#88-Dale Earnhardt Jr. is NASCAR’s highest-paid driver for a second straight year with earnings of $30 million in 2009. Earnhardt has had little racing success the past two years, with only one win at the track. He finished a disappointing 25th in the Sprint Cup standings last year, but was voted NASCAR’s most popular driver for a seventh straight year. Forbe’s earnings estimates include salaries, endorsements and the drivers’ share of track winnings and licensing income. Earnhardt’s immense popularity translates into big dollars in each of these areas outside of track winnings. “Nascar needs Dale Jr. to be competitive, because he is so closely associated with the success of the sport. [As] go the fortunes of Junior, so goes Nascar,” says Ardy Arani, managing director of Atlanta-based Championship Group, a motor sports marketing consultancy. The top 10 list from forbes.com:
No. 1 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Earnings: $30 million
No. 2 Jeff Gordon: Earnings: $27 million
No. 3 Jimmie Johnson: Earnings: $23 million
No. 4 Tony Stewart: Earnings: $19 million
No. 5 Carl Edwards: Earnings: $14 million
No. 6 Kevin Harvick: Earnings: $13 million
No. 7 (tie) Kyle Busch: Earnings: $12 million
No. 7 (tie) Kasey Kahne: Earnings: $12 million
No. 9 (tie) Matt Kenseth: Earnings: $11 million
No. 9 (tie) Mark Martin: Earnings: $11 million
(full article and more at Forbes.com)(3-25-2010)
