NASCAR: What’s wrong with NASCAR? Part 7 – The drivers

Rich kids

There is no doubt about it that the modern stigma of NASCAR drivers is being spoiled rich kids. This stigma isn’t all wrong considering the current climate of the sport. Drivers rarely get found solely on talent, and they are in need of financial backing.

Now more than ever, young drivers find themselves rides because mom or dad have connections or sponsorship funding from family companies. In addition to family sponsorship, many drivers have used famous parents or relatives to land a high marking in the sport.

For instance, Chase Elliott is widely known as the son of former NASCAR champion Bill Elliott. While Chase has proven time and time again that he has talent, there is no doubt that his last name helps build interest and sponsorship opportunities.

Whether or not you agree with this perception, nearly all young drivers are depicted as rich kids who bought their way into the sport. This is by far a major issue fans have with drivers, and it often keeps fans from connecting with the new generation.

Most fans, like myself, can’t relate to growing up as a rich race car driver’s son and having a car basically handed to us our entire lives. On the contrary, I do want to point out that everyone in NASCAR right now has had to have money down the stretch.

Even your local late model driver has enough funds to blow thousands a year to drive in circles. Honestly, this isn’t a personal issue for me because everyone is in the same boat, but there are times where this issue is an obvious slap in the face to other drivers, teams and fans.

I am not going to call anyone out, but this issue was showcased just a few weeks ago when a certain high-profile Xfinity Series ride was “bought” for another couple of years by a driver who has more than disappointed in championship-caliber equipment.

Overall, the perception of being a bunch of spoiled rich kids pushes away fans who grew up with rough-and-tumble drivers who made their way from local short tracks to the big stage. For them, current drivers haven’t earned their spots; they’ve simply bought them.