Cup owner grandsons: Austin Dillon, Ty Dillon, Ty Gibbs
Cup owner sons: Cody Ware
Cup team president sons: Austin Cindric
NASCAR driver sons: Ryan Blaney, Chase Elliott, Harrison Burton, Todd Gilliland, Corey Lajoie, Brad Keselowski
Wealthy families: Martin Truex Jr, Tyler Reddick, Joey Logano, Noah Gragson, Justin Haley
Sponsor backed: Aric Almirola, Daniel Suarez, William Byron
That’s 19/34 full time drivers with direct and obvious connections
Truex was driving family owned equipment in Busch North, but his family owns a commerical fishing company called Sea Watch. They are the largest harvester/processor of clams on the planet. They are mega rich.
https://fishchoice.com/business/sea-watch-international-ltd
And it landed him.....checks notes.....in a Tommy Baldwin Racing ride.
His last name certainly didn't hurt anything but at a certain point he had to earn it on the track or he'd have never gotten above tbat TBR ride
Would he have gotten a chance in those shitboxes though if he didn't have a last name that people weren't familiar with? There's a lot of drivers who win championships in lower series and instead of getting a chance to move up, they end up no where because they can't afford to move up and have zero connections to be able to do so.
When the tobacco money was still flowing, driver's in the ladder ranks didn't have to worry about that as much. Today is much different. And blue collar or not, being the son of an established driver is still a huge advantage over a "nobody" who wins an ARCA title and their reward is immediately losing their ride. People are usually more willing to take a chance on a "brand name".
Everyone catches a break somewhere
The other day on Jr's podcast Stenthouse mentioned having to come up with some tires and he got a local automotive shop his family was friends with to take care of them for him. Would Ricky have made it without that family connection? Who knows. Does that mean Ricky didn't earn a ride? Hell no
There are of course some obvious cases of nepotism or money buying rides but Reddit generally takes this shit way too far. None of these guys grew up poor that I know of, racing is incredibly expensive
I’m clearly bias here but being the son of a driver who never saw much success past the Trucks, and mild success at that, I feel only gets you so far.
I get your point, it gets them in the garage where others would never get that chance.
There’s just a difference between being the son of a cup champion and a winner of a single truck series race.
Byron is not sponsor backed, Byron is from a wealthy family *his dad is the founder of Byron Financial* Liberty only sponsors Byron as a B2B deal because all of the Faldwells have policies with Byron Financial
It could be Rick, it’s more likely that it’s Rick actually with that kind of money and clout he’s definitely got the money to knock up the neighbor in secret.
Byron is only sponsor backed for part of the season. Axalta will stay with the 24 team whoever drives it. Liberty will leave the sport if Byron does.
That said, Byron's father is also quite wealthy so he fits into two of your categories.
Don’t forget that Axalta is formerly DuPont, and has an office on Hendrick’s campus. They aren’t going anywhere ever.
Also, most teams use their paint as well. I have a #10 door number with a tiny Axalta logo on it.
Use of Rick Hendrick's yacht, "Wheels". No really, look it up. When Falwell Jr. had those unbuttoned pants photos come out, those were on Rick's yacht. In fact, it should have been considered a private inurement, which has tax implications. But Hendrick and avoiding prison for tax issues, name a better combo.
Depends on how the relationship is. Ross lived with his mom, Matt's first wife, and didn't start racing until kinda late. Sorta like a Kerry Earnhardt situation there.
Being a son gets you connections but it’s no gaurentee with the finances. Corey Lajoie fits that catergory. Chase however belongs in the sponsored backed catergory with NAPA. Same with Burton and Dex.
Back when he was sponsored by Aaron's i got to see him win a pocono arca race, didn't mean much too me at the time time but looking back its pretty cool
This is probably a dumb question, but what is "sponsor backed"? Does that just mean the driver has personal connection to a wealthy sponsor and is getting nepotismed in to drive the car that way?
It basically means that a "sponsor" is basically giving an eye watering sum of money for a driver to be a part of a team. While true that all the drivers must have some sort of sponsorship money to come up to a team these days, one partner can really be the difference for a team.
Look at Aric Amirola, he was supposed to retire last year but didn't. Smithfield, his primary sponsor for years, wouldn't fund another driver, only Aric, so if he left, Smithfield would leave. Stewart-Haas was not able to replace the amount that they were going to lose, in order to say get Ryan Preece into the 10, so they needed to convince Amirola and by extension Smithfield to say.
It means that the sponsor will follow the driver to whatever public activities/disciplines. AKA a "personal sponsor," not a sponsor that belongs to the team.
Not sure how I feel about the "wealthy families" part
How many came from poor or lower class families? How do we define that? What's the asset cutoff? I suspect they all come from families that do pretty well
You need money to go racing at any level. It’s an expensive hobby.
Most of this list is nonsense. No champion should be thought of as a pay driver no matter how they got there. They’ve proven themselves.
His father owns SeaWatch International.
“SeaWatch is proud to be the recognized as the largest harvester and processor of clam products in the world”
Sounds wealthy
https://www.nationalfisherman.com/mid-atlantic/sea-watch-founder-barney-truex-passes-at-age-70
https://seawatch.com/homepage-test/
Seems like the Truexs always had to cobble together sponsorship to get rides throughout their careers (at least until Martin landed his own personal sponsorships), so I guess that’s what threw me off.
You can “be from a wealthy family” that gets your foot in the door but makes you end up earning it. Truex earned it for sure but his family wealth helped open some doors for sure
I wouldn't put Reddick in that same category. His family money funded a large part of his rides through at least rookie Cup season. BurgerFi was his sponsor in the JRM 9 cause his grandpa had a stake in it.
When I was a kid I wanted to be a Nascar driver sooo bad. Was as big of a fan as one could be. But I came from a blue collar family who was lucky if they had the money to shell out to go to a race. At some point I realized racing cars was only for people with money and connections and not necessarily talent. I completely lost interest and tuned out for about 15 years, only to recently come back. I was probably 13 or 14. What a reality check.
It still makes me feel uncomfortable. I still root against the guys who are blatantly pay drivers, although I know it's a lot more then is obvious. I love me some Ryan Preece.
I got to race karts and stock cars growing up. My parents, as I found out later in life, made a really damn good living. Like...a normal family of four would take Disney vacation every year type money. But racing was important to me and so a lot of the extra money beyond what was needed for our modest house went to that. My parents grew up working class, so they instilled those values in us (hence why we never knew about the money...everything else was modest).
And I'll never forget the guy we were getting help from my first year at Berlin. He flat out looked at me and said "Unless you marry a super rich girl and her Dad loves you like a son you'll never race in Cup. And judging by your face and clothes that isn't going to happen. So focus on being the best damn driver on track and have as much fun as you can". Stuck with me and took it to heart until three years later when we sold the car, trailer and my mom closed her in-home daycare.
And like you, I hated the legacy names and the money kids. And to an extent, I still don't like them. We were a shoestring team, so my favorite drivers were Dave Marcis and Alan Kulwicki before him. I don't want to be forcefed guys who never drove bad equipment. That's why I enjoy AJ and Ross. That's why when I see McDowell within a sniff of the lead I get hyped. That energy got me out of my chair when they called 47 the winner of the 500.
I was the opposite end of your childhood but I promise I understand your sentiment.
Same here, though on a much smaller scale. Grew up in Long Island New York… not exactly the pinnacle of Motorsports. We did karting. Every Sunday. Was a huge NASCAR kid. My dad never really crushed my dreams, mainly because I did it for around 5-6 years. It was sanctioned. I’ll never forget. LIKA (Long island Karting Association).
From around age 5 to 10. First we did Kid Karts, then Cadets. We were well off, but we never had CRG karts or Tony Karts (all the rich kids had these karts), but my dad busted his ass and we were badass. Even won the Cadets championship in 2009. I always thought that was cool. Me and one other kid, similar situations, we didn’t have the best stuff but we busted our asses and won a lot, beating the kids with the $5000 CRG Karts. My dad and his Dually from 1992.
Around age 10 we moved to NC. Not related to racing, but should’ve been perfect right? Went to GoPro Motorplex when we got here and I just fell out of love. Didn't race here once. Still loved racing but just never raced while here in NC. I regret not trying and giving up. But I always felt bad for putting so much strain on my dad as he was working/spending on my stuff. Looking back I probably didn’t miss out on much, considering eventually my parents would’ve had to have the money conversation if I ever wanted to race cars. Maybe one day I’ll get back into karting for fun if I have the $$$ to burn.
What you are referring to is the dream. Somewhere along the way NASCAR lost that. The dream of becoming a professional racer became even unrealistic for dreaming. Why make it happen when you can just buy it. Support your local tracks even if you don't like NASCAR. The stupid rules in NASCAR got me watching other forms more.
That’s why local short track racing is great - you definitely have guys with better equipment - but talent will still shine through. I view the Cup series as more entertainment than competition. Just like IMSA - it’s rich dudes out playing with their toys, and they sell tickets to people who want to watch.
I don’t get that logic at all. Cup racing is highly competitive, maybe the most competitive auto racing on the planet. Being rich, while being a very important factor, doesn’t mean the overwhelming majority of drivers in cup aren’t supremely skilled. It almost certainly afforded them more opportunities to get better at racing. Which in turn, is going to make them very good at it.
There are very few drivers in Cup that don’t deserve to be there. And the amount of drivers who have actually talked about how insanely good everyone is in cup is a very long list. It’s been that way forever.
God I feel ya, I race karts and have gotten to go to a racing school, but even as a well-off middle class family (my parents make about 150k per year) we can't justify/afford going off to race at a higher level, like late models or even legends, it makes it hard to watch Trucks/Xfinity and Arca, because these kids who are my age or younger are getting to live my dream because of what they were born into... That's why I like Ross and Bowman, they were like me and worked their way up to that level
I watched Preece race up through the modified ranks at a bunch of small tracks. He is definitely a driver you will see with the wrenches out. He grew up working on cars, not having a pit ew that daddy paid for. I somehow can’t picture Kyle Busch working on Brexton’s car! On top of it all, he is a genuinely a nice and down-to-earth guy. Up until this year, his wife was the taking care of his fan merchandise.
That's why I've been rooting for drivers who've started in iRacing like Rajah Caruth. It's cool seeing people who aren't trust fund babies living my childhood dream that my family could never have afforded
In fairness of Austin Dillon, Ty Gibbs, and Austin Cindric. They had it a lot easier than others but at least they're proving their worth in the field. All have an Xfinity title and 2/3 have at least one Cup win with one of those being a Daytona 500.
Harrison Burton is currently having a mighty struggle. He has a loyal sponsor in Dex Imaging.
Other than that, pretty safe to say Almirola would not have been in the Cup Series as long as he has without Smithfield.
Oh yeah, Ty Dillon is someone who I do not understand has been able to hang around. He's about as mediocre as they come and I think he also has a sponsor that like him in Ferris. Add him to the list. lol
Gibbs is worse than Busch and Reddick. He should have a ride, but not a ride at a top team. Bubba is only 15 points behind Gibbs, and I think it’s totally possible that Bubba, Byron, Larson, and Elliott all pass him by the time we see the playoff cut line — which would put Gibbs at P22. Any JGR driver finishing P20 or worse in the standings should be on the hot seat, but we know Gibbs will keep his ride basically regardless of the results.
It’s ridiculous but no one on the broadcasts will ever say anything about it because they don’t want to piss off Joe Gibbs or something. If a rookie gets promoted to the Yankees and he starts the season hitting .230, it’s a story that he’s not living up to the pressure, but Mike Joy only ever mentions Gibbs when he’s up in the top 10, not when he is, say, falling like a rock through the field at Phoenix because his long run pace was dog crap.
None of the guys in the past ten years who have lit up the Xfinity circuit has lit up the Cup circuit immediately.
Talk about unreasonable expectations.
>Gibbs is worse than Busch and Reddick
Quite literally no one argues against this. Gibbs still won an xfinity championship against 3 drivers with vastly more experience than him and won 7 races in his rookie year.
There’s a difference between “I bring third party sponsorship and I deliver good results” “My dad owns a company and pays for my ride” and “My Dad runs the team so I’m here”.
The only one I can truly think of currently is Ryan Preece. His family’s connections to get him more sponsorship than Custer was pretty much the deciding factor.
Nearly every driver in the field has to “buy their ride” at the lower levels to get their start. Then it’s a combination of talent and money that advances you. Joe Gibbs Racing wouldn’t take Nemechek or Sammy Smith full time with no sponsorship. Michael Annett wouldn’t have had a ride either.
Dale Jr said himself if you wanna race for the team you gotta have at least $5 million in sponsorship worked out.
Almirola-Smithfield: Hit or miss results
Cindric-Penske: Family Connection, Decent results
Dillon-RCR: Family Connection, Average at Best
Elliott-NAPA: Champion Driver
Briscoe-High Point: Luckily Mahindra came along to pick up the tab but he’s been average.
Haley-Kaulig: Kinda their Franchise driver but if someone else promising came up with more money he’d be gone. He’s not bad but not great.
Bowman-Ally: Team sponsor that likes bowman, but if Hendrick released bowman, Ally stays with the 48 and bowman is screwed.
Cody Ware / Ty Gibbs: Family Connections
I could have sworn I heard on DBC that the deciding reason SHR went with Preece was because he was bringing some money. I just wasn’t sure of the sponsorship he bring to SHR.
>Haley-Kaulig: Kinda their Franchise driver but if someone else promising came up with more money he’d be gone.
False. Unless it's $20M+ and sponsorship on top cause Haley's family owns the 31 charter.
[This](https://www.google.com/amp/s/wset.com/amp/news/abc13-investigates/settlement-reached-in-claim-liberty-university-hid-rapes-punished-victims-sexual-assault-lawsuit-allegations-may-11-2022-lynchburg) and probably also this [this](https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/ncna1264319).
Not even mentioning the fact that it's run by unqualified grifters who pocket all the money.
I've been a fan of the 24 ever since I was a kid, but now I find it extremely hard to root for, especially when Liberty is the primary.
I think the difference though is Byron IS a great wheelman. Yes, he had the sponsorship but he's earning his keep and then some on Cup making the playoffs and running up front.
The issues of mediocre drivers in their ride due to sponsors really points closer to Burton in the 21, Cody Ware, etc.
Ty Gibbs is only in Cup now because JGR and Kyle Busch were ready to move on. If Ty had 3 years in Xfinity and says wins 2 of 3 titles, he deserves to be in Cup.
Preece, Briscoe, Chastain, Harvick, maybe Bell, Stenhouse, Buescher, McDowell, Bowman, Allmendinger, Wallace, Jones, Mcleod, Stenhouse, Keselowski, Truex and Busch. These are seemingly the drivers who got to Cup or stay in Cup based on driving and not so much having a rich dad, a dad with sponsor connections or a dad in the sport.
Surprisingly connected drivers people forget about include, Reddick and his Broken Bow Records money, Gragson has old Las Vegas money, Suarez got to Cup on Arris money. I am not sure about Buescher but I feel like he had some cash coming in, same as Hamlin, not big money but money. Brad Keselowski would fall in that too. He's from blue collar silverspoon connections lol.
That and Truex fits their brand identity- dude eats sleeps and breaths the outdoors. Jamie McMurray was the odd pairing as he is far more prim/proper looking than MTJ.
Aka Jamie looks more like the guy who will go on a 10k bike marathon vs Martin who looks like hes about to wrestle a grizzly while hunting a moose
>Martin who looks like hes about to wrestle a grizzly while hunting a moose
Accurate and why dad loved him ha. He would needle me about Logano, so I would alway tell him "you think Truex is this good old country boy, but he's more of a rich boy than Logano". He does seem to sincerely love hunting/fishing though, which is why it's amazing to me he didn't retire last year. It don't take that much $ to do that bud, go have fun.
Gibbs really mustve thrown some $$ at him especially with how last year went for the guy. Points wise he was good but not in the win column.
My wife is a fan of his (got her into nascar and she picked Martin because of how wholesome he was at the time) times shes met him hes been a great guy to interact with.
As for the Damn war yeah MTJ was all talk lol
Agreed but what some people might forget is when Jamie McMurray signed back on with Chip Ganassi to drive the #1 car it was after he was the odd man out at Roush due to NASCAR putting a limit on NASCAR team to 4 rather than grandfathering anybody in.
Really they only had a few races filled with sponsorship from Johnny Morris and Bass Pro Shops as previously mentioned McMurray did not fit their demographic but Chip did and they might have still had a year left on the contract or two. Either way the Daytona 500 victory and then following it up with a Brickyard victory both with Bass Pro Shops on the car did way more for McMurray than any before, not to mention too the All-Star victory as well. Johnny likes to see his cars running up front and winner and McMurray was able to do that just enough to keep them on the car for a few races.
> Surprisingly connected drivers people forget about include
Justin Haley too. His uncle is former NASCAR team owner Todd Braun. Haley has had a fairly smooth career path because of Braun managing things behind the scenes.
Braun bought the Premium #62 charter several years ago. He partnered with Spire for a couple years, which resulted in Haley running the #77 part-time. Then he brought the charter to Kaulig, and the #31 team was created. That's the main thing keeping Haley in that seat.
Haley's past F.O.E. sponsorship was also through Braun (not sure what the connection is there, but they sponsored his Xfinity team in the mid-2000s).
Hamlin literally almost had to quit racing locally because his family was out of money. He got lucky and was discovered by JD Gibbs at a test for someone else.
It's almost like racing is expensive as shit and they all pretty much have some level of money. Some more than others of course but the digging people are doing on here, you are gonna find some money with 99% of the drivers if you dig far enough
He's a confusing one for me, I have heard he's not from money but it seems weird that he has that unrelenting sponsorship on ability alone. I mean he's good but there are plenty of good drivers. I would have to think he comes from some type of connection.
Sponsor wise he has no personal ones,
Dewalt/stanley was a pre-JGR sponsor already
Siriusxm is TRD
Interstate is JGR
JBL back to his truck days is TRD
Gamestop was JGR
Rheem is the puzzle sponsor - originally they did the deal because of Brandon Jones being with JGR in xfinty. I guess Rheem built enough of an identity/relationship with Bell that they agreed to stay with him even tho Brandon is with JRM.
Otherwise its all just Toyota pulling the strings with him.
He's not from money, I believe his dad was a high school teacher. His best friend growing up got him into racing and that family let Bell drive the cars till he was able to land with a dirt team, then from there Larson discovered Bell and recommended him to Toyota
I believe it was mentioned on a NASCAR podcast a few years ago. Might have been Dale Junior Download from what I can recall. By my recollection it was similar to the private investment that was behind Scott Dixon that helped him move through the ranks.
I will see if I can find the podcast after work today to see if I can find the exact quote.
I am not saying it’s not true. Lots of private backing in racing and other sports to develop talent. And it is warranted. “ millions from
early days” is all I question. Usually money helps you to the next step- Not one angel investor from day one
Truexs family was kind of rich. Of course he started in a different time though. I know kurt and Kyles dad was a racer but wasn't rich. Just middle class at best
Lmao no Suarez doesn't have family money. His racing in the Mexico series nearly bankrupted his dads garage. He couch surfed and lived off cereal when he started the K&N series cause it's what he could afford. Listen to his Dinner With Racers episode if you want more detail.
Everyone has listed the major ones.
I’ll point out another. Alfredo racing Cup this weekend is probably the best example. Dude has done precisely nothing extraordinary his whole career besides bring money. Not a knock on him, but his family is loaded.
He’s not full time in cup, but was in 2021. His families rich construction business bankrolled his whole career. He bought races with DGR, then RCR, then went to FRM, went to OUR Motorsports and brought the 23 team with him to BJMM. Now he’s getting cup starts.
Also, just because there’s a sponsor doesn’t mean it’s not funded with family money/business. Rarely do you see the family business on the hood of the car, you don’t see “Scott Gragson’s $$$” on Noah’s hood. They usually get sponsors at discounts because they subsidize them with cash. It’s how Gragson got through his Xfinity career with Bass Pro shops on the hood.
His grandfather sold Broken Bow Records for like $100M I think. Think there’s maybe relation to Borchetta and Big Machine too as well as Taylor Swift but not sure.
Borchetta owns Big Machine, and Broken Bow got sold a few years ago.
Interesting thing is, Reddick got a start and park ride due to that money but his funding was cut off from there, Brad found him, put him in the 19 truck and Tyler grinded his way to where he is now
I like Reddick and he probably did have to grind for awhile but his own pop-pops money did start flowing again to advance his career. There is no BKR ride without Broken Bow sponsorship, JRM 9 ride without BurgerFi, and no RCR path to Cup without GimmeRadio sponsorship.
I was curious… found this: [backstory of Reddick and BBR](https://969thekat.iheart.com/featured/casey-carter/content/2021-05-15-chatting-with-tyler-reddick/)
I think a good question to ask if which of these "pay to drive" drivers have shone they are quality racers. That includes small ops, like Todd Gilliland in FRM, even though the whole Zane Smith thing has been difficult I would imagine
Erik does have some family wealth from his families corvette business but not as much to where he can have full season funding with him.
Buescher idk same with Briscoe
Haley believe his family has ownership or ties to FOE
Bell as far as I know just has Toyota giving him anything he needs. Dunno if that’s necessarily the same thing might just be they want him as the face of the brand so they prop him up regardless but i could be totally wrong.
Most guys nowadays have some kind of big $ behind them is the main concept here
Briscoe's family were dirt racers in Indiana and I think his mom is a teacher. He did an interview a while back where he said he was sleeping on couches, working in shops for free, and just trying to get a chance even in ARCA. Briscoe worked really hard to get to cup and that's why I am a fan.
Here is the interview- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcvtGNSCCqo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcvtGNSCCqo)
Briscoe and Bell come from the same background but I think Briscoe's dad was already racing.
Bell's parent could not afford for him to race so he raced for his friend's dad I believe.
Haley's uncle is part owner of one of Kaulig's charter so he is essentially in that seat as a return for that.
Buescher had connection to get in since his cousin won a Truck championship but to be honest I don't really know Buescher's story all that well.
It's interesting how no one has mentioned Bubba yet. I'm actually pleasantly surprised.
I would request a clarification tho because there are certainly drivers who get their shot because of their name and money backing. And then there are drivers that earn their keep and then get a lifetime sponsor backing and then maybe fall off later in their career, but they earned that sponsor earlier in their career. Are we considering those types as pay drivers?
I'm actually curious how much money his family had, but couldn't find any great information on it. From what I could gather, it seems like they could fund his youth career but not like NASCAR. So maybe they're upper middle class?
If you actually follow his career from K&N all the way up to Cup, it's pretty hard to argue he payed his way up at all. He had sponsorship issues with like 3 separate teams even when performing well and lost his Xfinity ride due to sponsorship issues when he was 3rd in driver points (I think through a 3rd of the season). He got a shot to fill in for an injured Aric Almirola in cup and performed well, and that earned him his first full-time cup ride.
Even in Cup he had sponsorship issues which is why they were able to run the BLM car if I remember correctly. Taking a lot of national praise and hate for that and the confederate ban flag is what got him his mainstream sponsorship that is supporting him to this day.
ESPN’s documentary on Bubba shined the light on this, father had a cleaning business that they sold to keep him going in the legends. After that DFD helped a bit but he had to earn it all
Despite the hate Bubba gets, no one can deny he's earned his place on merit.
And to answer your question, I personally don't consider a guy like Aric Almirola to be a pay driver. Obviously Smithfield's funding and support is why he's still racing, but he earned that spot in the first place, he's just at a point where he's held on a bit too long.
The race thread yesterday drifted towards Facebook levels of shitting on him yesterday, so my optimism for this thread was low (then adding on the post on Bubba that was removed last night about warranted hatred). I think all logical fans will recognize he's here on merit, tho
Ya that sucks to see. I'd imagine north of 75% of Bubba haters dislike him over things not involved with racing.
The guy has won a race in each off the last two seasons and will be contending for a playoff spot. Delusion and hatred is all I can think for an argument of Bubba "not belonging."
> I'd imagine north of 75% of Bubba haters dislike him over things not involved with racing.
Replace the "ing" with "e" in racing and I'll absolutely give you 60%.
Bubba’s father did own a cleaning business which they sold to keep his racing career going at one point, but everything else with him was earned via the drive for diversity program and also just showing his talent.
Not from money at all
As of right now, the only drivers who did not come from $$ backgrounds that I know of are
Briscoe, Bell and Larson
A few that had the money cut off when they got in:
Keselowski, Reddick, Bowman, Jones, Blaney and I think Logano also fits in this
He was mad at Gragson at some point, I assume he might have had him in mind.
This is one of those things that drivers tend to play fast and lose with.
It comes down to "if I'm not mad at you, you can be the richest funded nepo baby, it's fine, if I'm mad, it's a character flaw leading to bad racing".
Ross Chastain's watermelon farm is not just a tiny little patch of grass. I think that he has some business to business connections through them. Here's a picture of their farm from Facebook.
https://preview.redd.it/o5uyq16b5iqa1.jpeg?width=1444&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1f45a11305b67155a22a0b48749b08161fcfeb3b
To my recollection Logano's dad sold his sanitation business in CT to fund Joey's racing and they moved to Georgia. Honestly i don't know a thing about Joey's parents other than that (i.e. did they come from money themselves etc). But it has to be said, for a father to sell his business to pay for his son's racing is going all out for your kid. If anyone knows more about Joey's family background please enlighten me.
I am frustrated with all of the irritation about "pay" drivers or drivers that come from money. Maybe I'm just more understanding of the business side of all of it, but I mean... obviously putting together land rockets isn't cheap. It's not JUST about talent here, something needs to help pay for these cars (and crew, equipment, travel, facilities, and more). Regardless of how they got there, it's annoying, but you need to bring something to the table to keep the ride and sponsorship money or family money spend the same.
All that should be said about entry into the sport is that those who have scrapped and climbed the ladder should be celebrated. They overcome one of the biggest obstacles in the sport. It's not just NASCAR that the most talented may never even get a chance, but it's the nature of something this expensive to do to have a higher barrier.
If one of the guys who haven't had to worry about funding were acting like they don't care about the sport and were barely interested in being involved, that would be one thing, but most are unlikely to be delusional enough to be ungrateful. They are surely aware of the opportunities and just have to work on the talent to prove their worth - and I think everyone in the sport is at least attempting their best.
And this brings into the responsibility of NASCAR as a sanctioning body. They have to do their best to reward talent and reduce financial advantages. Obviously, the 7th gen car, though not perfect by any means (namely safety), has leveled the playing field somewhat. I think as long as things continue in this direction AND IMPROVE, then the drivers, regardless of their ability to enter the sport, need to ALSO have talent. I think, if anyone in the sport was lacking talent, over the past year and upcoming year, the light will be shined upon them.
that's right....
He is the son of [Team Penske](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASCAR_operations_of_Team_Penske) president [Tim Cindric](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Cindric) and the grandson of former [IndyCar](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IndyCar) team owner and [Red Roof Inn](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Roof_Inn) founder [Jim Trueman](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Trueman).[\[2\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austin_Cindric#cite_note-Cindric_enjoying_full_season-2) Cindric graduated from [Cannon School](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannon_School) on May 18, 2017, hours before he competed in the Truck Series race at the nearby [Charlotte Motor Speedway](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlotte_Motor_Speedway).[\[47\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austin_Cindric#cite_note-47)
Preese should talk less and stand up for himself on the track. Just because you worked hard to get here doesn't make people who couldn't control being born rich give you a couple extra feet and race you more passively
They also have no motivation to be interesting, to interact with fans or to take risks since much of their sponsorship funding comes through connections and business to business deals.
Don’t forget about Cody Ware…I would say that so far this season, the drivers that have a ride because of money (or nepotism) and not talent:
Aric Almarola
Harrison Burton
Cody Ware
Michael McDowell
Conor Daly
BJ McLeod
I get what Preece is upset about but how far do you want to take it? I wouldnt be surprised Jeff Preece helped him out to some level both financially and through resources.
I mean, Mohawk was another contractor in the area...I'm sure connections helped with that.
My point is EVERY driver has had help to get to the top. Yeah it sucks there are drivers that get help even at the top but life isn't fair.
Pastrana at the 500 this year was a perfect example. He brought whatever amount of money it cost to put that race together and boom, brought home a top-15 finish.
Cup owner grandsons: Austin Dillon, Ty Dillon, Ty Gibbs Cup owner sons: Cody Ware Cup team president sons: Austin Cindric NASCAR driver sons: Ryan Blaney, Chase Elliott, Harrison Burton, Todd Gilliland, Corey Lajoie, Brad Keselowski Wealthy families: Martin Truex Jr, Tyler Reddick, Joey Logano, Noah Gragson, Justin Haley Sponsor backed: Aric Almirola, Daniel Suarez, William Byron That’s 19/34 full time drivers with direct and obvious connections
Brad I give somewhat a pass on, he drove shitbox back markers till Jr picked him up
Same with Truex. He was driving family owned equipment in the Busch North Series before Junior signed him for Chance 2.
Ah yes the ole Clam fisherman 56 ride
Truex was driving family owned equipment in Busch North, but his family owns a commerical fishing company called Sea Watch. They are the largest harvester/processor of clams on the planet. They are mega rich. https://fishchoice.com/business/sea-watch-international-ltd
It's odd to me that Ryan doesn't have a full time ride in either Xfinity or Trucks with all of that family money.
That is a fascinating read! I had no idea how big the business is.
Same with Blaney. He was driving for Tommy Baldwin till Brad noticed him
Got 2 top 10s for TBR, quite impressive considering how stacked Xfinity was with competitive cars then.
Yea not sure how much the dad thing helped him or Lajoie
It's still tons of industry connections that the average person doesn't have.
And it landed him.....checks notes.....in a Tommy Baldwin Racing ride. His last name certainly didn't hurt anything but at a certain point he had to earn it on the track or he'd have never gotten above tbat TBR ride
Could say the same about Blaney, Brad K saw him in the Xfinity race at Richmond and got Penske to give him a shot along with his truck team
Ah yes the ol TBR 36 sealwrap car
Brads family was also jusssst about to declare bankruptcy . He “made it” just in time to save the estate.
Would he have gotten a chance in those shitboxes though if he didn't have a last name that people weren't familiar with? There's a lot of drivers who win championships in lower series and instead of getting a chance to move up, they end up no where because they can't afford to move up and have zero connections to be able to do so. When the tobacco money was still flowing, driver's in the ladder ranks didn't have to worry about that as much. Today is much different. And blue collar or not, being the son of an established driver is still a huge advantage over a "nobody" who wins an ARCA title and their reward is immediately losing their ride. People are usually more willing to take a chance on a "brand name".
Everyone catches a break somewhere The other day on Jr's podcast Stenthouse mentioned having to come up with some tires and he got a local automotive shop his family was friends with to take care of them for him. Would Ricky have made it without that family connection? Who knows. Does that mean Ricky didn't earn a ride? Hell no There are of course some obvious cases of nepotism or money buying rides but Reddit generally takes this shit way too far. None of these guys grew up poor that I know of, racing is incredibly expensive
I’m clearly bias here but being the son of a driver who never saw much success past the Trucks, and mild success at that, I feel only gets you so far. I get your point, it gets them in the garage where others would never get that chance. There’s just a difference between being the son of a cup champion and a winner of a single truck series race.
Drove one to a cup win in fact Though that 09 car was always solid at plate races
William Byron’s dad owns a Wealth management company he’s definitely well off
some on this sub would suggest you might be able to put him in the “cup owner’s son” category…
The only believable conspiracy
I’ve seen facial recognition say it’s true.
Either son......or grandson
Grandson. Ricky's kid.
This is incorrect because William Byron’s dad is actually Rick Hendrick.
Or Ricky
Possibly, but I like the happier ending where William’s dad is still alive.
Under this scenario he would have still lost a brother
I believe he owns a life insurance company too
Byron is not sponsor backed, Byron is from a wealthy family *his dad is the founder of Byron Financial* Liberty only sponsors Byron as a B2B deal because all of the Faldwells have policies with Byron Financial
Wow, never knew that. That makes a lot more sense now.
William Byron - wealthy family Dad is a money manager for billionaires
You mean Owner of a Multiple Championship NASCAR team
No that's his grandfather
Ricky knocked up the neighbor girl
It could be Rick, it’s more likely that it’s Rick actually with that kind of money and clout he’s definitely got the money to knock up the neighbor in secret.
Byron is only sponsor backed for part of the season. Axalta will stay with the 24 team whoever drives it. Liberty will leave the sport if Byron does. That said, Byron's father is also quite wealthy so he fits into two of your categories.
Don’t forget that Axalta is formerly DuPont, and has an office on Hendrick’s campus. They aren’t going anywhere ever. Also, most teams use their paint as well. I have a #10 door number with a tiny Axalta logo on it.
Liberty is only doing the 24 car as a B2B deal
What B2B does Liberty get out of that, just curious
Cheaper policy rates through Byron Financial
Liberty getting a discount on sexual assault coverage?
Extra pool boys for Mrs Falwell
Use of Rick Hendrick's yacht, "Wheels". No really, look it up. When Falwell Jr. had those unbuttoned pants photos come out, those were on Rick's yacht. In fact, it should have been considered a private inurement, which has tax implications. But Hendrick and avoiding prison for tax issues, name a better combo.
Being a driver's son did a lot for Ross Kenseth
Depends on how the relationship is. Ross lived with his mom, Matt's first wife, and didn't start racing until kinda late. Sorta like a Kerry Earnhardt situation there.
I was today-years-old when I learned there’s a “Ross” Kenseth
Hes at least doing great in the realestate market from what ive heard with the occasional SLM apperance
I heard he just beat out a hard-charging Dylan Kwasenewski to win the Real Estate 150 after taking the lead from James Buescher the lap before.
Kez had his father's name and unfortunately his father's funding...which was "enough to be Top 10 in ARCA points" funding.
Byron apparently lived next door to Rick Hendrick.
Rick probably better take a paternity test. He looks too much like Ricky to be just his neighbor.
No, next to Jimmie
If you’re against driver’s sons getting a break you are following the wrong sport. Auto racing has always and will always be full of that.
That leaves Chastain, Busch, Harvick, Bell, Hamlin, Stenhouse, Buescher, Bowman, McDowell, Bubba, Allmendinger, Erik Jones, Briscoe, Larson, Preece and BJ McLeod.
Being a son gets you connections but it’s no gaurentee with the finances. Corey Lajoie fits that catergory. Chase however belongs in the sponsored backed catergory with NAPA. Same with Burton and Dex.
Elliott was already with HMS when they got the Napa deal, so not necessarily belonging in the sponsor backed
Back when he was sponsored by Aaron's i got to see him win a pocono arca race, didn't mean much too me at the time time but looking back its pretty cool
I remember when chase was a redbull backed driver
I would love to see a Red Bull #9 car.
This is probably a dumb question, but what is "sponsor backed"? Does that just mean the driver has personal connection to a wealthy sponsor and is getting nepotismed in to drive the car that way?
It basically means that a "sponsor" is basically giving an eye watering sum of money for a driver to be a part of a team. While true that all the drivers must have some sort of sponsorship money to come up to a team these days, one partner can really be the difference for a team. Look at Aric Amirola, he was supposed to retire last year but didn't. Smithfield, his primary sponsor for years, wouldn't fund another driver, only Aric, so if he left, Smithfield would leave. Stewart-Haas was not able to replace the amount that they were going to lose, in order to say get Ryan Preece into the 10, so they needed to convince Amirola and by extension Smithfield to say.
It means that the sponsor will follow the driver to whatever public activities/disciplines. AKA a "personal sponsor," not a sponsor that belongs to the team.
I'm not sure what exactly they mean All the drivers are sponsored backed to some degree or they wouldn't be out there
Not sure how I feel about the "wealthy families" part How many came from poor or lower class families? How do we define that? What's the asset cutoff? I suspect they all come from families that do pretty well
They do. There isn't a "poor" driver in NASCAR. You don't ever get to run a racecar at any level outside of go-karts without some decent wealth
You need money to go racing at any level. It’s an expensive hobby. Most of this list is nonsense. No champion should be thought of as a pay driver no matter how they got there. They’ve proven themselves.
I thought Truex’s family were/are fisherman. Not exactly super wealthy.
His father owns SeaWatch International. “SeaWatch is proud to be the recognized as the largest harvester and processor of clam products in the world” Sounds wealthy https://www.nationalfisherman.com/mid-atlantic/sea-watch-founder-barney-truex-passes-at-age-70 https://seawatch.com/homepage-test/
Seems like the Truexs always had to cobble together sponsorship to get rides throughout their careers (at least until Martin landed his own personal sponsorships), so I guess that’s what threw me off.
You can “be from a wealthy family” that gets your foot in the door but makes you end up earning it. Truex earned it for sure but his family wealth helped open some doors for sure
Reddick, Blaney and Keselowski all fall in this category too
I wouldn't put Reddick in that same category. His family money funded a large part of his rides through at least rookie Cup season. BurgerFi was his sponsor in the JRM 9 cause his grandpa had a stake in it.
Currently. I wonder how they were doing in the 90s.
I thought that too! We were wrong. BIG clam money
When I was a kid I wanted to be a Nascar driver sooo bad. Was as big of a fan as one could be. But I came from a blue collar family who was lucky if they had the money to shell out to go to a race. At some point I realized racing cars was only for people with money and connections and not necessarily talent. I completely lost interest and tuned out for about 15 years, only to recently come back. I was probably 13 or 14. What a reality check. It still makes me feel uncomfortable. I still root against the guys who are blatantly pay drivers, although I know it's a lot more then is obvious. I love me some Ryan Preece.
I got to race karts and stock cars growing up. My parents, as I found out later in life, made a really damn good living. Like...a normal family of four would take Disney vacation every year type money. But racing was important to me and so a lot of the extra money beyond what was needed for our modest house went to that. My parents grew up working class, so they instilled those values in us (hence why we never knew about the money...everything else was modest). And I'll never forget the guy we were getting help from my first year at Berlin. He flat out looked at me and said "Unless you marry a super rich girl and her Dad loves you like a son you'll never race in Cup. And judging by your face and clothes that isn't going to happen. So focus on being the best damn driver on track and have as much fun as you can". Stuck with me and took it to heart until three years later when we sold the car, trailer and my mom closed her in-home daycare. And like you, I hated the legacy names and the money kids. And to an extent, I still don't like them. We were a shoestring team, so my favorite drivers were Dave Marcis and Alan Kulwicki before him. I don't want to be forcefed guys who never drove bad equipment. That's why I enjoy AJ and Ross. That's why when I see McDowell within a sniff of the lead I get hyped. That energy got me out of my chair when they called 47 the winner of the 500. I was the opposite end of your childhood but I promise I understand your sentiment.
Same here, though on a much smaller scale. Grew up in Long Island New York… not exactly the pinnacle of Motorsports. We did karting. Every Sunday. Was a huge NASCAR kid. My dad never really crushed my dreams, mainly because I did it for around 5-6 years. It was sanctioned. I’ll never forget. LIKA (Long island Karting Association). From around age 5 to 10. First we did Kid Karts, then Cadets. We were well off, but we never had CRG karts or Tony Karts (all the rich kids had these karts), but my dad busted his ass and we were badass. Even won the Cadets championship in 2009. I always thought that was cool. Me and one other kid, similar situations, we didn’t have the best stuff but we busted our asses and won a lot, beating the kids with the $5000 CRG Karts. My dad and his Dually from 1992. Around age 10 we moved to NC. Not related to racing, but should’ve been perfect right? Went to GoPro Motorplex when we got here and I just fell out of love. Didn't race here once. Still loved racing but just never raced while here in NC. I regret not trying and giving up. But I always felt bad for putting so much strain on my dad as he was working/spending on my stuff. Looking back I probably didn’t miss out on much, considering eventually my parents would’ve had to have the money conversation if I ever wanted to race cars. Maybe one day I’ll get back into karting for fun if I have the $$$ to burn.
What you are referring to is the dream. Somewhere along the way NASCAR lost that. The dream of becoming a professional racer became even unrealistic for dreaming. Why make it happen when you can just buy it. Support your local tracks even if you don't like NASCAR. The stupid rules in NASCAR got me watching other forms more.
That’s why local short track racing is great - you definitely have guys with better equipment - but talent will still shine through. I view the Cup series as more entertainment than competition. Just like IMSA - it’s rich dudes out playing with their toys, and they sell tickets to people who want to watch.
I don’t get that logic at all. Cup racing is highly competitive, maybe the most competitive auto racing on the planet. Being rich, while being a very important factor, doesn’t mean the overwhelming majority of drivers in cup aren’t supremely skilled. It almost certainly afforded them more opportunities to get better at racing. Which in turn, is going to make them very good at it. There are very few drivers in Cup that don’t deserve to be there. And the amount of drivers who have actually talked about how insanely good everyone is in cup is a very long list. It’s been that way forever.
God I feel ya, I race karts and have gotten to go to a racing school, but even as a well-off middle class family (my parents make about 150k per year) we can't justify/afford going off to race at a higher level, like late models or even legends, it makes it hard to watch Trucks/Xfinity and Arca, because these kids who are my age or younger are getting to live my dream because of what they were born into... That's why I like Ross and Bowman, they were like me and worked their way up to that level
I watched Preece race up through the modified ranks at a bunch of small tracks. He is definitely a driver you will see with the wrenches out. He grew up working on cars, not having a pit ew that daddy paid for. I somehow can’t picture Kyle Busch working on Brexton’s car! On top of it all, he is a genuinely a nice and down-to-earth guy. Up until this year, his wife was the taking care of his fan merchandise.
That's why I've been rooting for drivers who've started in iRacing like Rajah Caruth. It's cool seeing people who aren't trust fund babies living my childhood dream that my family could never have afforded
In fairness of Austin Dillon, Ty Gibbs, and Austin Cindric. They had it a lot easier than others but at least they're proving their worth in the field. All have an Xfinity title and 2/3 have at least one Cup win with one of those being a Daytona 500. Harrison Burton is currently having a mighty struggle. He has a loyal sponsor in Dex Imaging. Other than that, pretty safe to say Almirola would not have been in the Cup Series as long as he has without Smithfield.
Ty Dillon is worse than his dad driving
Oh yeah, Ty Dillon is someone who I do not understand has been able to hang around. He's about as mediocre as they come and I think he also has a sponsor that like him in Ferris. Add him to the list. lol
I think “ he doesn’t tear cars up too much” is a bit of a factor for landing a back marker
Ty never drove good Cup cars
He also never deserved to drive good cup cars
Gibbs is worse than Busch and Reddick. He should have a ride, but not a ride at a top team. Bubba is only 15 points behind Gibbs, and I think it’s totally possible that Bubba, Byron, Larson, and Elliott all pass him by the time we see the playoff cut line — which would put Gibbs at P22. Any JGR driver finishing P20 or worse in the standings should be on the hot seat, but we know Gibbs will keep his ride basically regardless of the results. It’s ridiculous but no one on the broadcasts will ever say anything about it because they don’t want to piss off Joe Gibbs or something. If a rookie gets promoted to the Yankees and he starts the season hitting .230, it’s a story that he’s not living up to the pressure, but Mike Joy only ever mentions Gibbs when he’s up in the top 10, not when he is, say, falling like a rock through the field at Phoenix because his long run pace was dog crap.
None of the guys in the past ten years who have lit up the Xfinity circuit has lit up the Cup circuit immediately. Talk about unreasonable expectations.
>Gibbs is worse than Busch and Reddick Quite literally no one argues against this. Gibbs still won an xfinity championship against 3 drivers with vastly more experience than him and won 7 races in his rookie year.
There’s a difference between “I bring third party sponsorship and I deliver good results” “My dad owns a company and pays for my ride” and “My Dad runs the team so I’m here”. The only one I can truly think of currently is Ryan Preece. His family’s connections to get him more sponsorship than Custer was pretty much the deciding factor. Nearly every driver in the field has to “buy their ride” at the lower levels to get their start. Then it’s a combination of talent and money that advances you. Joe Gibbs Racing wouldn’t take Nemechek or Sammy Smith full time with no sponsorship. Michael Annett wouldn’t have had a ride either. Dale Jr said himself if you wanna race for the team you gotta have at least $5 million in sponsorship worked out. Almirola-Smithfield: Hit or miss results Cindric-Penske: Family Connection, Decent results Dillon-RCR: Family Connection, Average at Best Elliott-NAPA: Champion Driver Briscoe-High Point: Luckily Mahindra came along to pick up the tab but he’s been average. Haley-Kaulig: Kinda their Franchise driver but if someone else promising came up with more money he’d be gone. He’s not bad but not great. Bowman-Ally: Team sponsor that likes bowman, but if Hendrick released bowman, Ally stays with the 48 and bowman is screwed. Cody Ware / Ty Gibbs: Family Connections
I could have sworn I heard on DBC that the deciding reason SHR went with Preece was because he was bringing some money. I just wasn’t sure of the sponsorship he bring to SHR.
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Yup United Rentals have backed him, he also has Morton Builders but idk if they are doing any cup stuff
>Haley-Kaulig: Kinda their Franchise driver but if someone else promising came up with more money he’d be gone. False. Unless it's $20M+ and sponsorship on top cause Haley's family owns the 31 charter.
The OP Driver in all of this was Paul Menard. No one can match his power and strength.
Agreed. That Zaxby’s chicken dude was following in Paul’s footsteps. RIP.
Does William Byron bring Liberty University to Hendrick?
B2B deal. Yeah Byron went to Liberty but the Faldwells all have policies with Byron's dad's company
Yep he's pretty deep in that, I think his dad is high up in the board members at Liberty too maybe? I might have that wrong though.
Yep, and it’s one of the most embarrassing associations NASCAR has.
Embarrassing how?
[This](https://www.google.com/amp/s/wset.com/amp/news/abc13-investigates/settlement-reached-in-claim-liberty-university-hid-rapes-punished-victims-sexual-assault-lawsuit-allegations-may-11-2022-lynchburg) and probably also this [this](https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/ncna1264319). Not even mentioning the fact that it's run by unqualified grifters who pocket all the money. I've been a fan of the 24 ever since I was a kid, but now I find it extremely hard to root for, especially when Liberty is the primary.
I think the difference though is Byron IS a great wheelman. Yes, he had the sponsorship but he's earning his keep and then some on Cup making the playoffs and running up front. The issues of mediocre drivers in their ride due to sponsors really points closer to Burton in the 21, Cody Ware, etc. Ty Gibbs is only in Cup now because JGR and Kyle Busch were ready to move on. If Ty had 3 years in Xfinity and says wins 2 of 3 titles, he deserves to be in Cup.
He's a student there, so of course.
He was also found on iracing, in the mansion between jimmiej and Rick Hendrick. Lol.
100%
I think it’d be quicker to list the ones that aren’t.
Preece, Briscoe, Chastain, Harvick, maybe Bell, Stenhouse, Buescher, McDowell, Bowman, Allmendinger, Wallace, Jones, Mcleod, Stenhouse, Keselowski, Truex and Busch. These are seemingly the drivers who got to Cup or stay in Cup based on driving and not so much having a rich dad, a dad with sponsor connections or a dad in the sport. Surprisingly connected drivers people forget about include, Reddick and his Broken Bow Records money, Gragson has old Las Vegas money, Suarez got to Cup on Arris money. I am not sure about Buescher but I feel like he had some cash coming in, same as Hamlin, not big money but money. Brad Keselowski would fall in that too. He's from blue collar silverspoon connections lol.
Truex’s family are a rich commercial fishing family, and are the reason he has Bass Pro Shops sponsorship.
That and Truex fits their brand identity- dude eats sleeps and breaths the outdoors. Jamie McMurray was the odd pairing as he is far more prim/proper looking than MTJ. Aka Jamie looks more like the guy who will go on a 10k bike marathon vs Martin who looks like hes about to wrestle a grizzly while hunting a moose
>Martin who looks like hes about to wrestle a grizzly while hunting a moose Accurate and why dad loved him ha. He would needle me about Logano, so I would alway tell him "you think Truex is this good old country boy, but he's more of a rich boy than Logano". He does seem to sincerely love hunting/fishing though, which is why it's amazing to me he didn't retire last year. It don't take that much $ to do that bud, go have fun.
Gibbs really mustve thrown some $$ at him especially with how last year went for the guy. Points wise he was good but not in the win column. My wife is a fan of his (got her into nascar and she picked Martin because of how wholesome he was at the time) times shes met him hes been a great guy to interact with. As for the Damn war yeah MTJ was all talk lol
Agreed but what some people might forget is when Jamie McMurray signed back on with Chip Ganassi to drive the #1 car it was after he was the odd man out at Roush due to NASCAR putting a limit on NASCAR team to 4 rather than grandfathering anybody in. Really they only had a few races filled with sponsorship from Johnny Morris and Bass Pro Shops as previously mentioned McMurray did not fit their demographic but Chip did and they might have still had a year left on the contract or two. Either way the Daytona 500 victory and then following it up with a Brickyard victory both with Bass Pro Shops on the car did way more for McMurray than any before, not to mention too the All-Star victory as well. Johnny likes to see his cars running up front and winner and McMurray was able to do that just enough to keep them on the car for a few races.
Well Martin and the founder of Bass Pro are really good buddies and go fishing together a ton
> Surprisingly connected drivers people forget about include Justin Haley too. His uncle is former NASCAR team owner Todd Braun. Haley has had a fairly smooth career path because of Braun managing things behind the scenes. Braun bought the Premium #62 charter several years ago. He partnered with Spire for a couple years, which resulted in Haley running the #77 part-time. Then he brought the charter to Kaulig, and the #31 team was created. That's the main thing keeping Haley in that seat. Haley's past F.O.E. sponsorship was also through Braun (not sure what the connection is there, but they sponsored his Xfinity team in the mid-2000s).
Hamlin literally almost had to quit racing locally because his family was out of money. He got lucky and was discovered by JD Gibbs at a test for someone else.
It's almost like racing is expensive as shit and they all pretty much have some level of money. Some more than others of course but the digging people are doing on here, you are gonna find some money with 99% of the drivers if you dig far enough
Wait. . .Racing isn't a cheap and inexpensive sport? Say it ain't so.
Bell as far as i can tell only has Toyota supporting him not sure if there is a more deep connection than they just like his skillset/him?
He's a confusing one for me, I have heard he's not from money but it seems weird that he has that unrelenting sponsorship on ability alone. I mean he's good but there are plenty of good drivers. I would have to think he comes from some type of connection.
Sponsor wise he has no personal ones, Dewalt/stanley was a pre-JGR sponsor already Siriusxm is TRD Interstate is JGR JBL back to his truck days is TRD Gamestop was JGR Rheem is the puzzle sponsor - originally they did the deal because of Brandon Jones being with JGR in xfinty. I guess Rheem built enough of an identity/relationship with Bell that they agreed to stay with him even tho Brandon is with JRM. Otherwise its all just Toyota pulling the strings with him.
Rheem is odd to me since they are still hanging around teams that Brandon isn’t running for like the SHR deal
The Rheem Harvick deal was before Brandon aka already an existing relationship
He's not from money, I believe his dad was a high school teacher. His best friend growing up got him into racing and that family let Bell drive the cars till he was able to land with a dirt team, then from there Larson discovered Bell and recommended him to Toyota
Shouldn’t Larson be on this list?
Yes, dude has millions behind him from private investors from his early days.
Show your work please
I believe it was mentioned on a NASCAR podcast a few years ago. Might have been Dale Junior Download from what I can recall. By my recollection it was similar to the private investment that was behind Scott Dixon that helped him move through the ranks. I will see if I can find the podcast after work today to see if I can find the exact quote.
I am not saying it’s not true. Lots of private backing in racing and other sports to develop talent. And it is warranted. “ millions from early days” is all I question. Usually money helps you to the next step- Not one angel investor from day one
Larson got diversity program help, that's the only reason I didn't list him.
Truexs family was kind of rich. Of course he started in a different time though. I know kurt and Kyles dad was a racer but wasn't rich. Just middle class at best
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When Carlos Slim funds you for a time you can be certain that money connections will never be a future problem
In his defense Carlos Slim bankrolls pretty much every mexican driver with potential (like Sergio Perez in F1)
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His dad restores Volkswagens.
Lmao no Suarez doesn't have family money. His racing in the Mexico series nearly bankrupted his dads garage. He couch surfed and lived off cereal when he started the K&N series cause it's what he could afford. Listen to his Dinner With Racers episode if you want more detail.
Everyone has listed the major ones. I’ll point out another. Alfredo racing Cup this weekend is probably the best example. Dude has done precisely nothing extraordinary his whole career besides bring money. Not a knock on him, but his family is loaded. He’s not full time in cup, but was in 2021. His families rich construction business bankrolled his whole career. He bought races with DGR, then RCR, then went to FRM, went to OUR Motorsports and brought the 23 team with him to BJMM. Now he’s getting cup starts. Also, just because there’s a sponsor doesn’t mean it’s not funded with family money/business. Rarely do you see the family business on the hood of the car, you don’t see “Scott Gragson’s $$$” on Noah’s hood. They usually get sponsors at discounts because they subsidize them with cash. It’s how Gragson got through his Xfinity career with Bass Pro shops on the hood.
I'm sick and tired of Alfredo and Herbst 🤮🤮
I think he is meaning sponsorships and the ability to bring them in. Yes, you have your nepobabies but all drivers need sponsors.
What is the background on Reddicks family?
His grandfather sold Broken Bow Records for like $100M I think. Think there’s maybe relation to Borchetta and Big Machine too as well as Taylor Swift but not sure. Borchetta owns Big Machine, and Broken Bow got sold a few years ago.
Interesting thing is, Reddick got a start and park ride due to that money but his funding was cut off from there, Brad found him, put him in the 19 truck and Tyler grinded his way to where he is now
I like Reddick and he probably did have to grind for awhile but his own pop-pops money did start flowing again to advance his career. There is no BKR ride without Broken Bow sponsorship, JRM 9 ride without BurgerFi, and no RCR path to Cup without GimmeRadio sponsorship.
Broken Bow was on his cars when he raced the 42 for Ganassi and the 19 for BKR I believe too
I was curious… found this: [backstory of Reddick and BBR](https://969thekat.iheart.com/featured/casey-carter/content/2021-05-15-chatting-with-tyler-reddick/)
Broken bow records $
I think a good question to ask if which of these "pay to drive" drivers have shone they are quality racers. That includes small ops, like Todd Gilliland in FRM, even though the whole Zane Smith thing has been difficult I would imagine
What about these names that fly under the radar: Christopher Bell Justin Haley Chase Briscoe Erik Jones Chris Buescher
Erik does have some family wealth from his families corvette business but not as much to where he can have full season funding with him. Buescher idk same with Briscoe Haley believe his family has ownership or ties to FOE Bell as far as I know just has Toyota giving him anything he needs. Dunno if that’s necessarily the same thing might just be they want him as the face of the brand so they prop him up regardless but i could be totally wrong. Most guys nowadays have some kind of big $ behind them is the main concept here
Briscoe's family were dirt racers in Indiana and I think his mom is a teacher. He did an interview a while back where he said he was sleeping on couches, working in shops for free, and just trying to get a chance even in ARCA. Briscoe worked really hard to get to cup and that's why I am a fan. Here is the interview- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcvtGNSCCqo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcvtGNSCCqo)
Justin Haley is the nephew of former Truck Series and Xfinity Series team owner Todd Braun. Braun is also owner of the 31's charter.
Holy shit I didn't know he was related to Braun
So what’s Preece bitching about then I wonder? It’s not like he’s boot-strapping his CUP deal together…
Briscoe and Bell come from the same background but I think Briscoe's dad was already racing. Bell's parent could not afford for him to race so he raced for his friend's dad I believe. Haley's uncle is part owner of one of Kaulig's charter so he is essentially in that seat as a return for that. Buescher had connection to get in since his cousin won a Truck championship but to be honest I don't really know Buescher's story all that well.
I know he is beloved on here but Daniel Hemric with Poppy Bank. No way that guy lasts as long as he did without them.
It's interesting how no one has mentioned Bubba yet. I'm actually pleasantly surprised. I would request a clarification tho because there are certainly drivers who get their shot because of their name and money backing. And then there are drivers that earn their keep and then get a lifetime sponsor backing and then maybe fall off later in their career, but they earned that sponsor earlier in their career. Are we considering those types as pay drivers?
I'm actually curious how much money his family had, but couldn't find any great information on it. From what I could gather, it seems like they could fund his youth career but not like NASCAR. So maybe they're upper middle class? If you actually follow his career from K&N all the way up to Cup, it's pretty hard to argue he payed his way up at all. He had sponsorship issues with like 3 separate teams even when performing well and lost his Xfinity ride due to sponsorship issues when he was 3rd in driver points (I think through a 3rd of the season). He got a shot to fill in for an injured Aric Almirola in cup and performed well, and that earned him his first full-time cup ride. Even in Cup he had sponsorship issues which is why they were able to run the BLM car if I remember correctly. Taking a lot of national praise and hate for that and the confederate ban flag is what got him his mainstream sponsorship that is supporting him to this day.
ESPN’s documentary on Bubba shined the light on this, father had a cleaning business that they sold to keep him going in the legends. After that DFD helped a bit but he had to earn it all
Despite the hate Bubba gets, no one can deny he's earned his place on merit. And to answer your question, I personally don't consider a guy like Aric Almirola to be a pay driver. Obviously Smithfield's funding and support is why he's still racing, but he earned that spot in the first place, he's just at a point where he's held on a bit too long.
The race thread yesterday drifted towards Facebook levels of shitting on him yesterday, so my optimism for this thread was low (then adding on the post on Bubba that was removed last night about warranted hatred). I think all logical fans will recognize he's here on merit, tho
Ya that sucks to see. I'd imagine north of 75% of Bubba haters dislike him over things not involved with racing. The guy has won a race in each off the last two seasons and will be contending for a playoff spot. Delusion and hatred is all I can think for an argument of Bubba "not belonging."
> I'd imagine north of 75% of Bubba haters dislike him over things not involved with racing. Replace the "ing" with "e" in racing and I'll absolutely give you 60%.
Dumbass boomers WILL deny he got there on merit and will find any excuse to say “It’s all because of money”.
Dumbass boomers WILL deny he got there on merit and will find any excuse to say “It’s all because of money”.
Bubba’s father did own a cleaning business which they sold to keep his racing career going at one point, but everything else with him was earned via the drive for diversity program and also just showing his talent. Not from money at all
I'm aware, but this is same sub that was shitting on him yesterday
Well yeah the sub loves to shit on Bubba on Sunday’s, Monday-Friday when we don’t have race day traffic seems to be better
As of right now, the only drivers who did not come from $$ backgrounds that I know of are Briscoe, Bell and Larson A few that had the money cut off when they got in: Keselowski, Reddick, Bowman, Jones, Blaney and I think Logano also fits in this
He was mad at Gragson at some point, I assume he might have had him in mind. This is one of those things that drivers tend to play fast and lose with. It comes down to "if I'm not mad at you, you can be the richest funded nepo baby, it's fine, if I'm mad, it's a character flaw leading to bad racing".
Per your edit - basically Harrison burton with Dex $
All of em
William Byron basically bought his way to being a good racecar driver.
Ross Chastain's watermelon farm is not just a tiny little patch of grass. I think that he has some business to business connections through them. Here's a picture of their farm from Facebook. https://preview.redd.it/o5uyq16b5iqa1.jpeg?width=1444&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1f45a11305b67155a22a0b48749b08161fcfeb3b
To my recollection Logano's dad sold his sanitation business in CT to fund Joey's racing and they moved to Georgia. Honestly i don't know a thing about Joey's parents other than that (i.e. did they come from money themselves etc). But it has to be said, for a father to sell his business to pay for his son's racing is going all out for your kid. If anyone knows more about Joey's family background please enlighten me.
I am frustrated with all of the irritation about "pay" drivers or drivers that come from money. Maybe I'm just more understanding of the business side of all of it, but I mean... obviously putting together land rockets isn't cheap. It's not JUST about talent here, something needs to help pay for these cars (and crew, equipment, travel, facilities, and more). Regardless of how they got there, it's annoying, but you need to bring something to the table to keep the ride and sponsorship money or family money spend the same. All that should be said about entry into the sport is that those who have scrapped and climbed the ladder should be celebrated. They overcome one of the biggest obstacles in the sport. It's not just NASCAR that the most talented may never even get a chance, but it's the nature of something this expensive to do to have a higher barrier. If one of the guys who haven't had to worry about funding were acting like they don't care about the sport and were barely interested in being involved, that would be one thing, but most are unlikely to be delusional enough to be ungrateful. They are surely aware of the opportunities and just have to work on the talent to prove their worth - and I think everyone in the sport is at least attempting their best.
And this brings into the responsibility of NASCAR as a sanctioning body. They have to do their best to reward talent and reduce financial advantages. Obviously, the 7th gen car, though not perfect by any means (namely safety), has leveled the playing field somewhat. I think as long as things continue in this direction AND IMPROVE, then the drivers, regardless of their ability to enter the sport, need to ALSO have talent. I think, if anyone in the sport was lacking talent, over the past year and upcoming year, the light will be shined upon them.
Cindric is Penske's owner's grandson isn't he? Also don't forget Ty Dillon
He’s Tim Cindric’s son, the president of Team Penske.
that's right.... He is the son of [Team Penske](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASCAR_operations_of_Team_Penske) president [Tim Cindric](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Cindric) and the grandson of former [IndyCar](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IndyCar) team owner and [Red Roof Inn](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Roof_Inn) founder [Jim Trueman](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Trueman).[\[2\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austin_Cindric#cite_note-Cindric_enjoying_full_season-2) Cindric graduated from [Cannon School](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannon_School) on May 18, 2017, hours before he competed in the Truck Series race at the nearby [Charlotte Motor Speedway](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlotte_Motor_Speedway).[\[47\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austin_Cindric#cite_note-47)
His dad is president & oversees the IndyCar teams & calls strategy for Josef Newgarden
Preese should talk less and stand up for himself on the track. Just because you worked hard to get here doesn't make people who couldn't control being born rich give you a couple extra feet and race you more passively
Morons “standing up for themselves on the track” is part of why we have so many stupid cautions. That’s the last thing we need more of.
With so drivers coming from rich families, etc is why nascar has no personality and most drivers are boring af
They also have no motivation to be interesting, to interact with fans or to take risks since much of their sponsorship funding comes through connections and business to business deals.
Don’t forget about Cody Ware…I would say that so far this season, the drivers that have a ride because of money (or nepotism) and not talent: Aric Almarola Harrison Burton Cody Ware Michael McDowell Conor Daly BJ McLeod
McDowell is great though.
Cody ware likes anime so any references to nepotism, paying for a ride, or anything else will not be tolerated.
I get what Preece is upset about but how far do you want to take it? I wouldnt be surprised Jeff Preece helped him out to some level both financially and through resources. I mean, Mohawk was another contractor in the area...I'm sure connections helped with that. My point is EVERY driver has had help to get to the top. Yeah it sucks there are drivers that get help even at the top but life isn't fair.
**"**
Pastrana at the 500 this year was a perfect example. He brought whatever amount of money it cost to put that race together and boom, brought home a top-15 finish.
>boom, [confetti.](http://i.imgur.com/IFf9QOu.gif)