With the sponsors paying the bills, NASCAR has expanded its outreach significantly since the early 2000s. The teams could not have afforded to stay in the game, had the sponsors not funded them. But it works both ways. Even NASCAR benefits from the fame of individuals who have promoted the sport through various personal and collective endeavors. Take NASCAR veterans like Dale Earnhardt Jr and Denny Hamlin, for example. Their podcasts serve as driver-specific digital content that popularizes the already popular sport in America and outside. Besides, there are ventures like Trackhouse‘s Project91 that intend to bring drivers from other countries and racing federations under the umbrella of NASCAR. This ensures notable international outreach as well.

NASCAR realizes the value of its drivers. And so, the organization is turning its attention toward the welfare of the drivers by coming up with a million-dollar initiative, that is expected to start in 2025.

NASCAR puts the emphasis back on the drivers

Without its drivers, NASCAR is like a warrior without his sword. Hence, NASCAR is ready to invest a hefty amount of money to acknowledge the contributions of its most popular faces towards the sport. Although the details of the statement are not clear, according to The Daytona Beach News Journal, NASCAR wants to reward the sport’s leading spokespeople for promoting it more.

How will they determine the sum of money for each driver, one may ask? Or, what would make a driver eligible to receive this incentive? Is there a specific payment method or channel for transferring the money? Unfortunately, none of these questions can be answered yet as this is only a leaked piece of information. An interesting fact to consider: this coincides with the new deal with CW for media coverage of the Xfinity races.

Rumors say this undertaking will flaunt a potential annual figure of $20 million. Although the method is still uncertain, some say it would be based on their ranks and service performed, and at the end of the season, the money will be paid out. While few drivers make considerable money off sponsorships, there are others who make a lot lesser. This new plan could give a chance to these drivers to earn better figures.

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Top 3 drivers who have promoted NASCAR to great heights

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Richard Childress

Although Richard Childress was not very famous as a racer himself, he earned his own share of fame as a NASCAR team owner. With Dale Earnhardt as his driver, Childress won the NASCAR Winston Cup Championship in 1986, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1993, and 1994. The chemistry that he had with the “intimidator”, the sponsorships, the team operation, and the top-notch quality equipment that they used, all set his team Richard Childress Racing apart from any other team during his winning years with Dale Earnhardt.

Childress is still a driving force in NASCAR and houses talented drivers like Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, and Austin Dillon.

Dale Earnhardt

Dale Earnhardt, better remembered as the mustached stout man, wearing a pair of black sunglasses, was one of the most popular names in the arena of NASCAR. Earnhardt was the only driver in NASCAR history to win a championship right after they named him the “Rookie of the Year”. One of his famous quotes is, “The winner ain’t the one with the fastest car, it’s the one who refuses to lose.”

He was extremely intimidating on the tracks and, as the fans loved watching him wrecking in like a hurricane and pushing the cars that he drove, to their fullest limits, his fellow drivers were always annoyed with him. He was inducted into the first class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

Earnhardt lost his life to a gruesome crash in the year 2001 at Daytona International Speedway during the final lap. The void left behind when he died has not been filled since.

Richard Petty

Richard “The King” Petty won 7 National and Winston Cup Championships and is the only driver to this day, to have won 200 races in NASCAR’s top-tier racing series. Over the span of 35 years, Petty ran 1,184 races.

Besides being the legendary driver and team owner, Richard Petty has also been a great PR representative for NASCAR. He is known to be one of the most fan-friendly drivers, in spite of how famous he was. On May 23, 2010, he was also inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

Do you agree with our list? Is there anyone else who you think has catered to the fame game of NASCAR? Let us know in the comments below!

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