The NASCAR Cup Series and Xfinity Series are like two peas in a pod, but with a twist: Xfinity is the small fish in the pond, while the Cup is the big cheese. Xfinity revs up on Saturdays, while the Cup takes the stage on Sundays. On top of that, Cup drivers can choose to dabble in Xfinity races, with some rules set in place, but the reverse is a no-go. Drivers need to check all the boxes to qualify for the prestigious Cup Series. But here’s the burning question: Why do the two series’ drivers get treated differently, even though they’re almost cut from the same cloth?

Dale Earnhardt Jr himself seems to have shed some light on this conundrum on his podcast.

Is it a disparity or a mere misunderstanding? Dale Earnhardt Jr explains

In the land of New Hampshire, a tale unfolded involving the Xfinity and Cup Series races. The original plan was for Xfinity to rock the track on Saturday while the Cup Series was supposed to dominate on Sunday morning. However, mother nature had other plans, as the Cup Series drivers were forced to dance to a different tune after the race got rescheduled for a Monday. The weather gods had planned a downpour of heavy rain all day, you see. 

But the twist: Even on Saturday, the forecast simply whispered of mostly cloudy skies with a mere 24% chance of rain at the race start. There were whispers of scattered thunderstorms creeping in later, at 4 p.m. ET. Despite these rumblings, the Xfinity race carried on as planned, leaving the drivers to navigate the same challenging weather. Doesn’t that strike as an unfair treatment between the two series’ drivers?

This very question was raised by none other than Dale Earnhardt Jr. himself on his thought-provoking podcast. He boldly asked, “Why are they so privileged?”

Dale Jr. went on to illustrate his point with a vivid example, comparing the windscreen wipers on NASCAR and Xfinity cars. He chuckled as he revealed, “They come to the race track; I mean, how many races do we watch and go around in the freaking dry, where these ridiculously large windshield wipers that are really large for only one reason because it’s an aero advantage?”

“I took a picture, the windshield wipers that you see on the cup cars. There are big bars; it’s built that way because it’s an aero advantage to have it on there. It’s a big triplet, and where it is, like what angle it’s at, the intentional angle. I thought it’s so funny because I went to the Xfinity garage and I went to one of the smaller teams and I took a picture of their windscreen wiper; it’s the same damn thing that’s on your car and my car [common road cars].”

Dale Jr. wasn’t pulling any punches, using this quirky example to highlight the disparities between how Cup and Xfinity drivers are treated. But, he didn’t stop there. He dived deep into the mysterious world of discrepancies in the treatment of Cup and Xfinity drivers.

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In the high-octane world of stock car racing, the Cup Series reigns supreme, drawing in a massive fan base. However, let’s face the music: even the lower tiers like Xfinity, Craftsman Truck, and Arca Menards heavily rely on sponsorship money to keep their wheels turning. These teams and organizations depend on millions of dollars, but the hard truth is that the Cup Series gets the big bucks, leaving the lower formats to scrape up the leftovers.

In Chicago, the Cup Series boasted a whopping $7.5 million prize pool, divvied up among 37 drivers. The winner takes the lion’s share, while the rest of the drivers share the remaining crumbs based on their finishing positions. Meanwhile, the purse for the Xfinity race on the same track and weekend was a far cry from the Cup Series.

Xfinity driver Tommy Joe Martins didn’t mince words as he took to his Twitter profile, pointing out the vast difference. According to Bob Pockrass, the Xfinity purse was a modest $1.6 million, encompassing all payouts, performance bonuses, and year-end contributions to the points fund. 

So, it’s not just the treatment on the track that reveals disparity; the paycheck gap is glaringly apparent too. When Tommy Joe Martins raised this issue, even NASCAR fans expressed their disappointment. We can only hope that NASCAR authorities take notice and strive for improvement. Otherwise, it won’t be long before fans start nitpicking these differences, resulting in their disillusionment and NASCAR’s own embarrassment.

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