{"id":4049,"date":"2022-04-24T14:00:58","date_gmt":"2022-04-24T14:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/motorracingsports.com\/?p=4049"},"modified":"2022-10-15T06:53:05","modified_gmt":"2022-10-15T06:53:05","slug":"how-much-do-nascar-drivers-make-per-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/motorracingsports.com\/how-much-do-nascar-drivers-make-per-year\/","title":{"rendered":"How Much Do NASCAR Drivers Make Per Year?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

For many, the world of NASCAR driving is one that looks pretty exciting and glamorous in many ways. It\u2019s a dangerous thing they do, flying cars around circuits at 200-mph for hundreds of laps, but with that risk comes the potential rewards of fame, glory, and great wealth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NASCAR Cup Drivers income stems from Salaries from the teams, sponsorships, merchandise deals, endorsements, and shares of the prize money. At the top of NASCAR racing this can amount to millions a year. The top ten 2021 drivers earnt on average 10.4 million dollars. However, Xfinity and truck series will be much less.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

But is that the real story? How much do NASCAR drivers really make, anyway? <\/strong>Can anyone be sure? Do their teams offer them a fixed salary? Is everything they do dependent on them being able to win races? <\/strong>We\u2019re going to take a closer look at NASCAR drivers, how they make money and, most importantly, how much a driver can expect to make.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"How<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Background: NASCAR Closing the Door on Prize amounts and Salraries<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Before 2016, the numbers used to be fairly transparent when it came to calculating winnings for each team and driver, not to mention pit crews. It has never been a simple matter, but at least it was all known how much there was and exactly where it was going and why.<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After 2016, however, the numbers started to become more hush-hush, <\/strong>possibly because the sport was running into financial difficulties and the leadership didn\u2019t want there to be resentment over how money was distributed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, while the high-profile earnings of top drivers like Kyle Busch ($16 million 2019, for instance)<\/strong> are quite well known, the story is a bit less clear for the lesser-knowns and the middling drivers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Purses are more lucrative than ever, though, with winners on average taking $47,500 in prize money per race, and even losers getting $8,500 as an average<\/strong>. Numbers do fluctuate wildly on either side however, depending on how high profile any particular race is and which series we are talking about. .<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As we\u2019ll cover in more detail below, the earnings of a <\/strong>NASCAR driver are not just based on prize money from races.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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How Much is the Prize Money In NASCAR?<\/a><\/blockquote>