Penske team urges NASCAR to reduce cost like IndyCar

Tim Cindric says to run a top team NASCAR costs 3 times as much as IndyCar. Of course NASCAR runs a lot more races

NASCAR should follow the lead of the IndyCar Series in terms of slashing costs for its new-for-2021 Gen-7 platform, leading team boss Roger Penske told Charles Bradley of Motorsport.

Penske says the lessons learned by IndyCar in reducing its costs-per-car should be taken on board as NASCAR plans the extent of its new platform. Both he and fellow IndyCar team chief Chip Ganassi are believed to have lobbied for similar cost reductions in NASCAR during recent meetings over the scope of the Gen-7 car.

“You can run a team [in IndyCar] for $3-4million, depending what you’re paying your driver," said Penske. “The compact schedule, the fact we’re not spending the money and developing the cars like we are in NASCAR, where – with the changing rule packages – we’re building new cars every week. [In IndyCar] we can do a lot of little things to it, then it comes down to the driver and the strategy.

“I’d say that the costs [in IndyCar] are in line now. If you get three sponsors in for a million or so, you’re there. I think that’s absolutely the way NASCAR is going now with the Gen-7. I think if they do that, they’ll make a huge step."

Team Penske’s president Tim Cindric clarified the cost difference between America’s leading stock car and open-wheel series at present.

“In NASCAR [Cup, for a season] it’s $20-30m to compete, and [in IndyCar] to compete it’s closer to $7, 8 or 9million. But even if it was $10million, that’s still a third of that [in NASCAR]."

“What you saw with the #78 [Martin Truex’s championship-winning entry] is that you’re so much more fragile," he added. “I don’t care who you are, if you have to get in your own pocket for $10million, that’s a lot.

“[In IndyCar] if you lose a sponsor, bridging your gap to the next sponsor is a lot less of a financial risk. And that risk is pretty extreme in NASCAR right now."