short track package was all the talk after Phoenix, and in Bristol, the unusual rubber wear turned hot. The common factor in both these races was the dominance that Toyota and Joe Gibbs Racing displayed. Heading to Virginia, Coach Gibbs’ men appear to be people’s choice, once again.
According to DraftKings Sportsbook, Joe Gibbs Racing star Denny Hamlin stands favorite to win on Sunday with odds of 17-4. Alongside him is the Phoenix winner, Christopher Bell with the same odds. Next to them is Martin Truex Jr. with odds of 6-1. Fourth on the list is the fourth and final driver of Joe Gibbs Racing, Ty Gibbs with odds of 17-2. With the Gibbs teammates taking up the first four spots, one of them will likely emerge victorious when the day ends at the 0.750-mile track.
