Is the purse the same or has it been reduced?

Not sure the word "reduced" begins to cover it. It has been dropped to $7,500 to win Saturday night.

Didn't that race used to pay 10 or 20 thousand to the winner on the final night?

I believe it was 20 very recently, potentially even last year, but I could be wrong.

The purse has definitely been reduced.

Last year, the 24 car purse was $77,900, with...
1st $25,000
2nd $15,000
3rd $10,000
4th $2500
...
24th $1000

2019, the 24 car purse is $40,340...
1st $7500
2nd $3500
3rd $2000
...
24th $1000

Note, the Thur and Fri purse is unchanged, which are the standard 5k to win USAC purse ($22,450 for 24 cars).

Bill
SprintCarRatings.com

Glad to see someone finally noticed this took place and I do not blame Perris Speedway one bit for doing this. Everyone can thank the wonderful leadership at the Usac home office for killing another high paying event what little there was of these to start with.

Did the race in AZ have an increase in purse since it’s now the season’s concluding race, or did it remain the same?

Have not seen the purse for this years 'Western World Championships' at Arizona Speedway.

But last year (2018), the 24 car purse was $28,300...
1st $7500
2nd $3500
3rd $2000
4th $1000
...
24th $600


Bill
SprintCarRatings.com

Wow. Is there a story behind this, or is it simply economics?

I used to travel a lot more than these days; the last time I made it out to Perris was 2005. Back then, the Oval Nationals paid $30,000 to win with a $100,000 purse. And it was like that each of the 3 years I went. Also back then it was a major sprint car event with drivers coming from a myriad of series to compete- Jac Haudenschild, Brent Kaeding, Travis Rilat, Peter Murphy and many others shed the wing for this event. Now? It seems to be just another USAC race, although a prestigious one, and includes the CRA guys as well (although the left coasters just aren't very competitive as they once were).

So, what gives? Is racing dying in SoCal? Is extreme specialization within the sport of sprint car racing killing the event? Are the fans simply tired of being milked to the last drop by the fair board? I don't have a clue, but it's very sad to hear how things seem to be taking a bad turn. I'd love to hear anyone's input.

This isn't the first time it was high and got reduced. I believe All Coast Construction put a ton of $$$ behind it the last couple years.

Maybe you know a lot more than I but without sponsor $$$ whats a track to do to keep the purse that high? Charge $80 a person?