How do NASCAR sponsorships work? Exploring stock car racing’s biggest lifeline and its function

There is no denying that NASCAR sponsorships bear immense importance. The cars have brand logos all over them; the drivers have them printed on their firesuits, and almost every single race throughout the season is presented by one company or another. But how do these sponsorships work? And how much does being a primary sponsor cost?

As per reports, a company incurs a fee of about $350,000 to $500,000 for each race as a primary sponsor. Let’s take the NASCAR Cup Series, for example. If a company decides to fund a driver for all 36 races of the season, they might as well be willing to spend anywhere around $12 million to $18 million per season.

Arguably, the biggest purpose of spending that much money is for brand visibility. The sponsors can decide what color they want on the car, and that might change every week. Notably, brands can choose tracks they want to sponsor races on.

“Often there are sponsors who might have a track that’s more important based on a particular market,” explained Dave Alpert, President of Joe Gibbs Racing, in a video. “Maybe they sell more in a certain region of the country and they wanna bring customers. So for that reason a track might make more sense.”

Another reason why NASCAR needs sponsors is for the fuel that is used for its races. A NASCAR team uses about 100 gallons of fuel for a 500-mile race.

This means that priced at $4 per gallon, each car would require $2000 worth of fuel, which is expensive indeed. And this doesn’t include practice and qualifying sessions. Thanks to Sunoco, NASCAR’s official sponsor for the Green E15, a blend of ethanol and unleaded gasoline, the teams get all that fuel for free.

What about the money that is spent on the trips that the drivers are required to make every single week? Again, that’s where the sponsors come in. Even the salaries of the drivers are paid by the sponsors. In exchange for that, the drivers have to make scheduled appearances in certain brand events and even commercials.

Additionally, the driver gets to keep whatever he earns from winning races. Needless to say, there are added bonuses for winning crown jewel races like the Daytona 500 or the Coca-Cola 600. As per auto.howstuffworks.com,

“In 2008, (Jeff) Gordon garnered $17 million in endorsements and royalties, and $15 million in salary and race winnings, for a total of $32 million.­”

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NASCAR parts ways with longtime sponsor in 2024

With the 2024 season done and dusted, NASCAR has reportedly severed bonds with Geico, a reputed insurance company that joined forces with the sport back in 2019. Geico had been known to be the title sponsor of the famed GEICO 500 race at Talladega Superspeedway.

In an official statement, NASCAR said,

“The partnership between NASCAR and Geico has demonstrated the immense value and weekly excitement that two consumer-driven brands can create, and we are proud of the extraordinary brand value, exposure and growth opportunities we’ve built together. We’ve appreciated their partnership and presence in the sport as one of our first premier partners.”

Geico has been one of the premier partners of NASCAR besides Busch Light, Coca-Cola, and Xfinity since 2020. With its departure, the fans might wonder who would be the new title sponsor for the coveted race at the 2.66-mile tri-oval superspeedway in Lincoln, Alabama.