NASCAR really paid Cup Series star Joey Logano $1million to be an influencer

NASCAR is placing a big bet on its superstars to grow the sport with cold hard cash, and it has already made Joey Logano $1million richer.

For years the brass in Charlotte have talked about leveraging the biggest names in the sport - the drivers - to help build relevance outside of traditional circles. Now, at last, they are actually buying into that plan.

When NASCAR sealed its latest media rights deal, a massive seven-year pact worth $7.7billion to run from 2025 through 2031, it decided to use a tiny portion of that record haul for a new initiative. Welcome to the Driver Ambassador Program.

That new initiative encourages drivers to build their own brands in a number of ways, particularly outside the traditional NASCAR heartlands. The program comes complete with a leaderboard and points, and a massive $1million check to the winner each year.

The cost to NASCAR is relatively small ($15-20million) when you compare it to the overall media rights pot. But it’s part of a strategy aimed at driving ever bigger dollars from partners and advertisers. NASCAR also built a new $60million production capability in Concord to improve its internal programming.

EVP and Chief Media & Revenue Officer Brian Herbst went deep about the driver program during an appearance on the LiveLike podcast, and provided an insight into the thinking behind it. This truly is the era of the influencer, and the likes of Logano and new sensation Carson Hocevar totally fit the bill.

NASCAR TODAY: Drivers beating up on Cleetus McFarland is 'excessive' as Dale Jr. steps in with advice

NASCAR 'paying our drivers for the first time ever'

“NASCAR’s paying our drivers for the first time ever. We’re paying our drivers to build their brands and their profiles,” explained Herbst.

“So we essentially took between $15million to $20million off the top of the media rights deal and we said for these drivers in the Cup Series, the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series and the Truck Series, if you become more relevant, if you grow your social following, if you show up on ‘Good Morning America’, if you do a TV show with Netflix or Amazon Prime or show up more often with Fox then we will give you a big check’.

“It’s real money, it’s called the Driver Ambassador Program, the winner of the Driver Ambassador Program last year was Joey Logano - he got a check for $1million. So it’s real money, and I think when you talk about dollars of that scale and the denominator in terms of number of drivers is so low, we have 36 drivers in the Cup Series and 30 drivers in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series now, it becomes real money that the drivers have been chasing to frankly grow their profiles outside of just NASCAR circles.

“Last year was the first year of that program. But there is only so much that NASCAR’s corporate machine can do, but leaning on the stars of our sport, who want to set themselves up better to grow their platforms and our sport as well.”

So how does the program actually work in practice? Where do all these media opportunities come from?

Media opportunities 'come from all angles'

Herbst revealed: “It actually comes from all angles. We, NASCAR, will get those opportunities. So if we want somebody to do a hit on the Pat McAfee Show, we may be pushing for those opportunities.

“We also have a third-party agency, CAA, that’s soliciting some of those on our behalf, just because they can - they’re more connected probably than we are in Charlotte, North Carolina.

“And then there are times where there is an opportunity that comes directly from the driver or the team, where they will submit it to us and nine times out of 10 say ‘yeah that’s a good idea, that’ll grow the sport’. And the driver then gets points for their participation in that event.

“And the more points you get, the higher you go up the leaderboard and the more money you get at the end of the year.”