Do people make money as a driver?

vanguard · Feb 19, 2008

I was reading about Shannon Campbells new rig and I read it was built in 13 days just for KOH. I made me wonder where the money comes from for projects like this. I don't want to be rude enough to ask where Shannon's money comes from but I do wonder if there is money to be made. Does anybody make a living off of their driving skills? Does anybody break even (or better) by competing? What kind of sponsorship deals do top guys get. Are free parts fairly normal or just discounted parts? Do top guys get free parts and money?

For some reason I think Nolen knows all these answers so I figured I'd post up here. ;D

Speeding · Feb 19, 2008

Oh yeah. There are the lucky few that make quite a lot of money from their sponsors. Companies like Red Bull and Monster especially pay out the big bucks.

blacksheep10 · Feb 19, 2008

I think that building your own rigs helps. If you own the fab company and turn out rigs with a staff of PRO's behind you, that has to help. any driving or other stuff like that he does just promotes the fab business.

Juan_Hong_Loe · Feb 19, 2008

I've wondered the same thing myself. If I call up my suppliers and tell them that I am building something for myself and not a customer they usually cut me a better deal. Never have got anything for free though. I work for the largest Warn Red Letter Dealer in the world and I can't get Warn to give me ****! We are now a warranty/service center too still nothing! One year we did over 200k in warn red letter orders, this is not all of the warn parts we ordered, just the 4 times a year we get to place red letter orders. Still nothin, c'mon help a brother out!

Daniel

InDaShop · Feb 19, 2008

Yeah I'm sure sponsor dollars help out a bit, but the big bucks for say Shannon Campbell is the promotional writeoff. By buildign that rig, he is showcasing his business. Yeah granted it pays that he is a badass driver as well. But with as much seat time as he gets he should be.

BamaTJ · Feb 19, 2008

Most of the top drivers get money and parts from their sponsors. There is a reason why Campbell always uses the same brands on his rigs: WE, BFG, Fox, Turn Key, Atlas, Hughes, etc. they give him free parts. His list of sponsors is the who's who in the business. The big bucks come from Monster though and they pay for all his travel and entry expenses. I heard rumors of 7 figures in 2007

vanguard · Feb 19, 2008

BamaTJ said:
I heard rumors of 7 figures in 2007

(In my best Dr. Evil voice) ONE MILLION DOLLARS

wngrog · Feb 19, 2008

There is no money in this. You have to run a good business back at the shop and perform.

Campbell and Twisted Customs. Look at these guys. Great business model and a winning record.

I asked Tracy Jordan one time how much $$ he made off rockcrawling and he said he covored his travel expenses.

That is far from "Big Bucks"

bentandtwisted · Feb 20, 2008

Nolan is right on this there is no real money, even if you want to think different. I have talk to Shannon at each race over the years and have a good idea what he is getting. At the 2006 XXRA finials in Colorado Springs Shannon said with out Monster coming on board they were think about cutting way back and maybe getting out of it all together. Now dont get me wrong this last two seasons have been brake out years for Shannon and things are getting better. For the side a buugy say the whole panel, it goes anywere from $1500.00 dollars to $50,000.00 dollars, small compies pay much less. For guys like me one big spons. might be in the range of $5,000.00 to $10,000.00. Now take this and do 10 races. XRRA $500.00 series fee and $300.00 a race plus fuel and food and hotels. We plan on $1,500 to $1,800.00 a race. Now toss in broken parts on top of that Not, much money and VERY few guys out there have $15,000.00 spons deals at this time. Alot of guys get help from shops on parts and maybe some cash. The bigger names in the sport are in the $50,000.00 to $75,000.00 range but this is only a FEW guys. Yes Red Bull pays Dustin better but he has to make trade shows, local events and X amount of races and crawls. I think it will be awhile before we see any real money in this sport and from the word we are getting the big tire compines are going to really cut back this season, it has already happened. Lots of compines out there are looking at CORR and other off road racing for their big dollars. You can look at Shannon and other teams going to CORR and other Trothy Lite racing soon, OH did I say that out load

P · Feb 20, 2008

interesting thread, Ive always wondered about these guys and what they actually pull down. You here rumors and see how deep they roll to events but who really knows ? :dunno:

Welderd · Feb 20, 2008

there's no money in at all 95% of the guys that I talk to hope to do it for a few years out of pocket to hopefully land sponsors that will at least cover expenses. I've been doin it small time for 3 years and really chasin sponsors hard, so far I'm still out of pocket.

I believe the ticket is as mentioned before - strong business behind the racing and the write offs are better than the sponsors to most

P · Feb 20, 2008

Im just lookin to have a good time and meet some folks. Id rather get vendors and make strong business contacts so I can sell product for and supply my customers / friends with a good deal on items I believe in and trust.

I feel if I can get to know a few vendors and they get to know me and I can form some business relationships out of it, then the time and money Ive invested will pay off for me. I already know Ill have a blast racing and traveling cause those are two things that really fire me up !!

bentandtwisted · Feb 20, 2008

P said:
Im just lookin to have a good time and meet some folks. Id rather get vendors and make strong business contacts so I can sell product for and supply my customers / friends with a good deal on items I believe in and trust.

I feel if I can get to know a few vendors and they get to know me and I can form some business relationships out of it, then the time and money Ive invested will pay off for me. I already know Ill have a blast racing and traveling cause those are two things that really fire me up !!

You are on the right track. This is why we go to the SEMA, Off Road Impact and other shows also. I am in as deep as you can go with alot of my dealership and never bough into them. We are friends with alot of them and wheel with the rest of them. Going to the comps. over the last few years has opened more doors than you can belive. Yes it is out of pocket money, but my family doesn't really take vactions like most do, we live and love this sport and all our free time goes towards it. Run a big shop monday through friday, well maybe thursday then load and hit the road. We put on 21,000 miles last season, my 06 megacab has over 43,000 miles on it over two seasons now.

I need to get down south and see some of that mud, might keep the rig in the trailer and watch, she don't like the mud :dunno:

P · Feb 20, 2008

Thats awesome, and thats exactly the kinda thing I want to do and build on. Sounds like your livin the dream to me man !!

blacksheep10 · Feb 20, 2008

yep, that's what I was hoping to have confirmed. this is about making connections and promoting your business back at teh shop and networking weekends. that's what I want to do this season.

BamaTJ · Feb 20, 2008

I would definately think that Shannon, Dustin, Tracey and maybe a few others pay nothing out of pocket and probably put some back in! Thanks for the first hand info Mike, that is a black box for most of us

blacksheep10 · Feb 20, 2008

BamaTJ said:
I would definately think that Shannon, Dustin, Tracey and maybe a few others pay nothing out of pocket and probably put some back in! Thanks for the first hand info Mike, that is a black box for most of us

speaking of black box, did you ever find a soul sista to hit up bones?