Ricky Stenhouse Jr. says the money behind a NASCAR Cup Series car adds up fast, with up to $10 million in sponsorship needed just to break even.
On the Bring The Juice podcast, Stenhouse estimated that a team needs $250,000 to $300,000 in sponsorship for every race. Over a full season, he put the figure at $8 million to $10 million just to break even.
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“You want to be a millionaire in racing and you better start with a billion,” Stenhouse said.
How Stenhouse Gets Paid
Stenhouse also explained how race money reaches him. Race winnings come from NASCAR, and charter payments are another part of the picture.
He said his contract groups those earnings together. His share then depends on where he finishes.
“If we win I get 50%,” Stenhouse said. For finishes further back, he said, “here on back is 20.” He said bonuses can also come for wins and other results.
Stenhouse drives the No. 47 Chevrolet for Hyak Motorsports. He has been in the car since 2020, when the team was still JTG Daugherty Racing.
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Gordon Smith later rebranded the team as Hyak. It is a single-car operation, and in May it signed Stenhouse to a multiyear extension.
“It’s never easy being a single-car team,” Stenhouse said at the time. He also said the team’s growing experience is helping it improve.
Stenhouse has four career Cup wins. Two came with this team: the 2023 Daytona 500 and the fall 2024 race at Talladega Superspeedway.
He moved up to Cup full time in 2013 after winning back-to-back titles in what is now the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series. He was the Cup rookie of the year that season.
What Other Teams Say It Costs
Others in motorsports have shared their own figures, and EssentiallySports pointed to several of them alongside Stenhouse’s comments.
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In previously reported comments on the Joe Vulpis podcast, Frankie Muniz estimated that a full Cup program costs $20 million to $30 million a year. He put a Truck Series program at $3 million to $7 million.
Muniz was talking about total budgets. Stenhouse’s $8 million to $10 million figure was about the sponsorship needed to break even.
Kelley Earnhardt Miller has said JR Motorsports runs on a margin of about 1.5%. She said on the Business of Motorsports podcast that the team is happy to break even or make a small profit.
Alpha Prime Racing co-owner Tommy Joe Martins has said sponsorship covers at least 40% of his O’Reilly Series team’s budget, and closer to 60% under its current model. He put that budget at about $2.5 million to $3 million a year.
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Sponsors are a big part of silly season, too. RFK Racing is reportedly set to lose a major sponsor after this season.
Stenhouse and the No. 47 team close out their season Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: Sports.yahoo.com
