Daytona International Speedway has sold out the grandstands; Record payout; United States President will be there
Today, the NASCAR Cup Series will open their 2020 racing season. The green flag will drop at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr is with a new team for 2020. He has something to prove and will be starting for the pole position. Alex Bowman will be starting from the outside pole.
What are they fighting for?
The race winner will be locked into the 2020 playoffs, only a single race into the new season. Beyond that, there’s a whole bunch of money on the line.
Years ago, it appeared that NASCAR was in a downward trend. Though, it’s hard to argue that’s still the direction of the sport, as records will be broken in the season opener this weekend.
What’s the 2020 Daytona 500 purse?
Drivers will race for a record $23.6 million in the 2020 Daytona 500.
You know it’s significant when the track releases that information. Why? Because tracks never do that. Team charter agreements with NASCAR prevent the series from releasing driver earning information.
So, for a track to release that, you know it has to be really good news.
The Daytona 500 event has run since 1959. Lee Petty won the first Daytona 500 in front of a crowd of 42,000. He took home $20,000 for his efforts.
How does the 2020 purse compare to previous seasons?
That part is hard to tell because typically, this information isn’t released in recent seasons. We do know that the 2015 Daytona 500 purse was $18,042,556, for comparison.
How much does the 2020 Daytona 500 pay to win?
Again, that part is set unclear. NASCAR stopped releasing driver earnings several years ago. However, we do know this 2020 race pays about $250,000, if you finish last.
We do not know the percentage of the winners share for the 2020 event. We only know the total purse for certain.
But, it’s within reason to think the previous percentage base would continue to be in that ballpark for 2020.
So, Joey Logano received roughly 11% of the purse for his Daytona 500 win in 2015. If that trend were to continue into 2020 then the winners share would be around $2.2 million this Sunday.
Chip Wile
Daytona International Speedway has sold-out the grandstands. 100,000+ race fans will be there in person for the NASCAR season opener at the 2.5-mile oval.
Oh and by the way, one of those in attendance will be the U.S. President. The campground at Daytona has been filled with cardboard cutouts of Donald Trump, ever since the announcement.
As they should be, NASCAR fans are excited to see the president at the stock car racing event.
“The DAYTONA 500 is more than just the season-opening race,” said Chip Wile, President of Daytona International Speedway.
“It’s a life-changing event for the winner, whose name will join the legends of this sport. Fans will pack the state-of-the-art motorsports venue, and millions will watch on television.”
“And the reason is simple: The DAYTONA 500 is one of the premier events in all of sports, and now has the richest purse in history,” Wile concluded.