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Denny Hamlin: Dale Earnhardt Jr, JR Motorsports Helping Drivers in Broken NASCAR Business Model
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- Denny Hamlin: Dale Earnhardt Jr, JR Motorsports Helping Drivers in Broken NASCAR Business Model
Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s JR Motorsports is the most dominant win in the Xfinity Series, heading into the penultimate race in the regular season atop the NASCAR standings . Coming off their most recent win, with Parker Kligerman in the car, Denny Hamlin is praising what Earnhardt Jr. is doing for the sport.
In the latest episode of Actions Detrimental , Hamlin highlighted how Earnhardt Jr and his team are giving drivers opportunities to prove themselves at a time when getting a full-time seat is largely about how much financial backing you have.
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"You know what I love about Dale Jr? …The Xfinity Series is, if we're being honest, it's primarily made of buy-your-ride drivers and most even your top teams have a handful of those on their roster. But, Dale always seems to have one car that he's trying to give the other guys a shot. The local short-track guys, or whoever it might be. Trying to give them opportunities to showcase their talent so that maybe a sponsor has interest in them..
While both lower levels have many of NASCAR's top prospects, the Truck Series is largely where young drivers without deep pockets or significant sponsor support go. Limited sponsorships are the primary reason why Corey Heim, a development driver for 23XI Racing, isn't a full-time Xfinity driver.
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A big part of the problem is that payouts for teams and drivers aren't high enough to justify awarding seats based on talent alone. Most often, if you want to run races in Xfinity, you either need sponsors willing to cover costs or family backing. Without either of those things, the costs for the teams are just too much to fit the bill for drivers who can't cover it.
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It's bad enough that Cup drivers sometimes have to pay out of their own pockets to run a lower-level race. During an appearance last year on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Joey Logano admitted that the current business model basically requires him to pay to drive at the lower level.
"I'd like to run some (Truck) races or some (Xfinity) races, if I could. I'd like to race more than what I do. I'm telling you, our sport, its crazy. It's crazy that, and I'll be real with you here, I get paid to drive a (Cup) car. That's great. I have to pay to drive an Xfinity car or a Truck. I have to show up with money on the doorstep to drive one."
Related: NASCAR Schedule for Cup, Truck and Xfinity Series
That's a big part of the reason why Hamlin loves that JR Motorsports chose Kligerman to take over for Connor Zilisch after he started the race at Daytona International Speedway. Earnhardt Jr. recognized who would give his team the best chance to win, regardless of costs, and it paid off.
"Dale Jr and Kelley are doing a great job at JR Motorsports of giving that stepping stone for those drivers…It's good to see Parker get that call. My point was, he picked who he thought could win in that car at that track."
Kligerman announced last year that he would be retiring from full-time racing, only competing part-time when the right opportunities arose. The win in the No. 88 car, where he had to work his way up through the field, showed that the 35-year-old is still more than capable of winning at this level.
"This is a prime example of how broken this business model is. The guy makes more talking about the drivers than actually being a driver. That is the true system and how broke it is…He would take a massive paycut by being a star in the Xfinity Series versus being an announcer for the Xfinity Series. That's the crux of the problem that will continue to hamper the best talent."
As Hamlin highlighted, Kligerman makes significantly more money as a color commentator covering Xfinity races for the CW Network than he would if he raced full-time in those same events.
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Since the current business model seems unlikely to change anytime soon, JR Motorsports providing opportunities to drivers will likely remain one of the only ways to see talented racers who otherwise wouldn't get a well-deserved shot due to factors beyond their control.
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