William Byron addresses driver pay in NASCAR, wants new drivers to ‘demand their value’

NASCAR driver pay is a subject that has come up a few times recently. William Byron has now weighed in on the topic. So, how do Byron and other drivers in the Cup Series, stack up against the Jeff Gordons and Tony Stewarts of old?

On the Kenny Conversation with Kenny Wallace, William Byron talked about driver pay. His Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson brought up the subject with Wallace when he was on the show not long ago.

So, has driver pay fallen even for the stars of the sport?

“No I think that’s mostly false,” Byron said when asked by Kenny Wallace. “It definitely is false for the great drivers, or the guys that are winning races. I think that there’s a, and I heard Kyle [Larson] talk about this, there’s an average and I think that if we get drivers that come in that do race for whatever that number is and just kind of bring everything down; it’s important that we hold that value.

“I think the drivers, we’ve got a council and we’ve got a lot of things going on behind the scenes to make sure that doesn’t happen. But yeah I was definitely concerned about that coming in but the best thing you can do is win races and compete up front and you’re gonna be in line to make what those guys make.

“It’s a performance sport, that will never change. Yeah, definitely the bottom line I guess and the overall average of the series has probably shifted over the last few years, but I think it’s important that when new drivers come in that they demand their value and I think that really kind of establishes it.”