"How do we make them as rockstars?": Kevin Harvick backs NASCAR's new initiative aimed to boost drivers and the sport's popularity

Kevin Harvick has shared his take on NASCAR's driver incentive program which will kick into action in 2025. Towards the end of last year, it was reported that NASCAR would introduce a program that would reward drivers for promoting the sport with up to a million dollars.

This was something that Katelyn Vincie, the co-host of the Happy Hour podcast, asked NASCAR legend Harvick for his thoughts on. The recently retired driver said:

"I think the one thing that we all talk about as this program was being put together in the last couple of years was, 'How do we build the drivers as brands? How do we make them as rockstars?' Well, the first thing we gotta do is to figure out how to get them in front of people that they need to be in front of to make them rockstars." [16:50]

Harvick mentioned that ever since the financial crisis of 2008, the sponsors who were involved in NASCAR began to change. He recalled the difference in brands' business models when he was an up-and-coming driver in the early 2000s:

"So the sponsors really promoted the sport as I was coming through the sport to be able to grow it and make you have a brand because you were exposed to so many things and news outlets and media outlets across the country."

The former RCR driver said that brands would bring people to the hospitality, have commercials, and offer suites to promote themselves, the driver, and the sport.

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Kevin Harvick doesn't think NASCAR's incentive program is an 'out of the box' idea

Further sharing his thoughts on the drivers incentive program on his podcast, Kevin Harvick said the program allows drivers to get "creative" with their own brands. He remarked that nobody likes or cares about themselves more than themselves, and over the years, some drivers haven't worked hard enough on their brands:

"I think the incentive program is really meant to grow the sport and to be able to let these drivers grow their brands and get creative with social media and all the different things that go along with it. PGA has a very similar system that they use from a PR standpoint so it's not outside the box of what other sports are doing." [18:30]

The former Stewart Haas Racing driver mentioned that when one looks at the reported amount of money as a reward in this program, it's "peanuts" compared to the bigger picture of TV deals, what teams get, and so on.

Harvick remarked that considering NASCAR is a "driver-driven sport", fans show up to see their favorite drivers drive their cars. He added that drivers deserve what they're getting from this program, as he hoped the program works for the good of both the drivers and NASCAR as a whole.