Today, the winnings are just part of the overall program. Right now, the corporations are footing most of the bills. Souvenirs gross money, but it goes three ways. The driver gets a third, the team owner a third, and the sponsor a third.
By the '70s, the factories were back in racing, so you were upgrading your equipment. Then the factories went away again, but the corporations were coming in and R.J. Reynolds was sponsoring the whole circuit.
Everything started going up after this. The drivers started getting more money and crew chiefs and engine people demanded more money. Still, the most money I ever won was $500 and some $1,000 in a season. Today's drivers win that much in a single race. I won more than 100 races before I became the first driver to win $1 million in his career. There are a few races now that pay that much to win.
Back when we started, we had mechanics. They did everything. By the '70s and '80s we got into the era of specialists. Now we have people who do nothing but engines, or tires, or chassis.
Now we have engineers who work with computers, and can tell you what setup you should be running at each track. Their [specialists] expertise was going up all the time, and so were all the salaries. I would say 35 to 40 percent of your operation goes to salaries. It is about the same percentage you have been paying all through the years. The money is certainly not the same, but the percentage is close.
We still try to make a living racing. Not all teams do. There are some big money teams now that never have to depend on racing income. They have their own backing, and they just want to go racing.
The sport changes all the time. So do the economics of it.