paradisenb

I been wondering how much a race car drivers earn. (thinking about a career change )

I was watching the VW Jetta TDI races and the announcer said the series winner gets $100k. Not bad. Are they paid to drive plus purse or buy a ride?

Lots of press about F1 and Nascar salaries but what about drivers from other series? ALMS, Grand Am, Koni, Indy and European series, factory drivers?

bobt993

I had a talk with Chris Cervelli about this last time I worked with him. YOu gotta love what you do and racing sure is fun. Some of that fun goes away when you look at the schedule and all of the prep that must be put in. Some of the very top road coarse drivers still do not make what you would think is the upper income bracket. Top Nascar and F1 drivers are star athletes and don't figure in the equation. Marketing/sponsorship are the biggest money makers, but the current economy is not helping there.

Mike Buck

Winner in TDi Cup gets $100k, but that is pretty much the only payout. All the drivers are all there on their own dime (unless they find a sponsor) for the exposure, experience, and fun. My friend drove the #2 car this past year. Just the entry fees for the season push $60k, plus you need to get yourself to all the races. He sold all his stuff, his truck, racecar, trailer and worked liked hell to scrape together the $$ to race. He did well early on and got some sponsor help along the way, but almost all of those drivers fund out of their own pocket.

It is not a traditional "pay ride" either. It is a pay $25k first with your application and resume, along with 1000+ others. Get selected to compete in CA for one of 35 slots. Then pony up the rest of the $$ for the season. Then race.

VaSteve

What are the NASCAR salaries? I followed a guy all season and he never won a race (maybe 1 top 10) but "earned" ~$4M. Does that go in their pocket or does some of the winnings go back to the team? I know the numbers are smaller in other series, but how does the $$ work? Or, are there as many models as there are teams?

krystar

probably negotiated contracts just like other sports.

Veloce Raptor

Very, very, VERY few sports car professionals are paid to race. There will probably be fewer than 10 of them racing the Daytona 24. There are, I suspect, zero in TDi Cup. Everyone else pays and/or brings sponsorship.






Professional Racing and Driving Coach

IcemanG17

do some people earn an excellent living racing cars....sure...but so do the Top Gear guys...are WE those guys...NO....so back to work we go..... Does that mean we can't drive..NO...there are some talented drivers on this forum.....

If you want to be a funded race driver.....get a GREAT JOB now...or go back to school.....that is the ONLY way to guarantee you will have the means to do it......or just marry a Dr like I did!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Porsche917K

Great question. I have always been really curious what guys who race sports cars make such as a guy like Pat Long.

paradisenb

They said there are 3 ways to get a ride in the TDI Cup Series.

1) Traditional - Send in the application entry and go through the process of elimination. Driver pays.
2) Be the top racer at iracing dot com. Paid to drive/comped by the series.
3) Top racer at Boston Karts.... something or other. Paid to drive/comped by the series.

With so few paying posistions it has got to be hard to consider it as a career path. In other sports there seams to be many paying jobs. Particularly ball sports.

analogmike

The pro sports car drivers that are paid to race don't get paid that much, their primary income is from teaching at racing schools or private tutoring. They are always contacting me to help me out at the track and it's worth it if you are serious, they can get you up to pro speed. Then if they get you fast enough they would probably like you to hire them as a co-driver. It's a shame there is not much money spent on sponsorship in road racing.

95ONE

Its a pay sport... not an earn sport. Im pretty sure the pit crew gets more money.

ajcjr

i always wondered how much a factor driver for Porsche makes. How much do you think like Randy Pobst makes?

claykos

3rd or 4th hand I was told that the factory Corvette race team drivers for ALMS make in the low 6 figures. This was a couple of years ago. That is probably on the upper end...

dp35

I had a good conversation with a top TDI driver this year. He said that the $100K winner's prize makes it basically a break even year, and that everyone is paying to be there. He said that TV exposure and contacts made during the year are the most valuable for a young driver with hope.

We also talked about other road racing series' and money, and I was shocked at what level a driver must win in order to actually make money. There's a lot of well known road racing drivers that are racing for free and that's it. Sad.

Cory M

I believe the TDi cup drivers "make" negative $45k, negative travel expenses, and negative damage repair charges, but it sure looks like fun!

The racing was a lot cleaner this year, last year looked like a demo derby.