2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson has spilled the beans on how much the salary of Cup Series drivers has dropped. He pointed out that some of the current top racers on the Cup garage aren’t making the same salary and other incentives as the top racers in the premier dirt series in the US.
In his recent appearance on the Kenny Conversation, a podcast hosted by NASCAR legend Kenny Wallace, Larson discussed the drop in NASCAR’s earnings. He pointed out that the top drivers of the current generations aren’t earning half of what the legends of the sport, Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordan, used to earn.
He then pointed out that half of the NASCAR Cup grid, which comprises 18 full-time drivers, might need to make the amount of money that the top 4 World of Outlaws drivers make a year. Larson believes such small earnings by the top-tier stock car racing drivers are crazy but admitted that it is what it is.
I bet you the top 4 drivers in the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series are making more money than a third to half of the Cup Series guys. Probably half of the Cup Series guys. That’s pretty crazy to think about. But, everybody chooses their own route, I guess. Kyle Larson said vis the Kenny Conversations (H&T: Racing News).
The NASCAR revenue-sharing model might be a reason for this drop
NASCAR has witnessed a massive drop in its popularity in the 2020s compared to the first decade of the century. So, it is no surprise that the top earners of the current grid aren’t saying the same amount of incentives are coming in as they used to.
The NASCAR Revenue Sharing model, a.k.a. the Charter system, might be a reason for this. NASCAR race tracks get 60% of the total earnings while the teams only get 25%, and as the popularity decreased, this amount came down dramatically.
The drop in popularity also cost the teams lucrative sponsorship deals and funding they used to get abundantly. So, the drying up of sponsorship money made teams cut costs, and the veteran racers had to have salary deductions to continue racing in the top tier.
More must-reads: