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Winning NASCAR’s most prestigious race, the Daytona 500, comes with a pretty penny. The purse for the Daytona 500 has increased for the fourth consecutive year, with the 2026 total set at $31,045,575, per FOX Sports’ Bob Pockrass. That’s the largest in the 67-year history of The Great American Race and over a $700,000 increase from last year’s figure ($30,331,250 in 2025). [2026 Daytona 500: Live Updates, Leaderboard] It remains unclear how much the winner of the event receives from the overall purse, as NASCAR doesn’t disclose the exact amount allotted to drivers. The last time NASCAR disclosed the winner’s prize was in 2015, when Joey Logano captured the win and $1.58 million, per Yahoo Sports. However, some recent court documents have shed light on what the possible base payouts could be. The Daytona 500 winner will take 5.160% of the purse, which would total $1,601,950 this year, according to Racing News. Pockrass previously reported in 2023 that Dayonta 500 winners received between $1.5 million and $2 million. The overall purse for the Daytona 500 has jumped more than $13 million since 2015, when it was just $18 million.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

The 2026 Daytona 500 was relatively smooth-sailing through the first 123 laps, with the yellow caution flag only making three appearances in that span. But on Lap 124, “The Big One” arrived. A major 20-car wreck occurred at the front of the race on Lap 124 of Sunday’s race. The crash occurred after Denny Hamlin made an aggressive attempt to try and pass leader Justin Allgaier on Turn 4. Allgaier, who was in the No. 40 JR Motorsports Chevrolet, was way out front of Hamlin, with Ryan Blaney on the outside and Bubba Wallace on the inside. The outside lane appeared to have momentum, and Blaney in the No. 12 Team Penske Ford gave Hamlin in the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota a bump. Hamlin had a path to take the lead, but Allgaier threw what FOX Sports’ Clint Bowyer called a “lazy” block. Hamlin hit Allgaier, and both cars turned toward the inside of the track and collected a huge chunk of the field. [FULL RACE COVERAGE: Daytona 500 Live Updates, Leaderboard] The wreck allowed Wallace to sneak ahead and take the lead as he somehow went unscathed through the wreck. The caution continued through the end of Stage 2, giving Wallace the stage victory. The green flag emerged again on Lap 136. Allgaier, Alex Bowman and Todd Gilliland’s days came to an end as a result of the crash. They were tended to in the infield care center and were quickly released. Hamlin had no exterior damage, but his car was having radio issues following the wreck. Here’s a look at all 20 cars involved during Sunday’s “The Big One” at the Daytona 500: And here are some other angles of how “The Big One” went down at Sunday’s race:​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports