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NASCAR’s $1 Million PR Gamble: Bold Move or Just “Peanuts” for Drivers?

Miguel Cunha by Miguel Cunha
January 29, 2025
in Motorsports
Reading Time: 4 mins read
0
NASCAR’s $1 Million PR Gamble: Bold Move or Just “Peanuts” for Drivers?

Nov 9, 2024; Avondale, Arizona, USA; NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Riley Herbst (98) finishes ahead of driver Justin Allgaier (7) to win the NASCAR Xfinity Series championship race at Phoenix Raceway. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

NASCAR has just flipped the script—and not everyone’s buying it. Starting in 2025, the sport is rolling out a controversial, first-of-its-kind driver incentive program that could see top self-promoters cash in up to $1 million a year.

Sounds like a win, right? Not so fast. Some veteran voices—including Kevin Harvick—are calling it out for what it really is: a drop in the bucket compared to the billions NASCAR rakes in from TV deals and sponsors. And fans? Well, they’re already questioning if this is just another way for NASCAR to control its drivers.


The $1 Million Self-Promotion Race: What’s the Deal?

In an effort to revive NASCAR’s star power, the sport has teamed up with brand-building company INFLCR to launch a driver-focused marketing challenge. The premise? Drivers will use an official NASCAR app to earn points for:

✔️ Media Appearances – TV interviews, podcast spots, etc.
✔️ Social Media Engagement – Interacting with fans, posting NASCAR-approved content.
✔️ Public Promotions – Participating in NASCAR-backed campaigns.

At the end of the season, those who hustle the hardest get cold, hard cash, with the top-earning drivers pulling in up to $1 million. NASCAR’s Chief Operating Officer Steve O’Donnell claims it’s about making drivers bigger names, just like in the golden era of the sport.

“You’re going to see a lot more focus on our individual drivers, and that doesn’t mean just Cup. It’ll include Xfinity, Craftsman Truck, and even grassroots series.”

Translation? NASCAR wants total control over its drivers’ brands.


PR Boost or Corporate Control? The Backlash Begins

On the surface, incentivizing self-promotion seems like a great idea. But there’s a major red flag—the app will control which brands and messages drivers can promote.

That means no unfiltered opinions. No rival brand partnerships that NASCAR doesn’t approve. And most concerning for fans—no raw, unfiltered driver personalities that made the sport so popular in the first place.

NASCAR fans have already started pushing back, seeing this as yet another way for the organization to shape and sanitize driver personalities to fit a corporate-friendly mold. Instead of getting authentic access to their favorite drivers, fans fear they’ll get PR-manufactured robots.


Kevin Harvick Unloads: “It’s Peanuts” Compared to What NASCAR Makes

Enter Kevin Harvick—a man who built his career in an era where sponsors, not apps, drove promotion. While he agrees that drivers need to do more to engage with fans, he’s not impressed with the money NASCAR is dangling in front of them.

“The number that is attached to this particular program, it’s peanuts compared to the TV deal and the teams and the tracks and NASCAR and what they’re getting.”

💰 Reality Check: NASCAR’s latest TV deal is reportedly worth $7.7 billion over the next seven years. Yet they’re offering just $1 million per top driver for doing the heavy lifting of growing the sport?

Harvick didn’t hold back:

“Nobody’s there to see the team owner drive their car… they’re there to see the drivers drive their cars.”

In other words, if NASCAR truly wants drivers to be the stars, then they should be paying them accordingly—not throwing pocket change at a multi-billion-dollar marketing push.


Will This Actually Work? Or Will It Backfire?

NASCAR desperately wants its drivers to be mainstream icons again. They need a new generation of rock stars like Dale Earnhardt, Jeff Gordon, and Tony Stewart—but can that be forced through an app?

🔴 Best-Case Scenario: More driver engagement leads to increased popularity, more fans, and bigger sponsorship deals. NASCAR benefits, and drivers actually see real financial growth from their brand-building efforts.

⚠️ Worst-Case Scenario: The app stifles driver personalities, turning them into scripted NASCAR puppets, driving fan frustration even higher. If the money doesn’t match the effort, drivers may push back—and the program could collapse before it even takes off.

One thing’s for sure: NASCAR is gambling big on this self-promotion plan. Will it revitalize the sport or will it be just another corporate stunt that backfires?

We’re about to find out.

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