NASCAR question

[LRCW]

OK, I'll admit that I'm really not a NASCAR fan, but Dale Earnhardt Jr. leaving DEI got me to thinking about how things work in NASCAR. I know there are several teams in NASCAR. When drivers sign with a team, do they sign a contract for guaranteed money, pretty much like all the major sports? When a driver wins races, does the owner of the team get the winnings from the race? I'm just wondering how all of that works because I have no idea.

[5wide]

OK, I'll admit that I'm really not a NASCAR fan, but Dale Earnhardt Jr. leaving DEI got me to thinking about how things work in NASCAR. I know there are several teams in NASCAR. When drivers sign with a team, do they sign a contract for guaranteed money, pretty much like all the major sports? When a driver wins races, does the owner of the team get the winnings from the race? I'm just wondering how all of that works because I have no idea.

I'm not sure either, but I did see something in the newspaper the other day that said Dale Jr. made $21 million per year ($1 million more than Jeff Gordon) making him NASCAR's highest paid driver.

That sounds like to me that the driver has a guaranteed contract with his team. I don't know if the team gets the rest of the money, or if the driver can get a percentage of the winnings or what...I guess they could structure the contracts in different ways. Also, I'm not sure about merchandise sells and sponsorship...for example, how much, if any, does Dale Jr. get from his merchandise sells, and does he get paid money from Budweiser, or does the team get it?

It would be interesting to know how the money shakes out in NASCAR.

[Pat Dad]

The driver signs so much with a team. Then the sponsors throws in some money. Drivers earn money based on where they place and how much a sponsor gives to sponsor a race. Such as Golden Corral or Goody's. Also, each sponsor on the racer's car may give a bonus as well, depending on where they finish. That's why you may see one driver with more award money than another, even though, they finished lower. And, they do get a percentage of the money made threw merchandise sells.

[Da champ]

That 21 million that Jr. earned was endorsements and everything. Most drivers sign a contract with a salary plus percentage of there winnings. What will happen is when the bidding starts for Dale Jr. Drivers like Gordon, Stewart and Kenseth will also see there potential earnings increase.

[5wide]

That 21 million that Jr. earned was endorsements and everything. Most drivers sign a contract with a salary plus percentage of there winnings. What will happen is when the bidding starts for Dale Jr. Drivers like Gordon, Stewart and Kenseth will also see there potential earnings increase.

Yeah, I see this as a huge moment in NASCAR history...similar to in other sports (football, baseball, basketball) when free agency began and salaries started escalating. Guys started to realize that they could drive up their price by starting a bidding war for their services. This could be the moment that gets a similar scenario rolling for NASCAR. And it could really take off if NASCAR makes the cars more equal with the new "Car of Tomorrow"...it would make other teams more competitive...right now, drivers may hesitate to sign with a lesser team because they know they wouldn't be able to compete, but if they level the playing field, then it would really open things up.

[Pat Dad]

That 21 million that Jr. earned was endorsements and everything. Most drivers sign a contract with a salary plus percentage of there winnings. What will happen is when the bidding starts for Dale Jr. Drivers like Gordon, Stewart and Kenseth will also see there potential earnings increase.

You explained it much better than I. :thumb:

[leo42171]

The driver contracts vary tremendously from team to team. Roush / Fenway Racing split all of the winnings from each race between all of the teams. Some of the small independent teams with a part time schedule split the winnings 50/50 with the driver. Some of the drivers, like Mark Martin, give the pit crew a portion of his winnings. The other thing is that NASCAR treats each driver as an independent contractor. The drivers don’t receive any benefits from NASCAR like insurance, pension etc. I think this Dale Jr. thing is going to create some changes in the way owners pay their drivers and it may not necessarily be a good thing for most drivers.

[Superfan]

Drivers get basically 2 types of payment per race:
1. so much per race
2. % of winnings

These can fluctuate depending on team & driver preferences.