NASCAR Cook Out Southern 500 Prize Money: How much is the winner expected to make at Darlington Raceway in 2025?

After the regular season finale Daytona race, the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season heads next to the Darlington Raceway for the Cook Out Southern 500. The season’s first playoff race is expected to be full of exciting action.

The Next Gen car will run for the eighth time at the Darlington Raceway. All drivers taking the field will be racing to win Sunday’s (August 31) 367-lap race and a big cash prize at the 1.366-mile-long track.

The winner of the Cook Out Southern 500 will receive a huge monetary reward. In 2025, the Darlington playoff race boasts a total prize pool of $10,447,135. According to NASCAR journalist Bob Pockrass, the 2025 Cook Out Southern 500 winner will likely receive between eight and 10 percent of the total purse.

According to this assumption, this year’s Cook Out Southern 500 winner at Darlington Raceway will likely receive eight to ten percent of the overall prize money of $10,447,135, which means a check of around $835,771 and $1,044,714.

Live action of the 2025 Darlington playoff Cup Series race will be broadcast on NBC Sports and MRN on Saturday at 6 p.m. ET.

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What is the prize money for the Cook Out Southern 500 2025?

All 38 drivers participating in NASCAR’s top-tier series will compete for monetary incentives this weekend in Darlington, South Carolina.

Renowned NASCAR journalist Bob Pockrass posted on X the total prize pool that will be up for grabs this weekend in Darlington, South Carolina. He wrote:

“Purses for Darlington and Portland with all payouts, all positions and contingency awards, year-end pts fund contributions, etc; for Cup includes all charter payouts. Cup (Darlington): $10,447,135 Xfinity (Portland): $1,651,939 Trucks (Darlington): $$782,900”

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Explore the 2025 Darlington playoff NASCAR Cup Series payout per position

After deducting the winner's money from the total prize money of $10,447,135, the remaining amount will be divided among the charter teams, based on their finishing positions in the race, charter status, etc.

With the start of the charter system in NASCAR, individual payouts per finishing position are no longer published.

NASCAR Cup Series action begins with practice and qualifying on Saturday, August 30, at 9 am ET and 10:10 am ET, followed by the Cook Out Southern 500 main event on Sunday. Practice and qualifying races at Darlington can be watched on truTV.

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List of NASCAR Darlington playoff race winners

Years – Driver

1. 1950: Johnny Mantz
2. 1951: Herb Thomas
3. 1952: Fonty Flock
4. 1953: Buck Baker
5. 1954: Herb Thomas
6. 1955: Herb Thomas
7. 1956: Curtis Turner
8. 1957: Speedy Thompson
9. 1958: Fireball Roberts
10. 1959: Jim Reed
11. 1960: Buck Baker
12. 1961: Nelson Stacy
13. 1962: Larry Frank
14. 1963: Fireball Roberts
15. 1964: Buck Baker
16. 1965: Ned Jarrett
17. 1966: Darel Dieringer
18. 1967: Richard Petty
19. 1968: Cale Yarborough
20. 1969: LeeRoy Yarbrough
21. 1970: Buddy Baker
22. 1971: Bobby Allison
23. 1972: Bobby Allison
24. 1973: Cale Yarborough
25. 1974: Cale Yarborough
26. 1975: Bobby Allison
27. 1976: David Pearson
28. 1977: David Pearson
29. 1978: Cale Yarborough
30. 1979: David Pearson
31. 1980: Terry Labonte
32. 1981: Neil Bonnett
33. 1982: Cale Yarborough
34. 1983: Bobby Allison
35. 1984: Harry Gant
36. 1985: Bill Elliott*
37. 1986: Tim Richmond
38. 1987: Dale Earnhardt
39. 1988: Bill Elliott
40. 1989: Dale Earnhardt
41. 1990: Dale Earnhardt
42. 1991: Harry Gant
43. 1992: Darrell Waltrip
44. 1993: Mark Martin
45. 1994: Bill Elliott
46. 1995: Jeff Gordon
47. 1996: Jeff Gordon
48. 1997: Jeff Gordon*
49. 1998: Jeff Gordon
50. 1999: Jeff Burton
51. 2000: Bobby Labonte
52. 2001: Ward Burton
53. 2002: Jeff Gordon
54. 2003: Terry Labonte
55. 2004*: Jimmie Johnson
56. 2005: Greg Biffle
57. 2006: Greg Biffle
58. 2007: Jeff Gordon
59. 2008: Kyle Busch
60. 2009: Mark Martin
61. 2010: Denny Hamlin
62. 2011: Regan Smith
63. 2012: Jimmie Johnson
64. 2013: Matt Kenseth
65. 2014: Kevin Harvick
66. 2015: Carl Edwards
67. 2016: Martin Truex Jr.
68. 2017: Denny Hamlin
69. 2018: Brad Keselowski
70. 2019: Erik Jones
71. 2020: Kevin Harvick
72. 2021: Denny Hamlin
73. 2022: Erik Jones
74. 2023: Kyle Larson
75. 2024: Chase Briscoe