DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The Daytona 500 is more than just the biggest and most prestigious race in NASCAR. It’s also the richest.

For as long as the Daytona 500 has been stock car racing’s pre-eminent event, it has also boasted a very rich purse throughout the field. And this year, the prize purse for The Great American Race is once again the richest it has ever been.

As shared by Fox Sports, the total purse for the 2025 Daytona 500 is a whopping $30,331,250, with that number encompassing the total prize pool available to the 40 car field. This new record, surpassing the previous year’s total of over $28 million, marks the first time the Daytona 500 purse has crossed the $30 million threshold.

To illustrate how impressive that amount is, consider the prize funds for the two support races in NASCAR’s other national series: the Xfinity Series is set to pay out $3,762,952 and the Craftsman Truck Series $1,262,900 to their respective fields.

Reflecting on the historical context, the inaugural Daytona 500 in 1959, won by Lee Petty, provided a prize of $53,050, setting the race as NASCAR’s premier event. When CBS Sports first broadcast the entire Daytona 500 live in 1979, the purse was $538,330, crossing into the million-dollar mark for the first time in 1985.

The driver in pole position for the lion’s share of that purse is Chase Briscoe, who posted the fastest qualifying time on Wednesday. It is his first time at the pole for the Great American Race and the first pole for a Toyota at the Daytona 500.

“A great way to start our season. Unbelievable way to start off the year. Unbelievable way to start off with Toyota,” Briscoe remarked after clinching the pole. “To think I’m going to start on the front row at the Great American Race with one of the great American brands is unbelievable. I can’t thank Coach Gibbs enough and the entire Joe Gibbs Racing team.”