NASCAR’s most valuable teams
According to Forbes, Roush Fenway Racing is the most valuable NASCAR team. Overall, however, licensing is on the decline in NASCAR, and sponsorship rates have flattened out since 2003. Looking ahead, its new eight-year, $4.48 billion TV contract with ABC, ESPN, Fox and TNT (beginning this year) pays less in the near term. Throw in the fast-rising cost of competing (budgets have grown at a double-digit clip since the '90s) and it’s no wonder that we estimate 20% of the sport’s most valuable teams are losing money.
By comparison, Forbes says the NY Yankees baseball team is valued at $1.2B
| 2007 Rank | 2006 Rank | NASCAR TEAM (# Nextel Cup/Busch cars) | Value ($mil) | Revenue ($mil) | Profit($mil) | Most Valuable Driver | Car # | Primary Sponsor |
| 1 | 1 | Roush Fenway Racing (5/4) | 316 | 189 | 39.1 | Matt Kenseth | 17 | DeWALT |
| 2 | 2 | Hendrick Motorsports (4/2) | 297 | 163 | 38.9 | Jeff Gordon | 24 | DuPont |
| 3 | 3 | Joe Gibbs Racing (3/2) | 173 | 110 | 23.6 | Tony Stewart | 20 | The Home Depot |
| 4 | 6 | Evernham Motorsports (2/1)4 | 128 | 89 | 17.8 | Kasey Kahne | 9 | Dodge Dealers/UAW |
| 5 | 4 | Richard Childress Racing (3/3) | 124 | 98 | 19.1 | Kevin Harvick | 29 | Shell/Pennzoil |
| 6 | 8 | Dale Earnhardt Incorporated (3/1) | 118 | 96 | 16.6 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | 8 | Budweiser |
| 7 | 9 | Robert Yates Racing (2/1) | 103 | 77 | 14.0 | David Gilliland | 38 | M&M's |
| 8 | 5 | Chip Ganassi Racing (3/2) | 94 | 80 | 7.5 | Juan Montoya* | 42 | Texaco/Havoline |
| 9 | 14 | Michael Waltrip Racing (3/1) | 91 | 75 | -2.7 | Dale Jarrett | 44 | UPS |
| 10 | 7 | Penske Racing (2/1) | 75 | 65 | 9.7 | Ryan Newman | 12 | ALLTEL |
| 11 | 12 | Ginn Racing (3/1) | 74 | 60 | -1.7 | Mark Martin | 1 | U.S. Army |
| 12 | NA | Team Red Bull (2/0) | 53 | 41 | -5.9 | Brian Vickers | 83 | Red Bull |
| 13 | 11 | Bill Davis Racing (2/0) | 53 | 44 | 4.3 | Dave Blaney | 22 | Caterpillar |
| 14 | 10 | Petty Enterprises (2/0) | 48 | 41 | 6.6 | Bobby Labonte | 43 | Cheerios/Betty Crocker |
| 15 | 13 | Haas CNC Racing (2/0) | 46 | 37 | -1.9 | Jeff Green | 66 | Best Buy |
| AVERAGE: | 120 | 84 | $12.3 mil |