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Richard Childress Racing announced Friday at Texas Motor Speedway that 19-year-old John Wes Townley will join the team in the NASCAR Nationwide Series for the 2010 season. Said Townley, "I look forward to the opportunity to drive for Richard Childress Racing next year. It's a thrill to be part of their organization. They have such a well-respected history and have produced solid results over the years. I'm confident we'll run well next season."

The team will have its work cut out for it if it hopes to fulfill Townley’s goal of running well next season. Considered by reporters and fans to be one of the worst drivers in the sport, Townley has 10 DNFs, seven wrecks, six DNQs and numerous crashes in practice and qualifying in one year in the Nationwide Series.

The first thing we need to establish in order to answer this question is that our subject is NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers. Asking “How much do NASCAR drivers make?” is like asking “How much do CEOs make?” The answer would depend on the size of the CEO’s company.
   
NASCAR’s three national tours are well-publicized and the work pays well. NASCAR also sanctions six regional tours and 86 grassroots-level short tracks in the United States, Canada and Mexico. There are literally thousands of drivers who don’t make money and actually spend money to race in NASCAR. As a whole, most drivers don’t make anything. Cup Series drivers are paid well, but they represent the smallest percentage of the NASCAR community. This piece addresses Cup Series drivers – the guys at the top.

Each driver’s contract is different, but there are a lot of industry standards and similarities. Common practices include a salary, a percentage of the car’s winnings, a souvenir sales percentage and performance bonuses. Extra money is often given for wins, poles, top fives and top 10s. Season-ending point championship dollars are also stated in most contracts.