"The overall average has shifted" - William Byron on how new drivers should "demand their value" amidst NASCAR salary slump

Cup Series driver William Byron shared his thoughts on the evolution of the sport in one of the latest episodes of the Kenny Wallace show.

The winner of the 2024 Daytona 500 talked about NASCAR's earnings structure and pointed out the difficulties drivers are facing now. He said:

"It’s a performance sport, that will never change. Yeah, definitely the bottom line I guess and the overall average of the series has probably shifted over the last few years."

However, William Byron did not agree with the idea that pay for all NASCAR drivers had dropped. He emphasized that top-tier drivers, who keep on winning races and fighting for championships, continue to receive salaries appropriate to the elite status of the sport.

"No, I think that’s mostly false. It definitely is false for the great drivers, or the guys that are winning races," Byron said.

The No. 24 driver indicated that a gap exists in NASCAR, in which a few drivers who accept lower salaries have been pulling NASCAR average earnings down. He said:

"There’s an average and I think that if we get drivers who come in that do race for whatever that number is and just kind of bring everything down, it’s important that we hold that value."

The Hendrick Motorsport driver added:

"I think it's important that when new drivers come in that they demand their value and I think that really kind of establishes it."

By pointing out these challenges, William Byron argued for the use of bodies such as the Drivers Council to guarantee that drivers are paid fairly, saying:

The drivers we got a council and we've got a lot of things going on behind the scenes to make sure that that doesn't happen."

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William Byron's Daytona 500 win prize money

William Byron won the Daytona 500 in the 2024 Cup Series season opener. The winning total purse of the race was $28,035,991 (via Fox Sports Bob Pockrass on X), making it one of the most important prizes in racing.

Though the exact amount of money awarded to winners has not been publicly shared since 2015, the historical data gives a rough idea.

For instance, in 2016, Joey Logano was awarded $1.58 million from an $18 million Daytona 500 purse. Also, the revelation from 2023, shared by Pockrass, stated that the winner of the Daytona 500 should see financial rewards in the range of $1.5 to $2 million or about 8-10% of the total purse.

Consequently, considering these estimates, William Byron probably got a large part of the purse, something between $2.4 and $2.8 million, highlighting the considerable financial gains that come with winning NASCAR’s top race.