NASCAR: Sprint Cup champion's prize halved

This year's Sprint Cup champion will bring home a bonus that's much less than last year's champion, ESPN reports.

As part of the new charter system, NASCAR and the team owners' Race Team Alliance agreed to pay less to the champion so prize money could be spread throughout the top 25 drivers and teams. Last year's champion was due about $4.7 million out of the $21.765m overall point fund; this year's champion will take home less than half that amount, ESPN reports (Kyle Busch wound up with less in 2015 because he missed 11 races due to injury).

Last year's runner-up Kevin Harvick was paid $2.1 million, third-place Jeff Gordon earned $1.58 million, and seventh on back earned less than a million.

"The champion should get his level of money and then [Nos.] 2 through 4 should get his level of money and then each Chase [elimination] bracket should get their level of money," Busch said. "What they tried to do is they tried to even it out from first all the way back to last in order to make the sport more sustainable for everybody.

"When you're the driver and not the owner and you're taking home a percentage of that, that hurts you really bad. It was done through the RTA. It wasn't done through the driver council. So we had no absolutely no say in it so that's why it's the way that it is."

"I think it is a million and a half to win a Cup," Chase finalist and six-time champion Jimmie Johnson said. "The last time I stood on stage, it was 7 and a half. It's a huge change."

Sources told ESPN the 2016 bonus for the championship team is closer to $2 million; in 2013, the champion bonus for Johnson's team was $5.2 million with driver and team's total earnings of $14.66 million. Johnson and his team earned a $7.225 million champion bonus in 2008.

While not entirely happy with the new bonus system, Busch said it ultimately wasn't about the money.

"You do want to get paid for what you do," he said. "You want to get paid well if you're better at what you do. It all comes down to taking home trophies."