The biggest buzz at every Million Dollar Drag Race? What’s the big split! At this year’s 30th Annual Mickey Thompson event-the OG Million-racers in the final rounds, sometimes twenty-plus cars, huddle to hash out the purse.
They figure out what’s in play, from winner to the last-place finisher, then structure payouts moving forward.
For those that don’t know, “the Million” is a prestigious Bracket Race, over 30 years old.
Picture this: losers snag ten thousand, maybe thirteen thousand, while the champ takes home a chunk-think hundred fifty thousand or more, depending on the pot.
It keeps things fair, tense, and tradition alive. Fans love speculating-who walks away rich?
This year, 2025 at World Wide Technology Raceway, with a record entry count of 524, the winner was set to win $750,000. The total purse was actually over 1 MILLION DOLLARS! The $750K was set just for the winner!
The racers decided that the “big split” would happen at 26 cars this year. They “cut it up” to ensure everyone took home a big piece of the pie.
After the racers hashed out in a physical boxing ring what the payout would be, this was the final split:
2025 “Big Split Details”
Losing at 26 Cars: $10,000
Losing at 13 Cars: $20,000
Quarter Final Finish (7 cars): $40,000
Semi-Finalists: $75,000
Remaining purse for the finalists to split; $378,000
Chad Spradlin went on to win the biggest Million Dollar Race in history, defeating Jayden Lawler in the final round.
Robert Murphy and Michael Pennington were the semifinalists. Stephen McCrory, Chuck Ridenour, and the 2024 Million Dollar Race winner Bart Nelson were the quarterfinalists.
