The 2025 NASCAR Cup Series campaign officially got underway at the Daytona 500 on Feb. 16. As is the case at the start of every new season, drivers have been more in the public eye, attending pre-race events as well as making television appearances promoting the sport.
But for fans paying attention, they realize the drivers haven’t stopped there. Drivers have shown up in other capacities around the nation, including Chase Elliott and Bubba Wallace making the rounds in Chicago and appearing on Barstool Sports. Ryan Blaney and his new wife Gianna visited Austin, Texas for some good eats and good times.
These additional appearances aren’t by accident. They’re intentional, and most importantly, they’re profitable for the drivers as a part of NASCAR’s new Driver Ambassador Program, which is designed to get the drivers out in the public and reward them for doing so.
Through an app, drivers and their agents can see potential media opportunities available that are in addition to the traditional at-track appearances done in the past. The app features a scoring system and drivers receive points for their respective appearances.
According to the Sports Business Journal, drivers receive one point for every 15 minutes. The larger the media platform, the more points earned. A national television appearance earns four points in an hour.
There will be two payouts each year. After all the points are added up during each period, the top performer will receive $1 million while the bottom performer is expected to receive around $7,500. One driver could potentially earn $2 million for the year.
“ I think it’s good,” Blaney said during his visit to the Lone Star State. “I think you’re going to see a lot of guys – Chase is a great example of going out and doing 10 times more stuff than what we would do. And this is everybody than what we normally do just because you’re getting some extra dough to do it right.
“And I think that’s right. If you’re doing work, extra work, you should be compensated for it. I think I was happy with where it got. And I think you’re gonna see the sport get healthier as well from it because you’re gonna have the whole field want to do all this stuff.”
The sport will get healthier as will the drivers’ bank accounts in what appears to be a win-win situation for everyone involved.
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