Group in Shock as NASCAR Group Proprietor Reveals The Heavy Price of Racing

For many NASCAR groups, the roar of the engine is powered by one factor: Cash. And never simply prize cash. However, actual, regular funding. In 2023, prime organizations like Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing raked in anyplace from $70 million to $141 million simply from sponsorship revenues. However what in regards to the smaller groups? Those with out billion-dollar backers or full-season sponsors? In easy phrases: Each bill hurts. Whereas it might appear to be they’re racing underneath the identical guidelines, they’re taking part in a wholly totally different recreation—a brutal actuality that one group proprietor not too long ago gave a uncommon, uncooked glimpse of (one overpriced half at a time!).

In a sport dominated by powerhouse operations with deep pockets and sponsorship battle chests, small NASCAR groups typically discover themselves taking part in protection each week. The unhappy actuality is that they’re not simply racing for wins, however to actually preserve the lights on. Whereas the highest Cup groups can afford to constitution flights, improve each element, and chase marginal positive aspects, smaller outfits struggle to discipline a full automobile. Their haulers are older, their components scarcer, and their crews? Typically pulling double obligation between wrenching and logistics. Reaume Brothers Racing is one such group.

Owned by journeyman driver Josh Reaume, the group operates principally within the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Sequence and infrequently ventures into Xfinity, with proprietor Josh Reaume even doubling down as a racecar driver. With restricted sources and a fame for onerous work and hustle, RBR survives in a world that’s tough for the underdog. However even their resilience has a breaking level, particularly when prices preserve hovering.

That frustration hit a boiling level on June 12 when Reaume posted on X about a purchase order that left the group shocked. “Costs for components are outta management. These gasoline overflow hoses have been $800 for the pair. 🤮” Reaume wrote, including, “A minimum of they’re ribbed. 🤷‍♂️” The tweet was laced with sarcasm, nevertheless it spoke volumes. At a time when even mid-tier groups are tightening belts, smaller squads are choking underneath the strain of primary bills.

And Reaume’s not alone on this. Throughout the NASCAR storage, groups are feeling the squeeze. However it’s posts like these that peel again the curtain and remind followers what racing actually prices while you’re not backed by a billion-dollar model. And the followers? Even they’d a phrase or two to say about rising prices choking the game’s grassroots spirit.

Followers hold forth as prices gasoline NASCAR’s rising divide

The second Josh Reaume hit ‘publish’ on that tweet about $800 gasoline hoses, NASCAR’s on-line group didn’t simply shrug. It sparked a storm. For a lot of, it felt like one other brick within the wall separating the game’s wealthy and resourceful from these barely making it to the observe. One fan put it plainly: “No surprise it’s unsustainable for individuals with no or much less monetary backing and why the wealthy are slowly taking on.” Even Dale Earnhardt Jr. has echoed that sentiment in recent times, revealing that the ballooning prices, together with these for charters, have been one purpose he never expanded JR Motorsports into a full-time Cup effort.

One other fan chimed in with shock over the value bounce, asking, “Wasn’t that like a $45 half just a few years in the past?!?!?!” The reply got here fast. “Single supply provider, child! That provider, in fact, being NASCAR.” They usually’re not mistaken. Within the Gen-7 period, NASCAR moved to a single-source components system. Every little thing from chassis to wheels comes from NASCAR-approved distributors. Whereas the objective was parity and security, it has created what many name a monopoly. No procuring round. No reductions. Simply NASCAR costs.

This mannequin may be fairer on paper, nevertheless it’s killing flexibility for groups making an attempt to get by. As one person put it. “NASCAR makes it so onerous to develop the game.” The frustration isn’t simply with half costs. There’s rising rigidity across the sport’s construction, particularly as groups like 23XI Racing proceed to struggle NASCAR in courtroom over monopoly points and its lack of long-term worth.

One fan commented, “Please inform me that is satire.” Whereas Reaume didn’t reply, one other fan did together with his personal satirical take. “Tape – $2. Tape for filmmaking – $10. That very same tape for filmmaking however bought for racing – $20.” It’s a joke, certain. But in addition… probably not. If NASCAR doesn’t tackle these value boundaries quickly, who precisely will probably be left to race?