Hendrick Motorsports, whose drivers include Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon, powered past Roush Fenway Racing to claim the title of NASCAR’s most-valuable team at $335 million, according to Forbes.
The value of Nascar teams has jumped 65 per cent since the magazine started its survey two years ago, to an average $119 million this season. Revenue rose 9.8 per cent to $179 million last year at Hendrick Motorsports, Forbes estimated.
Roush Fenway Racing was ranked second at $313 million, with Joe Gibbs Racing at $184 million, Gillett Evernham Motorsports at $150 million and Richard Childress Racing fifth at $130 million.
Dale Earnhardt Inc. was valued at $109 million, followed by Penske Racing at $100 million, Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates at $94 million, Michael Waltrip Racing at $86 million, Yates Racing at $74 million, Red Bull Racing at $54 million, Petty Enterprises at $44 million, Haas CNC Racing at $41 mllion, Bill Davis Racing at $36 million and Robby Gordon Motorsports at $28 million.
Those values include cars and assets used in the Cup and Nationwide series.
In fact, the six most valuable teams (out of 24 total) have thus far accounted for 22 of 54 cars to qualify for a race this year. That’s 41%—and 80% of the top 20 cars in the standings. The least valuable quartile controls a mere 11% of qualifying cars this season.
In a sport that prides itself on parity, the prospect of having only a handful of teams looms large. Indeed, NASCAR has spent the last five years spinning its wheels to mandate competitiveness by way of its Chase for the Cup playoff format, stricter rules for modifying race cars, and denying team owners formal acknowledgment as franchisees of stock car racing. (The latter would effectively guarantee the opportunity to race, as in other major U.S. sports, instead of requiring each car to qualify weekly.)
Advice to NASCAR brass: Quit legislating competition from the boardroom and let NASCAR’s free-styling free market work.
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