NASCAR just gave fans another reason to listen closely to driver radios during The Chase.
And yes, it involves swear words and cold, hard cash.
NASCAR has launched a new “Swear Jar” promotion for the 10-race Cup Series Chase, with the sanctioning body pledging $5 every time a driver swears over the radio. Once the season is over, one fan will walk away with the money accumulated in the jar.
NASCAR certainly isn’t being subtle about it.
“Others fine, we pay. Every bleep builds the pot!” NASCAR wrote while announcing the promotion. “And **** it, one fan will win it all. Hell yeah!”
How NASCAR’s New ‘Swear Jar’ Works
The premise is beautifully simple.
Every time a Cup Series driver swears over the radio during the final 10 races of the season, NASCAR adds $5 to the Swear Jar.
Fans can enter by predicting the total number of swear words that will be uttered during The Chase. The fan who correctly predicts the total, or comes closest, has a chance to win the money accumulated in the jar.
That means 200 swear words would put $1,000 in the jar, and anyone who has spent much time listening to NASCAR team radios knows there is plenty of potential for that number to climb.
Especially with a championship on the line.
The Chase begins Sunday with the Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway and runs through the season finale. Unlike NASCAR’s previous elimination format, all 16 championship contenders remain in The Chase throughout the 10 races, with the title ultimately going to the eligible driver who finishes the season with the most points.
Ten races. Sixteen championship contenders. Thousands of laps.
There should be no shortage of colorful radio communication.
NASCAR Turns Something It Once Punished Into a Prize
The promotion also comes with a pretty incredible bit of NASCAR history.
More than two decades ago, Dale Earnhardt Jr. was famously penalized for swearing during a post-race television interview after winning at Talladega Superspeedway in 2004. NASCAR fined Earnhardt $10,000 and docked him 25 championship points for the profanity.
Now NASCAR is quite literally putting money in a jar when its drivers swear.
The tone of the sport has clearly changed, and NASCAR is leaning all the way into it with this promotion.
Carson Hocevar didn’t waste much time getting into the spirit, either. The Spire Motorsports driver responded to NASCAR’s announcement on social media with expletives of his own.
Hocevar enters The Chase as the No. 12 seed following a regular season in which he earned his first career Cup Series victory at Talladega.
And if NASCAR radios get anything close to as heated as they typically do at Darlington, the Swear Jar could start filling up quickly.
The Cook Out Southern 500 is scheduled for 5 p.m. ET Sunday on USA Network, officially beginning the 10-race run to the 2026 Cup Series championship.
For once, NASCAR fans may find themselves rooting for drivers to lose their cool along the way.
NASCAR Is Paying Fans Every Time a Driver Swears During The Chase