Drivers call for NASCAR to increase $1 million purse for winning All-Star Race

Winning the NASCAR All-Star Race earns you a sweet-looking moonshine still trophy and a $1 million check. The trophy can stay, but several drivers would like to see an increased payout.

The first-place prize has been $1 million since 2003. While there’s no consensus on what the figure should be, Bubba Wallace said earlier this week that if the purse was $3 million, he’d consider racing differently. That would include taking out his good friend, Ryan Blaney.

Denny Hamlin had thoughts, as well. He believes the winner of the All-Star Race should earn more, saying the $1 million prize “doesn’t move the needle very much for me,” per Deb Williams of Autoweek. Hamlin’s comment should come as no surprise based on what he said last month on his “Actions Detrimental” podcast.

At the time, it had been reported that teams had rejected NASCAR’s “Run What You Brung” rules package proposal for North Wilkesboro Speedway. The 23XI Racing co-owner estimated that it would cost teams $2 million to run the outlaw rules package, meaning the investment simply isn’t worth it.

“I’m gonna spend $1 million just on parts and pieces? We haven’t even developed anything yet,” Hamlin said. “So, just in parts and pieces to replace all this sh*t we’re gonna modify, we’re gonna spend a sh*t ton of money. And it only pays $1 million to win. It’s paid $1 million to win for 30 years. It’s not that cool anymore. Even if one of my cars won, I don’t see this as even remotely break-even proposition.”

NASCAR All-Star Race; more than the money?

Yes, the money is the draw of the event. But at the same time, winning the All-Star Race can carry some momentum for the rest of the season. We saw it last year when Joey Logano got to Victory Lane at North Wilkesboro. Logano had surprisingly struggled up until that point in the season. But the results picked up after North Wilkesboro and by the end of the season, Logano was a three-time Cup Series champion.

That paycheck didn’t hurt, either. And if enough drivers speak up, perhaps NASCAR will increase the payout. For now, it’s $1 million. Who will be rich[er] after Sunday night?