Tale of the tape in wake of Marlin, Nemechek lawsuits

There's a lot of money floating around NASCAR, and one of the never-ending quests for information is to learn how much of it certain people are paid for the jobs they do.

Out of an unfortunate occurrence in the latter part of July, we find out some of the details for both drivers and crew chiefs, and how their contracts are structured.

According to paperwork filed last week in Cabarrus County, N.C., drivers Sterling Marlin and Joe Nemechek have sued both Ginn Racing and Dale Earnhardt Inc., alleging breach of contract in the aftermath of Ginn Racing's merger with DEI just days before the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard.

Breach suits filed

Sterling Marlin, Joe Nemechek and crew chiefs Peter Sospenzo and Slugger Labbe have filed breach of contract suits against Ginn Racing and Dale Earnhardt Inc.

All four lost their jobs when the two teams merged in late July, and in separate lawsuits filed last week in Cabarrus County they claim they are owed their salaries. The suits don't specify what the parties are seeking, but say "demand for payment has been made ... but [Ginn and DEI] have failed and/or refused to pay all or any part.''

A spokesman for Bobby Ginn did not immediately return a call for comment, but DEI general manager John Story said his organization is not responsible for the old contracts.

"While we were named as a party to the lawsuit, we were never a party to the contracts in question," Story said. "This is an obligation that Ginn will be addressing and any further questions regarding this matter should be directed to them."

-- THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Crew chiefs Peter Sospenzo and Slugger Labbe also are suing Ginn and DEI, for the same reason.

Putting aside the legal merits of the case, the suits did provide interesting fodder for public consumption.

Access to driver contracts is an unusual occurrence, and the opportunity to explore one is too good to pass up. While neither a practicing attorney nor a frequent guest at a Holiday Inn Express, the language is surprisingly easy to assimilate.

Marlin first went to work for what became Ginn Racing in 2006, and his base salary that year was $1.1 million. This year, he received $100,000 more. Nemechek came to Ginn (when it was still MB2 Motorsports) in 2004 for $900,000, and received a similar raise each of the next three seasons, making $1.2 million for this season.

It has always been assumed that drivers got anywhere from 40-50 percent of the prize money won in a given season, and Marlin and Nemechek were right on it, at 45 percent.

In 2006, Nemechek earned $4,099,914 in prize money as driver of the Army Chevrolet. Forty-five percent of that number is $1,844,961.30, giving Nemechek a total of $2,944,961.30 for the season, exclusive of merchandise sales, bonus and any other sponsorship arrangements he might have had.

Marlin's numbers were similar, though he earned less prize money in 2006, at about $2.56 million with the same exclusions.

Add in 33 percent of the total take from souvenirs for each driver, and it starts to add up to real money.

Again, these are fairly standard contracts for drivers of this age and experience level.

The bonus structure among teams is fairly standardized as well, although different teams split the money in different ways.

For instance, Nemechek and Marlin had bonus structures that would seem right at home in other sports, like baseball, where players receive so much for making the All-Star team, so much for hitting a certain number of home runs, etc.

The Ginn Racing bonus structure paid each driver $50,000 per victory, $25,000 per top-five and $10,000 per top-10. Neither driver won the series title, but if they had, that's an extra $500,000 into the kitty. The scale slides down to $50,000 for finishing in the top 20 in points at the end of the season.

There are other monies in the contracts, including a personal car, travel allowance ($500 per race), a seat on the team plane and a hotel room. Both drivers committed to unlimited track hospitality events (30 minutes or less), personal appearances (50 hours) as well as time for photo/commercial shoots and other media obligations.

As explored in an earlier article, there is indeed a morals clause in each contract. The most interesting item on the morality front is that, according to the contract, consumption of alcoholic beverages was prohibited with eight hours of being on the track. Good rule of thumb in any event, but it's interesting that it was spelled out in the contract.

The crew chief contracts also accompanied the suits filed, and they are similar in structure to the drivers, with the exception that the drivers' contracts are much more lucrative.

Both Labbe and Sospenzo earned base salaries of $450,000 per year, which is solid coin but nowhere close to driver cash. Bonuses were paid on a sliding scale from $20,000 for a victory to $2,500 for a top-15, and both had clauses that guaranteed the bonus money should the actual totals not rise that high.

Winning the series title was worth $100,000, a top-five was worth $75,000 and anywhere in the top 10 or 12 was $50,000. Personal cars and reimbursement for motorcoach expenses also were included.

Hopefully, this inside look at how drivers and crew chiefs are paid, or at least how much the team contract is worth, will help you understand what is at stake for them on race day. Athletes in other sports make far more money than drivers do, on average, and while the numbers involved are hardly chump change in normal, everyday life, the costs of doing business are also much higher on a personal level.

The information regarding contracts for drivers is part of the public domain, and it is used to illustrate standard contracts and how they work in the sport. Each team, as always, does things its own way, but the Nemechek-Marlin numbers are excellent examples.