It should come as no surprise to anybody that Dale Earnhardt Jr. earns more money than any other driver in NASCAR. Or that the next two highest earning drivers are his teammates -- Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson.
Or that the sport's wealthiest team is Hendrick Motorsports, which employs all three.
Forbes magazine has released its sixth annual list of driver earnings and team valuations that shows the average team is worth $136 million and generated an average of $89 million in revenue last year.
But team values fell 5% on average as sponsors continue to pull back during the recession. It also shows the huge decrease in the value of Richard Petty Motorsports, which fell $52 million after suffering financial hardships last year before the team's namesake was able to gain control of it.
For the drivers, earnings come in a variety of ways. Some of it is in the form of salary from teams but a big chunk comes from endorsement deals.
Top 10 earning drivers
Rank/Driver/Earnings/Team
1. Dale Earnhardt Jr. / $29 million / Hendrick Motorsports
2. Jeff Gordon / $25 million / Hendrick Motorsports
3. Jimmie Johnson / $24 million / Hendrick Motorsports
4. Tony Stewart / $18 million / Stewart-Haas Racing
5. Kevin Harvick / $15 million / Richard Childress Racing
6. Carl Edwards / $14 million / Roush-Fenway Racing
7. Kyle Busch / $13 million / Joe Gibbs Racing
8. Kasey Kahne / $11.5 million / Red Bull Racing
9. Denny Hamlin / $11 million / Joe Gibbs Racing
9. Matt Kenseth / $11 million / Roush-Fenway Racing
Top 10 most valuable teams
Rank/Team/Value/1-year change
1. Hendrick Motorsports / $350 million / $0
2. Roush Fenway Racing / $224 million / -6
3. Richard Childress Racing / $158 million / 3
4. Joe Gibbs Racing / $152 million / 6
5. Penske Racing / $100 million / -9
6. Stewart-Haas Racing / $95 million / -3
7. Michael Waltrip Racing / $90 million / 2
8. Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing / $76 million / 7
9. Richard Petty Motorsports / $60 million / -52
10. Red Bull Racing / $58 milion / -2
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