The 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season might have ended in 2024 but the stock car racing fraternity seems to be showing no signs of slowing down around their sport of choice. Leading up to the 2025 Daytona 500 during the offseason, there have been several instances where fans have been riled up to raise their voices against the governing body, another one of which came recently courtesy of former spotter Brett Griffin.
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The spotter-turned-media personality took to X (formerly Twitter) to give his opinion on how much drivers in the modern day and age of the sport earn.
Quoting another tweet that highlighted American college football coach Brent Venables and his worth as a commodity, Griffin wrote, “And we have NASCAR drivers running the Daytona 500 and making zero. I didn’t stutter. 2008 guys made more than 2024 guys will make as a whole. Insane.”
And we have NASCAR drivers running the Daytona 500 and making zero. I didn’t stutter.
2008 guys made more than 2024 guys will make as a whole. Insane. https://t.co/5cpOCtr565
— Brett Griffin (@SpotterBrett) December 27, 2024
Highlighting the earnings for drivers who finish in the lower ranks during the sport’s crown jewel season-opener, he elaborated how finishing only above a certain position gives drivers a share of the prize money, which is often the case for other NASCAR events as well. Fans of the fraternity did not take kindly to this eye-opening factoid and replied in typical fashion.
“BUT the purse is more than double where’s it go,” wrote one fan, questioning who gets the prize money at the end of an event. “In the meantime, I wonder what the increase has been in NASCAR revenue and profit over the same time frame,” opined another, looking at the governance’s rising profits amid stagnant driver and team cuts.
No wonder they drive so wild when it’s crunch time.
— Splash (‘N Go) (@4stickers) December 27, 2024
“Hope the teams destroy NASCAR in court,” exclaimed one fan, referencing how 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports have decided to take matters to court on a charter disagreement. “This is why nascar has to lose the lawsuit,” rounded out yet another follower, giving his take on the preferred outcome.
“Fans Think Drivers Get Paid a Ton of Crazy Money”
Hendrick Motorsports full-timer Alex Bowman also opened up on misconceptions surrounding driver salaries in the sport. The #48 Chevrolet Camaro driver opined in an interview from October this year, saying,
“The fans think the drivers all get paid a ton of crazy money, which largely went away in the last 10 or 15 years. This side of the sport is quite a bit different than what the fans think at times.”
A prime example of the same driver worth came in the form of the largely public sourness between longtime driver-team combination Kyle Busch and Joe Gibbs Racing.
Busch was let go from the organization owing to a sponsorship retreat, which in turn meant a championship-winning driver’s salary became too much for the team to ultimately bear.
It remains to be seen if the notion can be changed going forward, with the first step due to come in the form of the outcome of the charter lawsuit.
