Matt Johnson
The NASCAR Truck Series and O’Reilly Auto Parts Series have faced some criticism in recent years, with the path to entry for drivers largely being dictated by money. However, given what it now costs teams to even be competitive in a race, that tends to be the natural outcome of rising costs.
On the latest episode of Door, Bumper, Clear, Rick Ware Racing competition director Tommy Baldwin shared that running a good and competitive ride in the Truck Series costs $130,000 per race. For the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, the costs are similar.
“A good Truck ride is $130,000 a race. (O’Reilly Auto Parts Series) $130,000-$160,000 a race.”
Tommy Baldwin on the cost of running a competive race in the Truck Series, O’Reilly Auto Parts Series
Related: NASCAR Weekend Schedule for Rockingham Speedway, OARS and Truck Series
There’s another issue that comes from the costs of running a competitive car or truck being so similar. Because the purse for winning or a top-10 finish in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series is higher than competing in the Truck Series, the margins are significantly slimmer. For a direct comparison, the purse for the Truck race at Darlington was $839,700 versus a $1,653,590 purse for the OARS.
Further hurting the Truck Series is the level of interest from sponsors and what they’re willing to commit to help fund races at each level. If the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race on The CW Network averages more viewers than Truck races on Fox Sports 1, sponsors will be more inclined to support teams and drivers in the series that attract more attention.
Read More: NASCAR Entry List for Rockingham, Truck Series and O’Reilly Auto Parts Series
As Baldwin explained, trying to be competitive in the Truck Series becomes much more of a “money pit” because you still have the same year-round costs as the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, but there are fewer opportunities to earn race winnings.
“It still takes the people, it still takes the time. What hurts the Truck Series is only 24 races. You still have to employ most of those people all year long. The operational cost doesn’t go down, the race costs are less, but you also get less race money so that exes out. You still have the yearly operation cost that you ahve to keep the lights on, the people working…It’s a money pit.”
Tommy Baldwin on the NASCAR Truck Series being a ‘money pit’, why it costs as much as OARS
While many have rightfully voiced their frustrations over the quality and experience of drivers permitted to drive in either lower series, from the likes of Cleetus McFarland to Natalie Decker, teams are in a very difficult spot financially.
There may also be a recent example of how quickly a team can go under due to the financial burden of racing in a lower series. O’Reilly Auto Parts Series driver Myatt Snider had been racing for Barrett-Cope Racing this season in the No. 30 car. However, ahead of this weekend’s race at Rockingham, Stock Car Racing Rumors and Nostalgia has indicated that the No. 30 team may have at least temporarily suspended operations with a lack of sponsors potentially an issue.
