NASCAR drivers have apparently found one way to deal with the pressure of the Chase: swear. A lot.
Only two races into NASCAR’s new swear jar promotion, Cup Series radio communications have already produced 468 curse words, pushing the value of the jar to $2,340.
And things escalated quickly at World Wide Technology Raceway.
Sunday’s chaotic Gateway race alone accounted for 245 swear words, slightly surpassing the 223 recorded one week earlier at Darlington. At $5 per profanity, Gateway added another $1,225 to the growing total.
Considering what unfolded on the track, perhaps that shouldn’t come as much of a surprise.
Gateway featured a track-record 18 cautions, repeated contact and plenty of frustration over the radio. By the time the checkered flag fell, NASCAR’s newest promotion had more than doubled its running total in a single afternoon.
And with eight races still remaining in the Chase, the swear jar could be just getting started.
NASCAR Drivers Have a Very Clear Favorite Curse Word
The overall number is impressive enough. The breakdown makes it even better.
Through Darlington and Gateway, NASCAR has counted 13 different swear words over Cup Series radio communications.
One word absolutely dominates the leaderboard.
The f-word has accounted for 235 of the 468 profanities recorded through the first two races, meaning it represents slightly more than half of everything NASCAR has counted so far.
Sh*t sits a distant second with 103 uses.
Gateway also introduced some newcomers to the standings. Bullsht and, perhaps fittingly after an afternoon featuring 18 cautions, shtshow made their debuts on NASCAR’s swear rankings.
The rapidly growing totals stem from a new fan promotion NASCAR introduced for the Chase. NASCAR puts $5 into its swear jar for every profanity picked up over Cup Series radio channels during each race.
Fans have an incentive to pay close attention, too. They can try to correctly predict the number of swear words recorded each Sunday for a chance to win the money accumulated in the jar.
Darlington established quite a starting point with 223. Gateway somehow topped it with 245.
Two races. 468 swear words. $2,340.
There are still eight races to go.
Gateway Gives NASCAR’s Swear Jar a Major Boost
The jump at Gateway came during one of the most chaotic races of the season.
The race produced 18 cautions, setting a track record at World Wide Technology Raceway. Drivers and teams spent much of the afternoon navigating incidents, restarts and constantly changing circumstances, providing fertile ground for some colorful radio chatter.
The result was NASCAR’s biggest swear count since launching the promotion.
The numbers also illustrate just how quickly the jar could grow as the Chase intensifies. NASCAR has already averaged 234 curse words per race through the first two events. If that exact pace somehow continued over the remaining eight races, the season-ending total would reach 2,340 swear words, putting $11,700 into the jar.
Of course, predicting NASCAR races is difficult enough without trying to predict what drivers will say over the radio.
But after Darlington and Gateway combined for nearly 500 profanities, one thing has become clear: NASCAR may need a much bigger swear jar before the Chase is over.
NASCAR’s New Swear Jar Is Getting Out of Control After Just 2 Races