Hendrick takes first place in ranking valuable teams

Until recently, Forbes Magazine was not among the top 10 magazines that racers -- or race fans -- paid attention to, at least in NASCAR.

But since the boom times of the mid-1990s, it's right up there on the list, especially among those to whom NASCAR is a business rather than a sport. Of course, it's getting increasingly hard to tell the difference between business and sport, so that follows a logical path.

Forbes recently released its Most Valuable lists for NASCAR, and the teams, drivers and cars that made it should not come as a shock to anyone with more than a passing interest in the sport.
There's value in NASCAR, and when investment and venture capital groups begin plunking down cash on the barrelhead to play this high-speed game, that value is sure to grow.

Just last week, Boston Ventures bought controlling interest in Petty Enterprises, giving the family team liquidity it had never seen before (complete story). Fortress Investment Group head Rob Kauffman bought into Michael Waltrip Racing last year, and George Gillett took over Ray Evernham's team in 2007 as well, starting the trend.

Of course, Richard Childress sort of pioneered the investor model for NASCAR teams six years ago (complete story), but the practice really took off in the past couple of years. Consolidation has also increased values across the board, as smaller teams merge with larger ones.

To the lists: Forbes says the average value of NASCAR teams has jumped 65 percent in two years to $119 million. Forbes also points out that the $4.48 billion television deal NASCAR inked in 2007 is backloaded, meaning that teams won't see an increase over 2006 levels until at least 2012. Since 65 percent of the per-race television rights fees go to the track, 25 percent to the purse and 10 percent to NASCAR, that's a pretty big hunk of money.

There's a new leader in the Most Valuable Team category, and it shouldn't be much of a surprise to learn that it's Hendrick Motorsports. The addition of Dale Earnhardt Jr. and sponsor AMP Energy boosted the value of the four-car team to an estimated $335 million, 13 percent better than in 2007.

Roush Fenway Racing, the first of the major teams to take on an investor in Fenway Sports Group, slipped to second at $313 million. Joe Gibbs Racing, which added M&M's and Kyle Busch over the offseason, grew 7 percent to $184 million in value.

Gillett Evernham was fourth at $150 million, and RCR took fifth at $130 million. Dale Earnhardt Inc. was sixth at $109 million, and Penske Racing came seventh at an even $100 million.

Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates ($94 million), Michael Waltrip Racing ($86 million) and Yates Racing ($74 million) rounded out the top 10.

Two single-car teams -- Bill Davis Racing and Robby Gordon Motorsports -- rounded out the top 15.

The gap between Hendrick Motorsports and Gordon's team is a staggering $307 million, which is $37 million more than it was just last year despite a slight dip in values from 2007. The gap is a whopping $112 million more than it was in 2006, which means the rich are getting richer and the "poor" are getting poorer.

In terms of drivers, there are a bunch of them in the eight-figure category according to Forbes' research, which should come as no surprise. Nor should it be surprising that Jeff Gordon is the top earner at $32 million per year.

Hendrick drivers occupied the top three spots, as Earnhardt ($31 million) and Jimmie Johnson ($23 million) followed the team leader. Tony Stewart was fourth at $19 million, and Kasey Kahne rounded out the top five at $14 million.

Juan Montoya, Matt Kenseth, Kevin Harvick, Busch and Denny Hamlin rounded out the top 10. Joe Gibbs Racing placed all three of its drivers in the top 10.

Given the fact that HMS is the most valuable team and has the top three earners among its drivers, is it any wonder that the three most valuable cars, according to Forbes, belong to Gordon, Earnhardt and Johnson, in that order? It shouldn't be.

According to Forbes, Gordon's No. 24 Chevrolet is worth $92 million, Earnhardt's No. 88 Chevy is worth $79 million and Johnson's No. 48 Chevrolet is worth $58 million.

Stewart's No. 20 Toyota is close behind at $56 million, and the No. 17 Ford of Kenseth is at $52 million. Kahne's No. 9 Dodge is worth $49 million, Carl Edwards' No. 99 Ford is at $48 million, and Busch's No. 18 Toyota is at $43 million.

A pair of Roush Fenway cars, the No. 26 Ford of Jamie McMurray and the No. 16 Fusion of Greg Biffle, rounded out the top 10.

The values of NASCAR's top teams are moving into football/baseball territory these days, so put this aside until next summer and do the math. You'll be able to tell the overall health of the sport simply by following the numbers.