Rick Hendrick and Dale Earnhardt Jr. - Image Credits: IMAGO
Rick Hendrick and Dale Earnhardt Jr. - Image Credits: IMAGO
The financial divide between NASCAR’s biggest and smallest O’Reilly Series teams has long been an open secret. However, Alpha Prime Racing owner Tommy Joe Martins believes the disparity deserves far more attention.
Speaking on The Teardown podcast, Martins argued that fans are missing one of the championship’s biggest storylines because neither NASCAR nor the media adequately highlights it. He also called for one simple change from the sport to expose the reality of the competition.
“Make the budgets public. That's the easiest thing you can do. Of course, that's never going to happen. But just make the budgets public because the reality is, when we talk about the bigger teams in the O'Reilly series, they're Cup teams. With all due respect to Junior Motorsports, fantastic organization. I love the people there.
WATKINS GLEN, NY - MAY 09: Connor Zilisch 1 JR Motorsports Jockey 150 Years Chevrolet chases down race leader Jesse Love 2 R. Childress Racing Whelen Chevrolet on the final lap of the NASCAR, Motorsport, USA OReilly Auto Parts Series on May 09, 2026, at Watkins Glen International in Watkins Glen, NY. Photo by David Hahn/Icon Sportswire AUTO: MAY 09 NASCAR OReilly Auto Parts Series Mission 200 at The Glen EDITORIAL USE ONLY Icon260509021
WATKINS GLEN, NY - MAY 09: Connor Zilisch 1 JR Motorsports Jockey 150 Years Chevrolet chases down race leader Jesse Love 2 R. Childress Racing Whelen Chevrolet on the final lap of the NASCAR, Motorsport, USA OReilly Auto Parts Series on May 09, 2026, at Watkins Glen International in Watkins Glen, NY. Photo by David Hahn/Icon Sportswire AUTO: MAY 09 NASCAR OReilly Auto Parts Series Mission 200 at The Glen EDITORIAL USE ONLY Icon260509021
Kelly Earnhardt Miller has honestly been a mentor for me, has helped me every single time I've ever reached out to her. Tremendous. That is a Cup-level resources organization. It just is. And they know it. That's why they've explored Cup options. Alpha Prime Racing is not exploring Cup options. Mike Harmon Racing is 15 employees.”
The Alpha Racing team owner further argued on the podcast that the challenge is no longer simply about one team spending a few million dollars more than another. Instead, he described it as a battle between small independent businesses and organizations backed by massive Cup operations.
Using Hendrick Motorsports as an example, he noted that Rick Hendrick now has representation in the O'Reilly Series through affiliated efforts, creating what he described as an enormous resource gap.
While a Cup-affiliated O’Reilly series program may appear to carry a budget of some million dollars, those teams also benefit from the personnel, equipment, and infrastructure of organizations worth hundreds of millions.
Not too long ago, Mark Martin had expressed a similar desire for Cup teams.
Mark Martin on splitting prize money in NASCAR
The former Roush driver is among those who strongly believe NASCAR should be more transparent about how prize money is split among teams, especially since this information was once available to the public, nearly a decade ago.
Shortly before the Phoenix race weekend in March, Bob Pockrass had mentioned NASCAR’s purse for the same, which was set at about USD 11.2 million. This included all payouts, awards, and points funds, among other things.
Sharing this tweet and adding his thoughts, Martin wrote, “We, the fans, would love to know how these purses are distributed like we used to. But I guess NASCAR and the teams would rather keep that concealed.”
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Written by
Aaradhya Singh
Edited by
Suyashdeep Sason