NASCAR Cup Series prize money confirmed for | Sports News

NASCAR has confirmed its prize money for this weekend’s avenue race in Chicago for the Cup Series because the Windy City prepares for its third version since getting into the stock car collection in 2023. Former Supercars champion Shane van Gisbergen gained the inaugural NASCAR race on the streets of Chicago in his Cup debut in 2023, adopted by Alex Bowman the yr after.

This weekend could possibly be NASCAR’s final on the Chicago avenue course. The governing physique has but to decide to 2026 or past regardless of persevering with to discover diversifying its race calendar. NASCAR raced in Mexico City for the primary time final month, and a avenue course could possibly be heading to San Diego in 2026.

The sport can also be persevering with to evaluate more potential worldwide races because it appears to rework the NASCAR panorama. Ahead of NASCAR’s race in Chicago, the prize money for its most important occasion, the Cup Series. The complete prize pool is $11,704,450 for Cup Series groups and open charters. This week, 5 open entries are preventing for spots in Sunday’s 40-car race, however one is set to overlook out as a result of 36 assured slots going to full-time NASCAR charters regardless of qualifying.

One of Corey Heim, Austin Hill, Will Brown, Katherine Legge, or Josh Bilicki will miss Sunday’s Cup Series race. For this weekend’s Cup race within the Windy City, no Open Exemption Provisional (OEP) will probably be out there. As a outcome, even when a high NASCAR star like Joey Logano, Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney, or Kyle Busch information the slowest qualifying lap, they’re going to nonetheless be assured a spot within the race.

Legge, who stepped up her NASCAR profession this yr working a number of races within the Cup and Xfinity Series, is at risk of lacking Sunday’s race ought to she qualify poorly over the weekend. The 44-year-old Brit has confronted important criticism this season over a collection of errors and questionable outcomes.

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Legge is but to interrupt inside the highest 30 in both collection and did not qualify for two Xfinity races in 2025. A superb begin to the Xfinity race in Atlanta final week was scuppered after a Jesse Love-induced wreck ended Legge’s night.

“I feel like I wasn’t expecting them to be wreckin’ on the straightaway,” Legge defined. “My spotter’s awesome. He told me to check up, I checked up, and they were crashing in front of me. They were crashing right in front of me. I got here from behind. I think it was just one of those kinds of superspeedway deals where it takes out a bunch of cars.”

“Unfortunately, I’m gutted because the car was good and I think we would have been on for a good finish,” she added. “Chevy and I were having so much fun out there until then, and I can’t catch a break.”

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Still, Legge stays decided and optimistic. She’s trying ahead to Chicago this weekend.

Yeah, I’m okay. Yeah, I’m actually trying for Chicago. I do love avenue racing,” she continued. “My first race in North America was in Long Beach, and I gained that one. So I’ve a particular place in my coronary heart for avenue racing, and I’m trying ahead to seeing what Chicago is all about as a result of I’ve by no means raced there.”

In Round 2 of the In-Season Challenge, eight drivers will probably be knocked out of rivalry for NASCAR’s $1 million prize. Last week in Atlanta, a number of high stars comparable to Hamlin, Logano, and Blaney have been all KO’d by lower-seeded opponents.