Fines for NASCAR troublemakers will now go to charity
Fines in NASCAR are a common occurrence, and the amounts billed to these bad boy oval racers can be very large. All that money used to pad the deep pockets of the NASCAR gods, but the racing series has announced that all those greenbacks will henceforth go right to the NASCAR Foundation. The NASCAR Foundation is a charitable juggernaut that doles out cash to many different worthwhile causes, some of which are already in the NASCAR family. Now if Jimmy Johnson or Kurt Busch cheats or flips off the crowd, all that money leaving their pockets could go right back into their own charitable organizations. This decision was a good PR move by NASCAR, and though it's not our money to distribute as we please, other racing organizations should follow suit. We wonder if the knowledge that charities will benefit from their indiscretions will encourage NASCAR drivers to break the rules even more.[Source: NASCAR]
PRESS RELEASE:
NASCAR Fine Payments Going To NASCAR Foundation
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (Jan. 21, 2008) – The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) announced today that starting this season, all money collected from fines issued to drivers will go to the NASCAR Foundation for its charitable initiatives.
"Now that the NASCAR Foundation is well established and supporting dozens of charitable organizations it is the logical place for fine money to be distributed," said NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France.
"We are excited to be able to work with our charities and help them develop a program that will maximize the impact they can have with their organizations," said Sandy Marshall, executive director of the NASCAR Foundation.
About The NASCAR Foundation
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, Inc., (NASCAR) launched the NASCAR Foundation in January 2006. The foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit entity that embodies the compassion of the NASCAR Family and its commitment to serving communities. The Foundation supports a wide range of charitable initiatives that reflect the core values of the entire NASCAR Family. The NASCAR Foundation will use strength of the sport and its people to make a difference in the lives of those who need it most. For more information on the NASCAR Foundation, please visit the website: www.nascar.com/foundation.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
pmiddle5 2:11PM (1/23/2008)
They need to do this in F1 as well. That 100 mil McLaren fine could help a lot of hungry f'ers in Uganda
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ksmith 7:34PM (1/23/2008)
You beat me to it.
L.WOOD 2:20PM (1/23/2008)
To add to the fun and excitement Nascar should now publish a weekly report for fines just like they do for points so we can track which driver is contributing the most to charity. It would make for an interesting "race" to the "charity chase". A special trophy can be given at the end of the year to crown the most "charitable" driver for 2008.
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VP 8:07AM (1/23/2008)
Actually until yesterday NASCAR didn't keep the fine money, it was given back to the drivers at the end of the season.
A couple of wise decisions by Brian France monady: Giving the money to charities & scaling back all his aggressive "changes".
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Travis Rassat 8:36AM (1/23/2008)
I'm hoping this turns out like the Bud Light Swear Jar commercial where guys like Tony Stewart will start doing things just to add to the charitable contributions... "F*** yeah, I won the f***ing race!" lol!
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rar 9:03AM (1/23/2008)
That would be good. Maybe they could use it for a Tax deduction? There is only one problem. Tony is not going to win a cup race this year. He is driving a Toyota. How about that f***ing Chevy (or Dodge)blew by me on the last turn and I lost the F***ing race.
Jerry Hightower 9:08AM (1/23/2008)
I would rather NASCAR set up benefits for the drivers so they don't have to sell their property or souls to pay for medical bills (Bobby Allison comes to mind). After all, it is the drivers who make NASCAR.
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Brent 9:32AM (1/23/2008)
Yeah, most of the drivers are poor. HA!
Travis Rassat 10:02AM (1/23/2008)
While I think that's definitely a noble thought, I think that should be something that is taking care of proactively rather than reactively. Unfortunately, this happens to way too many people who fall into a large amount of money without having the financial sense to handle it. Look at how many NFL players, movie stars, and lottery winners end up broke. I know that if somebody gave me a million dollars 10-15 years ago, I would've probably been pretty irresponsible with it. Today, I think I probably would be able to make a better decision with it.
I think the key to this issue is providing early education - team owners or NASCAR need to be able to provide financial advice to young drivers. They could provide some way to divert a percentage of their winnings directly into some sort of 401k or other means of helping them secure their financial future. That's the hardest part about racing or pro sports is that their career might be highly paid, but it's for a relatively short number of years before they retire.
Nonetheless, I think it's a good thought, just a hard issue to fix.