One of last season’s hotly-debated regular-season races returns this weekend at Richmond Raceway. In 2024, Austin Dillon muscled his way past Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin in a full-contact finish to secure his first NASCAR Cup Series win in two years, only to have NASCAR strip his playoff eligibility for his actions. This time, with the race again serving as the penultimate event of the regular season, the stakes and intensity could definitely match last year’s drama.
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Adding fuel to the fire, an increased prize purse offers teams extra incentive ahead of the regular-season finale at Daytona. According to Bob Pockrass on X, the NASCAR Cup Series payout will total $9,797,935, covering all positions, season-ending points fund contributions, contingency awards, and more, with charter payouts determined by participation and historical performance.
Purses for Richmond weekend include all payouts, all positions, contribution to season-ending points fund, contingency awards, etc.; and for Cup, all charter payouts based on participating and historical performance:
Cup: $9,797,935
Truck: $782,900
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) August 13, 2025
The figure marks a jump from last year’s $7,925,121 under the new agreement. While the Xfinity Series sits out this weekend, the Truck Series will hand rising talents $782,900 in total payouts, a modest bump from last year’s $744,784.
Favorites for the Richmond weekend
Dillon’s win should have positioned him as the frontrunner, but the backlash over his decision to wreck the leaders last year stripped away that status in the eyes of NASCAR fans. Meanwhile, five drivers sitting below the elimination line have already tasted victory at Richmond, more on them shortly, and each will look to rekindle that short-track magic to avoid needing a miracle in the following weekend’s unpredictable superspeedway showdown.
Veterans Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski, along with Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Erik Jones, and AJ Allmendinger, headline the 10 drivers outside the playoff bubble with prior Cup Series wins. Each boasts a proven history as playoff contenders and share the urgency of ensuring that more than 24 weeks of effort do not go to waste pursuing a postseason berth.
Richmond will hinge on mastering pit cycles, with at least three green-flag rounds in each of the last eight races. Those who can navigate the demands with precision will be in the hunt when it counts. Busch, with an average finish of 7.6 and six wins across 38 starts, has a prime chance to mount a strong rebound.
Denny Hamlin, a short-track ace with five Richmond wins in 36 starts and an average finish of 8.1, will be another threat. Josh Berry, Joey Logano, Kyle Larson, and Chase Elliott are also expected to be among the top contenders in the fight, as per their past track record on the 0.75-mile asphalt oval.
