An owner-driver in NASCAR is a NASCAR driver who owns the car they are driving. The practice has been established since the beginning of NASCAR in 1949. However, owner-drivers are almost nonexistent today. One exception is Tony Stewart, who won the 2011 NSCS title as an owner-driver, but he was only a half owner (Gene Haas being the other half). The main reason that owner-drivers do not exist today is 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 raced his own team but still drove for RCR.
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History
When NASCAR started in the late 1940s nearly all drivers owned their cars and would drive their car to the track. While sponsorship was useful, it was not essential to win at this time, leaving less burden for the driver. But by the 1970s and '80s more and more drivers drove for another team. From 1980 to now, with the exception of Alan Kulwicki and Tony Stewart (1992 and 2011) no NASCAR champion was an owner driver.
Notable owner-drivers in NASCAR's top series
The following list is a list of owner-drivers: