The NASCAR Cup Series grid travels to Texas for its ninth race of the 2024 season this Sunday. After three short track races in the last four weekends, the upcoming event on the 1.5-mile speedway is expected to serve as a refreshing breather for both drivers and fans. Enticingly for the team owners, the race possesses one of the highest payouts in the top tier.
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Veteran reporter Bob Pockrass revealed on his X handle that the purse size for the Cup Series race will be a massive $9,397,736. This number includes the payouts for positions, year-end points contribution, contingency awards, and so on. Notably, the purse size for this race in 2023 was $8,955,060. This weekend will also feature races in the Xfinity and Truck Series. The payouts for those fixtures have been fixed at $1,541,418 and $794,039 respectively.
The reason why the Cup Series race in Texas has a higher purse than many of the other events on the schedule goes to the terms of the 2004 Ferko Lawsuit. Pockrass wrote, “It goes back to when Texas initially got a second race as part of the Ferko lawsuit settlement, I believe it had to commit to a higher purse.”
Drivers to watch out for in Sunday’s Cup Series race in Texas
The Cup Series race will be over 267 laps and 400.50 miles. Kurt Busch set the track’s qualifying record (200.915 mph) driving for Stewart Haas Racing in 2017. Greg Biffle set the race record (160.577 mph) driving for RFK Racing in 2012. Hendrick Motorsports star Kyle Larson is the current favorite (+400) to win the race, according to DraftKings Sportsbook. Amongst those next to him are Denny Hamlin (+650) and William Byron (+700).
Larson is currently first on the points table with four top-10 finishes, four top-fives, and one win. He has six top tens, four top fives, and one victory in Texas. He also won the All-Star race in Texas in 2021. Hamlin has already won two races this season and has a strong record in Texas. He has won three races on the track in 33 starts and finished in the top ten 16 times.
Byron is the latest driver to win in Texas (2023). He has five top tens, two top fives, and one victory on it. With three wins in 2024, he is by far the most successful driver this season. The upcoming race will begin at 3:30 p.m. ET on Sunday.
