“I feel bad”: NASCAR Insider slams driver’s ‘joke’ pay deals as charter agreement goes public

Renowned NASCAR insider, Brett Griffin, took to his official social media account to slam the latest charter agreement and drivers' 'joke' pay. Griffin's criticism surfaced after the 2025 charter agreement went public.

Bob Pockrass, the Motorsports reporter of Fox Sports, recently shared the details about the 2025 charter agreement. In the X post, Pockrass uploaded documents that showed a charter team receives an average payout of $141,000 per event.

Griffin, quote-tweeting the X post, highlighted how paltry the drivers' pay is. He also mentioned that a few drivers barely earn money when they finish outside the top 25. Writing on this, here's what he stated:

"I feel bad for all the drivers that have signed crappy (money) deals. Some get zero money from the purse if they don’t finish top-25. And, what they do get is a joke on some of those deals when they actually go out and have a solid day."

Following this, the NASCAR spotter recalled how a driver, with whom he had worked previously, took care of him and his family. Empathizing this more, he further added:

"I was fortunate to work for a driver from 2001 until he retired that took great care of me and my family so I’m always going to have an affinity for a driver making a fair wage, putting their life on the line and to represent successful companies."

Here's Brett Griffin's criticism about NASCAR's charter pay:

The detailed information about charter pay stated that the driver with the race victory will win 5.160 percent of the prize purse, while the driver at the very last will receive 0.886 percent. In the documents, there was also the fixed owner's plan layout and the year-end point fund layout.

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How much do NASCAR drivers earn?

NASCAR drivers generally earn less than their Formula 1 counterparts. Considering the lack of global reach of F1, the drivers receive significantly less salary, and most of them make less than $1 million in an entire season.

Cup Series driver Kyle Busch (8) before NASCAR Cup Series Xfinity 500 Practice and Qualifying at Martinsville Speedway - Source: Imagn

Leaving the Truck and Xfinity Series, the two feeder series behind, the Cup Series drivers also do not get paid enough. For instance, according to a report by PlanetF1, top NASCAR Cup Series drivers such as Christopher Bell, Chase Briscoe, and Tyler Reddick get paid around a million.

Whereas the world champions and veterans, such as Kyle Busch, get paid around $17 million, Denny Hamlin gets paid around $13 million. Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano get paid anywhere around $9 million. Top Hendrick Motorsports drivers Kyle Larson and one of the most popular drivers, Chase Elliott are paid $8 million.

When compared to F1, Max Verstappen receives a staggering $75 million, Lewis Hamilton takes home $57 million, and the likes of Carlos Sainz, George Russell, Oscar Piastri, Charles Leclerc, Fernando Alonso, and Lando Norris all get paid more than Kyle Busch.

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Edited by Sabyasachi Biswas