The upcoming Cup Series race at Watkins Glen International is the second race of the playoffs. Joey Logano locked himself into the second round after winning at Atlanta last Sunday and another driver will get the chance to do so on the 2.54-mile road course. The venue hosts a playoff race for the first time in its storied history and brings forward attractive monetary prizes to match the occasion.
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Fox Sports’ Bob Pockrass reported through his X handle that the purse size for the 2024 Go Bowling At The Glen will be $7,572,831. This figure includes the payouts for the finishing position, year-end points-fund contribution, contingency awards, historical performance, etc. It is also a slight increase from the $7,154,312 that was given out to be shared by the top performers in 2023.
Purse for Watkins Glen including all payouts, all positions. Includes contribution to year-end points fund, contingency awards and all charter payouts for racing and historical performance, etc.:
Cup: $7,572,831
Xfinity: $1,312,465
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) September 11, 2024
Although the purse for these events isn’t as lucrative as for events like the Daytona 500 or the Coca-Cola 600, they serve a huge role in keeping the lights of many team race shops on. William Byron took home the largest piece of the pie last year after winning in late August. The stakes will be a bit taller this time considering that a Round of 12 position is to be gained.
A step below, in the Xfinity Series, the purse will be $1,312,465. This again is an increase from the $1,257,045 that was given out last time. Sam Mayer won that event to take home the biggest share of it. The coming race will be an important fixture for the second tier since it’s the penultimate race of its regular season. Justin Allgaier currently leads the points table.
Watkins Glen track changes will be a tough challenge for drivers
Drivers and teams will be facing a lot of unknowns this weekend. Goodyear is experimenting with a new high fall-off tire compound and multiple changes have been made to the racing surface to improve safety. This duo is bound to make conquering the road course a daunting task.
Logano explained, “Watkins Glen isn’t the typical Watkins Glen that we’ve seen in the past. They’ve changed some things to the track.” The changes he talked of are the rumble strips that have been added to certain points to prevent drivers from dropping outside the curb. The curbing in the Inner Loop has been changed as well for safety reasons.
He continued, “The cars will want something different from a setup perspective and they’re also changing the tire, too. It sounds like there will be a lot more tire wear, so there are a lot of unknowns for sure.” It will only be after practice and qualifying that drivers will get an idea of what they are in for on Sunday.
