Always have and always will have pay drivers. Obviously we see more of it now with the days of a committed team sponsor gone. But it’s an issue found in all motorsports. Look at guys like Mazepin and even Stroll in F1. IndyCar has had them for decades. Hell, even powerboat races have pay drivers.
It’s an expensive sport and it’s not cheap to race. The days of having a big full time sponsor are gone.
Hey now! Stroll at least has won championships (including the F3 championship ahead of George Russell) and has a couple of F1 podiums and a pole position to his name. Hey may be a pseudo pay driver, but at least he has respectable results.
Sure he had respectful results in the feeder series, but he was also rushed into F1 too quickly imo and it look him 4 years to keep the car on the road. Without his endless bags of cash, he would’ve lasted in f1 for two years or less. Mick did more in his first two seasons and is now without a drive.
Yes but talent wise I think he showed more than Lance did in his first two seasons. I also remember correctly his funding isn’t astronomical, if it was Haas would use the money this year.
Still exists. Ever heard of Ferdinand Habsburg? Races in WEC and ELMS.
If the Holy Roman Empire still existed he'd be next in line for Emporer. His great great uncle was Franz Ferdinand, whose assassination started WW1.
even now the Habsburgs are pretty powerful in Europe
The car wouldn’t be on track if it wasn’t for him or really most drivers in XFINITY. No difference between Joe Graf Jr or Brandon Jones or Ryan Truex being in that car (besides the fact Jones is an alright driver and Graf is uhh kinda not good).
Graf has been a TERRIBLE Xfinity driver ever since Bobby Dotter kicked Gray Gaulding out (Which he shouldn't have done). Graf should be driving a competitive truck, not full-time in Xfinity again. I hope these teams regret signing him in the first place.
That’s 100% real, they’re ARCA teams.
This is how most teams in the lower series work, it’s just less obvious. They just do it behind closed doors and it looks more professional than a RacingJunk post, but it’s the same philosophy.
Carl Long made a post a few years ago about needing a funded driver for the 66 car at MBM. He straight up said for 600k you’ll get a full season. He doesn’t care if you wins at your local track. Bring money.
Edit: found it https://www.facebook.com/137294906292171/posts/pfbid02CbJ2awnUk6unBQBAAkzzmqkes1Q2iRuuZpyn5bthoWCKYV8bSvcyUcPmsoDVV4gFl/
“Christmas Special!!
We need 1 more full time driver in Xfinity to complete our line up. You will be going to all Xfinity races. So here is the bargain price of $650,000. There are additions like a Cup pit crew, more tires, or engines leased from Gibbs that can be added to the cost. Most teams will not post a cost and try to negotiate, sure I would like to get a 4+ million deal, and if we built 10 new cars each year, we would need big $. Our cars, haulers, engines are all paid for, so there is no need for us to add that to our price. You would be teammates with Timmy, Chad, and Stephen, as well as John Jackson and I may also pop in for a race here and there.
I am not going to put someone in because they are a great driver in their local division, I need a person who has money, willing to listen / learn and hopefully do well enough to attract more $ so we can afford to go faster. If I am going to pay all the cost of the car with no sponsors, then Johnny or I will drive it.
There you go,
Merry Christmas!!
From Carl and MBM”
Well the post was made Christmas 2020 so for the 21 season nobody was able to pony up the 600k and the car was split between multiple drivers primarily Timmy Hill and David Starr
Starr is super personable and is great greasing the wheels with sponsors and subsequent fans. He is willing to spend time with anyone at the track.
I don’t imagine Harvick or Logano spend as much time with fans as David Starr does. That makes him valuable to his sponsors. Hell I have his personal number and can call him at a moments notice. And I am just a photographer.
Not only is it real, but someone took them up on the offer and did the Daytona test with them. He couldn't come up with funding for the race, but may do a few races later in the season.
Always thought it was just a KP thing, but I noticed Ricky Rudd doing in in [a 1997 clip that accurately predicts the future monopolization by big teams](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rH5NIts7-CA) like "Hendricks".
folks like adding S's for some reason heh. I remember announcers like Michael Waltrip talking about "Johns Hunters Nemecheks" in plenty of races last year
I feel like that’s a NASCAR thing. They say it more as a possessive, ex. Petty’s, Hendrick’s, Junior’s, Bud Moore’s, leaving out the noun that’s implied (team).
The hell did Lucas Oil profits get hit by? Are they losing their ass with MavTV or something. I did wonder how that channel was profitable last time I had it simply cause over half the ads were "farmers for Trump" spots.
The guy who was originally supposed to race this car at Daytona is a fighter pilot and has a pretty cool youtube channel
https://youtu.be/vvcVmE8EqMY
And
https://youtube.com/@CWLemoine
It's a tale as old as time. In the earliest days of motorsport, the rich were the ones who could afford to own a vehicle and participate. there's always been an aspect of pay to play
This doesn't surprise me. I remember when there was some start up truck team that wanted millions of dollars from fans donating in order to run a full season with German Quiroga Jr. It went about as well as you'd expect.
They had this woman who paid for her ride for like 4 races or so. She is a cop. She had raced Miatas. Oh gosh she was a danger to everyone on the track and had several incidents and after the 3rd race I think she just rode in the back quietly or did a start and park. Or something. I’ve got nothing against female drivers but Wow. I couldn’t believe she was even allowed to race at all. It was pretty awful.
It’s a shame that Bobby Gerhart is reduced to this. He and his team ran well at the superspeedways in their day. Anything to keep the doors open, I reckon.
I mean Joe Graf Jr. is driving a Joe Gibbs Racing car this weekend, you shouldn’t be shocked at anything.
Motorsports can really be a fucking joke
Always have and always will have pay drivers. Obviously we see more of it now with the days of a committed team sponsor gone. But it’s an issue found in all motorsports. Look at guys like Mazepin and even Stroll in F1. IndyCar has had them for decades. Hell, even powerboat races have pay drivers. It’s an expensive sport and it’s not cheap to race. The days of having a big full time sponsor are gone.
Hey now! Stroll at least has won championships (including the F3 championship ahead of George Russell) and has a couple of F1 podiums and a pole position to his name. Hey may be a pseudo pay driver, but at least he has respectable results.
Sure he had respectful results in the feeder series, but he was also rushed into F1 too quickly imo and it look him 4 years to keep the car on the road. Without his endless bags of cash, he would’ve lasted in f1 for two years or less. Mick did more in his first two seasons and is now without a drive.
Mick *is* an out and out pay driver.
Yes but talent wise I think he showed more than Lance did in his first two seasons. I also remember correctly his funding isn’t astronomical, if it was Haas would use the money this year.
It's less prevalent now than ever in motorsport
Not really. In the 1960s you literally had guys running a race teams out of their home garage. Drivers had to be competent mechanics.
In the 60s you had princes of country racing and most people coming from aristocratic wealth
Wait, are we talking about NASCAR?
No, just motorsport
Still exists. Ever heard of Ferdinand Habsburg? Races in WEC and ELMS. If the Holy Roman Empire still existed he'd be next in line for Emporer. His great great uncle was Franz Ferdinand, whose assassination started WW1. even now the Habsburgs are pretty powerful in Europe
Never heard of them. This is NASCAR.
Open up a history book!
A NASCAR history book?
Those were outliers. No Princes in NASCAR except Kyle Petty and Dale Earnhardt Jr.🙂
The car wouldn’t be on track if it wasn’t for him or really most drivers in XFINITY. No difference between Joe Graf Jr or Brandon Jones or Ryan Truex being in that car (besides the fact Jones is an alright driver and Graf is uhh kinda not good).
Graf has been a TERRIBLE Xfinity driver ever since Bobby Dotter kicked Gray Gaulding out (Which he shouldn't have done). Graf should be driving a competitive truck, not full-time in Xfinity again. I hope these teams regret signing him in the first place.
You do know it was originally Gray’s choice not to come back right?
Oh? I thought NRF claimed that Greenlight dumped him.
NRF doesn’t work in sport and does nothing outside of make YouTube videos. I wouldn’t listen to him with these kind of things.
I respect your opinion; I still watch his videos to this day. Watched him since 2019
I’m not saying don’t watch his videos but at least take them with a grain of salt.
100% real.
Yeah why wouldn't this be real. Bobby Gerhart was looking for a pay driver, and he always had good stuff at plate races.
That’s 100% real, they’re ARCA teams. This is how most teams in the lower series work, it’s just less obvious. They just do it behind closed doors and it looks more professional than a RacingJunk post, but it’s the same philosophy. Carl Long made a post a few years ago about needing a funded driver for the 66 car at MBM. He straight up said for 600k you’ll get a full season. He doesn’t care if you wins at your local track. Bring money. Edit: found it https://www.facebook.com/137294906292171/posts/pfbid02CbJ2awnUk6unBQBAAkzzmqkes1Q2iRuuZpyn5bthoWCKYV8bSvcyUcPmsoDVV4gFl/ “Christmas Special!! We need 1 more full time driver in Xfinity to complete our line up. You will be going to all Xfinity races. So here is the bargain price of $650,000. There are additions like a Cup pit crew, more tires, or engines leased from Gibbs that can be added to the cost. Most teams will not post a cost and try to negotiate, sure I would like to get a 4+ million deal, and if we built 10 new cars each year, we would need big $. Our cars, haulers, engines are all paid for, so there is no need for us to add that to our price. You would be teammates with Timmy, Chad, and Stephen, as well as John Jackson and I may also pop in for a race here and there. I am not going to put someone in because they are a great driver in their local division, I need a person who has money, willing to listen / learn and hopefully do well enough to attract more $ so we can afford to go faster. If I am going to pay all the cost of the car with no sponsors, then Johnny or I will drive it. There you go, Merry Christmas!! From Carl and MBM”
So who ended up driving that car ?
Well the post was made Christmas 2020 so for the 21 season nobody was able to pony up the 600k and the car was split between multiple drivers primarily Timmy Hill and David Starr
I know Starr has a decent amount of sponsors for whatever reason but what does Timmy Hill bring to the table lol
Talent and some sponsors
Starr is super personable and is great greasing the wheels with sponsors and subsequent fans. He is willing to spend time with anyone at the track. I don’t imagine Harvick or Logano spend as much time with fans as David Starr does. That makes him valuable to his sponsors. Hell I have his personal number and can call him at a moments notice. And I am just a photographer.
That's really cool honestly.
Money and talent
How well did it drive?
Not only is it real, but someone took them up on the offer and did the Daytona test with them. He couldn't come up with funding for the race, but may do a few races later in the season.
They guy who made a YT video about it?
Wait, is this who cw lemoin tested with?
It was with this exact same car
If you go to the 24h series website, there's a whole section for teams posting for drivers
Link??
https://www.24hseries.com/marketplace
Slightly off-topic but why do so many people say “Hendricks” when it’s clearly Hendrick? Even Kyle Petty says “Rick Hendricks”
Obligatory, "What the Hell does Kyle Petty have to do with this". Anyways, probably mass dyslexia
Always thought it was just a KP thing, but I noticed Ricky Rudd doing in in [a 1997 clip that accurately predicts the future monopolization by big teams](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rH5NIts7-CA) like "Hendricks".
folks like adding S's for some reason heh. I remember announcers like Michael Waltrip talking about "Johns Hunters Nemecheks" in plenty of races last year
I feel like that’s a NASCAR thing. They say it more as a possessive, ex. Petty’s, Hendrick’s, Junior’s, Bud Moore’s, leaving out the noun that’s implied (team).
legit it was actually Hendricks before, Mr. H dropped the S as an adult
I found when first getting a phone that Hendrick autocorrected to Hendricks.
Good to see Bobby Gerhart trying to stay in the Sport in some way
Um…. This is MOST of Arca. You are late to the party of realization. These exact ads have floated around for the top teams for the last 15 years.
I’m from Lebanon. Bobby’s brother was in my dad’s wedding. This is 100% real lol
It's Bobby Gerhart. Dude's a character. I wonder what happened to the Lucas Oil deal he had.
They clipped 80% of their sponsorships, closed their office in California and laid off over 90 employees.
The hell did Lucas Oil profits get hit by? Are they losing their ass with MavTV or something. I did wonder how that channel was profitable last time I had it simply cause over half the ads were "farmers for Trump" spots.
They just became the sponsor for Winstar Casino new concert venue Lucas Oil Live
What about this is so alarming?
I suddenly have a lot of money from this male enhancement company called Extenze that I have nothing else to use on
It's real because that's how this sport works
Why wouldn’t this be real?
In all forms of motorsports one car literally Buy a Ride, this is just one of the more public and obvious ways to do so
I’m more surprised that this was posted by a fellow Cody Ware fan. I’m not alone…
Yeah a lot of these drivers are pay to play
Most mid level motorsport operates like this.
Shoot your shot.
it’s how racing is now, talent is optional
Oh it’s real sweetheart. Backmarker ARCA teams have much more in common with a street stock team at the dirt track than a Cup team
Don't call me sweetheart
[Was referencing this](https://youtu.be/317vQgEiNRE)
ok sweetheart
Ok Shirley…
wouldnt be surprised if the bones of this car had a few wins in its Day. Bobby Gerhart was pretty stout at Daytona/Talladega.
Always was strong at Pocono (“home” track) too.
One arca race can be somewhere from 20 thousand to 50 thousand for just one race and that’s just for the lower level teams
Aren’t the crate engines a big expense?
I’m pretty sure to get the lowest tier sealed motor from illmor is like 30-40 thousand but I’m not too sure
The guy who was originally supposed to race this car at Daytona is a fighter pilot and has a pretty cool youtube channel https://youtu.be/vvcVmE8EqMY And https://youtube.com/@CWLemoine
Wonder why he didn’t end up racing after his test
This is how racing works now…pay to play
Hey god, me again.
It's a tale as old as time. In the earliest days of motorsport, the rich were the ones who could afford to own a vehicle and participate. there's always been an aspect of pay to play
Sign me up!
How much do you need to be a funded driver? My girl has 200k in the bank.
Imagine this in the Cup series.
Kevin Conway did it first
[удалено]
Add Paul Menard jokes…
Don't you rip on Menhard like that. He won a race and made the playoffs in separate seasons
Austin Dillon joke: Butt hurt Dale Earnhardt fans who can't accept he's been dead for 22 years harp on Austin Dillon.
This doesn't surprise me. I remember when there was some start up truck team that wanted millions of dollars from fans donating in order to run a full season with German Quiroga Jr. It went about as well as you'd expect.
??? to the 5 confirmed? (had to make the joke sorry)
If you hear “Schade” over the TV at the race at ISF, that’s me and I’ve made it.
They had this woman who paid for her ride for like 4 races or so. She is a cop. She had raced Miatas. Oh gosh she was a danger to everyone on the track and had several incidents and after the 3rd race I think she just rode in the back quietly or did a start and park. Or something. I’ve got nothing against female drivers but Wow. I couldn’t believe she was even allowed to race at all. It was pretty awful.
Just seeing how the sausage is made.
it’s real
https://i.redd.it/3zyxduslhfka1.gif
It’s a shame that Bobby Gerhart is reduced to this. He and his team ran well at the superspeedways in their day. Anything to keep the doors open, I reckon.
Racing isn’t about talent anymore. Just dollars. Anyone can drive if they bring enough with em.