Full purse for NASCAR Cup Series race at Phoenix revealed

The NASCAR season is beginning to hit full swing, now going into the fourth race of the season. And the purse for the weekend at Phoenix has been revealed.

According to Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports, the Cup Series will pay out $11,055,250, with all charter payouts based on participation and historical performance. The Xfinity Series will pay out $1,651,939.

So while not the biggest purse on the circuit, the Cup Series take-home will be quite large for many teams. Enough to amp up the intensity quite a bit.

But who might come out on top at Phoenix? The annual course has usually offered a varied diet of drivers capable of winning.

Earlier this week, Kevin Harvick picked his winner for Phoenix while recording the Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour podcast. Two of his co-hosts also made race winner picks.

“I’m going to stick with (Christopher) Bell,” Harvick said. “I just think they’re on a heater right now and I think they’ve been rolling through pretty well. When you have the confidence in a guy like Bell, I think that that just keeps building and I think that continuity between the team is going to go a long ways for them to start the season.”

Bell’s win at COTA was his second of the season, following a win the week before at Atlanta. He’s on a heater right now.

Going back-to-back this early in the season — the first three weeks — hasn’t happened since 2018, when Harvick won at Atlanta and Las Vegas back-to-back.

Securing a third straight win at Phoenix would send a serious message to the NASCAR field. Christopher Bell is here to win it all.

But there’s a long way to go before that becomes a reality. Who else might be a contender to win this week?

Harvick’s co-hosts Kaitlyn Vincie and Mamba Smith picked William Byron and Kyle Larson, respectively. You can view their reasoning for the picks at Phoenix here.