標籤: divided

The results of NASCAR’s 2026 All-Star Race at Dover didn’t stop at just the “boring” format. Another debate quickly erupted on social media over the weekend: Is the race still paying enough to feel truly special?

As for the winner, the answer for a lot of fans seems to be ‘no.’

The NASCAR All-Star Race winner still takes home $1 million, the same top prize the event has offered since 2003. And while that number once seemed huge, many fans now feel it no longer matches the scale, money and publicity of modern NASCAR.

Fans feel the “Jackpot” feeling is gone

For years, the All-Star Race has felt like drivers are risking everything for a life-changing test.

But in 2026, many fans feel that edge is gone. Part of this comes from inflation. A $1 million prize in 2003 would be worth about $1.81 million today, meaning the value of the prize has quietly diminished over time.

And after Dover’s chaotic race weekend, fans began to openly question whether NASCAR needed to seriously reconsider pay.

Some argue that if the sport really wants to make the race feel like a major event again then the winner should now get something closer to $5 million.

Especially now that NASCAR is working under a massive television rights deal worth $7.7 billion through 2031.

One fan on Reddit said nostalgically: “This used to be a really huge cash prize, so all the best drivers were tempted to buy a purse you wouldn’t normally see (outside of the Daytona 500). If you want people to do nothing again, make the prize $5 million.”

Now let’s be clear, and put the demonstrative outrage aside: $1 million is a lot of money, no question about it. It’s just putting that figure in context for the fans’ entertainment. The logic behind this is simple: If NASCAR wants drivers to race aggressively in a non-points exhibition full of wreck risks and experimental formats, the reward must also be huge. Because, to put things in perspective, the top NASCAR Cup Series drivers earn base salaries ranging from $5 million to more than $15 million per season.

When you add up race winnings, performance bonuses and sponsorship deals, the total annual earnings of the sport’s biggest stars often exceed $10 million to $17 million annually. So this means that they will not risk any aggressive moves for a race in which they may not get any points.

RELATED: Fans and analysts criticize NASCAR Dover All-Star Race

Not all fans think money solves problems

At the same time, not everyone believes that throwing more money into the race will suddenly solve everything.

Some fans admitted that they don’t care about the millionaire drivers becoming even richer. “I think the novelty of the big prize has also worn off for most people. Why should we care if a millionaire wins more money?”

For them, the issue is more about the breed losing its identity over the years. And to be honest, this feeling continued to emerge after Dover.

A lot of the reaction focused on nostalgia, fans missing when the All-Star Race was simpler, shorter, more aggressive and truly different from a regular Cup Series event.

Instead, many viewers felt that the 2026 edition became overly complicated due to segment changes, inversions, and a format that ran too long.

This is where the division is actually taking place. Some fans believe that a much larger purse, perhaps even $5 million, could bring back excitement and motivate drivers to race harder.

Others think the event has “lost its soul” and that fixing the format makes more sense than raising checks.

The drivers themselves have started taking the conversation forward

Driver fans agree. Bubba Wallace recently said that the $3 million prize would probably change the way drivers race aggressively.

Denny Hamlin also acknowledged that the current payout “doesn’t move the needle the way it once did.” He said: “I’m just going to spend $1 million on parts and pieces? We haven’t developed anything yet,” Hamlin said. “So, to change all these things piecemeal, we’re going to make changes, we’re going to spend a lot of money. And it’s only paid $1 million to win. It’s paid $1 million to win for 30 years. It’s not that good anymore. Even if one of my cars won, I don’t even remotely see it as a break-even proposition.”

And when drivers are also openly and freely saying they want “more” money, it seems like maybe they do.

My love for motorsports began as a child watching races with my family in Tunisia. Fast forward to today… more about Farah Ben Gamra

While many wrestling fans are excited about the idea of ​​top WWE Raw stars Seth Rollins and Gunther facing off at WrestleMania 42, it seems there are some people on the company’s creative team who are not in favor of the booking.

About a month ago, WWE fans didn’t even know if Rollins would be available for this year’s WrestleMania after suffering a serious shoulder injury in October. However, since this year’s Elimination Chamber, The Vision founder has dominated episodes of Monday Night Raw as he continues to get revenge on his former faction.

Due to this, there is a lot of speculation about who he will face in this month’s mega event. Recent reports have revealed that if he can recover from the hernia in time, the man who took him out of The Vision will be Braun Breaker. However, the creative has taken an unexpected turn this week, and instead, we’ll get Rollins vs. Gunther at ‘Mania after “The Career Killer” attacks “The Visionary” on Monday’s show.

Gunther vs. Seth Rollins was finalized for WrestleMania 42 last week

This matchup is unexpected, but on paper, it could be a complete show stealer, and it marks the first time that the two will face off in the ring. However, it seems that not everyone on the creative team agreed with this decision.

According to a new edition of Wrestle Votes Radio, the choice of Gunther as Rollins’ foe was finalized just last week. Furthermore, he revealed that some people on the creative team were strongly against the decision. Paul Heyman and the rest of The Vision are preferring to go all-out in the war against anyone who can compete.

The report states that Breaker is close to approval and on track to be available for the show. However, another major reason to make the bout is to make sure Gunther was on the card after being heavily pushed by the company over the past six months.

Hopefully Heyman will still be involved in the story, even if Gunther is no longer involved with The Vision.

After earning a journalism degree in 2017, Jason Burgos worked as a contributor to several sites, including MMA Sacca… More about Jason Burgos