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JENSEN: The Answer Man
By popular demand, The Answer Man is back at SPEEDtv.com....
Tom Jensen  |  Posted August 22, 2008   Bristol, Tenn.
The Answer Man on SPEEDtv.com - the Online Motorsports Authority

Note: By popular demand, The Answer Man is back at SPEEDtv.com. I will be answering questions during every race week and look forward to hearing from you as the season goes on.



If you have a question, please e-mail it to – Tom Jensen

Tom, Can you tell me how the money in each race is distributed at the finish? Have always wondered about why a driver can place 10, 15 spots behind another driver and still make more money in purse payout. My wife is driving me nuts, as I have told her that it’s just the sponsors that kick in all the money, but now I really am not sure? Thanks. — Skant

Sure. I ran this earlier this year, but it’s worth repeating. Prior to each race, NASCAR issues what it calls posted awards, a basic purse distribution for that race. It declines for each position. In other words, first pays more than second, second pays more than third, etc.

But there are a whole laundry list of bonus and incentive payments added into the final totals that each driver earns. Coors pays $5,500 to the “eligible” pole winner each race, eligible presumably meaning not sponsored by another beer company. Goodyear pays $5,500 to the eligible driver who turns the fastest lap while leading a race, etc. There are roughly a dozen such awards handed out at every race, by sponsors including DIRECTV, Dow, Mechanix Wear, Mobil 1 and others.

Also, NASCAR has bonus plans designed to reward teams who win races, as well as teams who run high up in points. Then there are contingency awards. A sponsor might pay a bonus to the top-finishing driver who uses a specific brand of motor oil in his car. In that case, if the top three drivers don’t use the brand of oil that pays the contingency award, the bonus money might go to the fourth-place finisher, etc. You add it all up and gets pretty complicated, but as you can see, there are multiple elements that go into it.

I have a question that I have never seen asked or answered. How come NASCAR and whichever manufacturer is the tire supplier of choice (Goodyear, Hoosier, etc.) allow the safety of their tires to be jeopardized because of lugnuts removed during tire changes? It seems obvious that in a sport where debris yellows are frequent, that the biggest source of punctures is likely the lug nuts from the tires removed from the car when new tires are installed? — James E. Duvall, Indianapolis

That’s an excellent question, James. Honestly, I don’t think the lugnuts are the main cause of tire punctures. If it were, NASCAR likely would do something about it. Most punctures occur on the track, not pit road, and they typically are caused by sheet metal bits from crashes or other sharp objects. And don’t forget, a lot of the tire failures you see aren’t caused by punctures, they’re caused by bead melts, side-to-side contact, excessive camber, etc. There are lots of reasons for tire failures, but I don’t think lugnuts are one of them.

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