Owner-driver

An owner-driver in NASCAR is a NASCAR driver who fully or partially owns the team they are driving for full-time or part-time.

However, owner-drivers are almost nonexistent today in the NASCAR Cup Series, primarily due to the expense and responsibilities involved, essentially having two jobs in one.

Owner-driver is not to be confused with a driver who owns a separate team, such as Dale Earnhardt, who fielded his own team but still drove for RCR.

While sponsorship was useful, it was not essential to win at this time, leaving less burden for the driver.

Since 1980, with the exception of Alan Kulwicki and Tony Stewart (1992 and 2011, respectively), no NASCAR Cup Series champion was an owner-driver.