When NASCAR’s Steve Phelps raised the issue of teams “losing money at the Cup level”

Former NASCAR President, Steve Phelps, in a 2023 Zoom Meeting during the Race Industry Week, said that NASCAR needed a more financially sustainable model to function.

He said that, for the most part, the Cup teams are losing money after the advent of the NextGen Car, despite the promised selling point of the new car design, which was the possibility of lower costs. It was assumed that because for the first time, NASCAR was allowing for parts to be built by a single-source vendor.

Despite the promise that single-source vendors will cut down costs for the NASCAR teams, the teams have reported that they are spending more than ever through the first two seasons of the NextGen Car.

This was because teams do not have cost caps on the parts used to build Cup Series cars. At the time, NASCAR was looking for more revenue for the teams with a new television deal and also looking for opportunities to allow for streaming exclusive deals (which they followed up on in 2025 with the Amazon Prime Video deal at the start of the 2025 season).

Steve Phelps pointed out in the Zoom meeting that the financial sustainability of these Cup Series Car is dubious in the long run and formulated ways to increase the income for teams. He said:

“Our race teams by and large are losing money at the Cup level and that is something we need to solve for them. We can solve that with two key pillars. One is to make sure that they are getting additional revenue."

"Secondly, and not small, honestly, is some type of cost containment, whether that is in the form of a cap or whether that is in the form of the parts and pieces that make up the NextGen car, trying to limit those pieces."

In September 2018, Steve Phelps became the fifth president in NASCAR’s history, overseeing all the operations, competition, and commercial aspects of the sport. Phelps is known for his crisis leadership by becoming the first president to bring back a sport to competition during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Steve Phelps makes vision clear in first remarks as NASCAR Commissioner

Steve Phelps, newly appointed as NASCAR’s first-ever Commissioner, delivered a clear vision in his initial remarks, emphasizing the importance of unity within the sport.

Speaking on NASCAR’s “Hauler Talk” podcast, Phelps stated that NASCAR is “stronger together than we are apart,” underscoring his belief that the sport should operate more like a league, similar to the NFL or MLB, to benefit all stakeholders—not just the company but the entire NASCAR community.

"The more we act like a league, the better it’ll be for all stakeholders. Not just NASCAR the company, but NASCAR the sport because we are stronger together than we are apart. So, to me, that is the No. 1 thing in my job that is the most critical," Phelps said via Racer.com.

“The most important thing for us is the continued rush toward collaboration with our industry, and whether you’re talking about racetracks that we don’t own or you’re talking about teams or you’re talking about drivers, it is important that we come together as one," he added.

He identified collaboration among racetracks, teams, and drivers as the most critical aspect of his new role, aiming to unite the sport for collective progress.