Daytona 500 purse, payout breakdown: How much prize money will the winner make in 2023?

The first race of the NASCAR Cup Series season is also one of the biggest. The racing world will have its eyes on Daytona International Speedway this weekend as the Daytona 500 opens the campaign in typical grand fashion.

Winning the Daytona 500 brings great prestige. Many of the biggest names in NASCAR history have won the Great American Race. Austin Cindric won last year's race last year at just 23.

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In addition to the bragging rights and media attention that come with a Daytona 500 victory, Cindric likely received a significant sum of money. How much did Cindric win? That isn't publicly known; NASCAR stopped revealing driver earnings in 2016.

However, there are details available about the total purse for the 2023 Daytona 500. Here's what you need to know about how much money is on the line this weekend.

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What is the Daytona 500 purse for 2023?

Fox Sports' Bob Pockrass reported that the total purse for the 2023 Daytona 500 is $26,934,357. 

Purses for Daytona weekend (includes all payouts through the field as well as all per-race charter payouts for Cup and historical performance payouts for Cup):

Daytona 500: $26,934,357

Xfinity: $3,327,595

Trucks: $1,025,847

— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) February 14, 2023

The exact purse totals from the 2021 and 2022 races aren't known, but NASCAR announced a record $23.6 million purse in 2020, before the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

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To show how much the number has increased over the years, the purse for the 2015 Daytona 500 was $18 million.

How much money does a driver get for winning the Daytona 500?

It's next to impossible to know exactly how much the winner of the Daytona 500 will make. Joey Logano came away with $1.58 million in 2015, the last race before NASCAR stopped publicly revealing the figure.

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Pockrass speculated Tuesday the winner will "probably" get somewhere between $1.5 million and $2 million, after factoring in the money that will be allocated to the Cup Series' 36 charter teams. 

no ... probably closer to $1.5-2 million .... but part of the purse is an allocation to charter teams based on past three-year season-ending points performance of the charter. So that would impact how much the winner gets.

— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) February 14, 2023

Between the big payday and the prestige that comes with winning The Great American Race, plenty is on the line this weekend in Daytona International Speedway.

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List of Daytona 500 winners