The Team Captains of NASCAR

The team dynamics of NASCAR are interesting, layered, and complex for a new fan to grasp. From the outside perspective, NASCAR is an individual sport. It could compare to tennis or golf from an athlete's perspective, but that’s not the case. This is, in fact, a "team" sport in more ways than one.

First, once you start to watch NASCAR, you quickly learn that the driver is not out there driving blind. He (or she) has a crew chief, car chief, two engineers, a spotter, and a pit crew. If that’s not a team, I don’t know what is. But let’s dig a little deeper. Each car is part of a team, often made up of multiple cars. For example, Joey Logano drives the 22 car and has his respective team, which is part of Team Penske and home to Ryan Blaney and Austin Cindric. Now, not to complicate things even further, let’s add another layer. Team Penske (3 race teams) is a part of Team Ford. Team Ford is any team in NASCAR that drives a Ford, which, at the highest level, the Cup Series, includes: Team Penske, RFK Racing, Haas Factory Team, Rick Ware Racing, Wood Brothers Racing, and Front Row Motorsports.

As a new fan, I’m looking around for direction. Any direction at all. My first question is, who is the team captain? They can guide me: isn’t that the entire premise of a captain? To guide and lead the team? If I start from the highest level of the “team”, NASCAR, I would have to assume that the “manufacturers” would be a good place to start. So, when I think about it in that sense, who are the team's captains, and what is their role? Knowing this layer adds context to NASCAR and reference points for alliance, strategy, and hierarchy that can impact a driver's success.

Team Ford - Team Penske

• Why They’ve Been Named Captain - Let’s start at the top: Roger Penske is one of the most recognizable names in American motorsports, and a man who commands respect in the racing community. Also known as the "Captain”, Penske has been racing and winning in the United States since 1958. They have access to one of the largest resource pools in NASCAR, given the size of the team and their bank account -  I’d say that hands down makes them the Captain of Team Ford.
• What they offer other ”teams”— Team Penske sells NASCAR-Ford-specific parts and pieces to other race teams. They also supply built Ford engines (Yates), particularly to teams like Wood Brothers Racing and Rick Ware Racing, a much smaller team by car count and revenue. In addition, the team has a long-standing technical alliance with other Ford NASCAR race teams. They share information regarding car setups, engine tunes, data, etc., which is highly beneficial.

Team Toyota - Joe Gibbs Racing

• Why They’ve Been Named Captain — They are the largest Toyota Team on the track. Turns out that you can be the "Coach" and the Captain. Yes, Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) is that Joe Gibbs (NFL). They have reeled in some of the most significant sponsorships to date, including household names like FedEx, Monster, Progressive, and Yahoo, to name a few.
• What they offer other ”teams” - JGR, in partnership with Toyota Racing Development (TRD), provides engines to all the different Toyota teams, including the 23XI Racing team, with which they have a technical alliance.

Finally, Chevy is arguably the most powerful team on paper from a new fan's perspective. While there is no doubt in anyone’s mind that Hendrick Motorsports is the Captain, this is the only team in which the “Alternate Captain” with almost as much power and clout, Richard Childress Racing. 

Team Chevy - Hendrick Motorsports

• Why They’ve Been Named Captain—Hendrick Motorsports is considered a dominant force in NASCAR history, holding the record for most Cup Series wins with 315. They have also achieved 14 Cup Series owners and drivers championships. Their deep pockets allow them to heavily invest in research and development, allowing them to leverage technology to their advantage.
• What they offer other ”teams” - Unlike the other teams, Hendrick Motorsports directly supplies engines to other NASCAR teams and its own. They supply Chevrolet engines to teams like Spire Motorsports in the Cup Series, JR Motorsports (which they own a stake in), and others in all three levels of NASCAR. If you aren’t getting your engines from Hendrick, you get them from ECR, owned by Richard Childress Racing. Having two, almost equally successful, in both racing and revenue teams under the same make creates a powerful and dominant dynamic.

The truth is: NASCAR is not an individual competition. It’s layered with teams on teams on teams. The common theme among the most powerful teams is money. Just like the world, money makes the cars go round. Where there is power, there is success, and all success in NASCAR runs through the team Captains, one way or another.