NASCAR fans are one of the most loyal supporters of sponsors and a sponsor trying to exercise such overreaching control of a driver’s life would not be taken kindly.
Certainly, if Tony or some other driver were involved in some socially unacceptable behavior a sponsor would be well within their rights to walk away. They have left drivers in the past for fights, DUI, drugs... and that is proper.
I remember GM taking a lot of flak when they were accused of preventing Tony and Jeff Gordon from running Indy 500 and the NASCAR 600. I don’t even know if there ever was pressure from GM but they took a lot of flak for the rumor.
It’s Tony’s team and Tony does a hell of a lot for the sponsor. It’s idiots like Kurt Bush (great driver, screwed up brain) who sponsors can and should walk away from without any fear of NASCAR fan reprisal.
Also, there is a ton of skill developed in dirt racing which can help in driving a cup car when it is loose. It is easy to tell which drivers have that skill. While I was never in their league, I learned volumes racing dirt tracks.
Tony absolutely loves to run dirt. He even made, what IMO was the dumbest male statement of all time when he said to a reporter-ett, that he had more fun running a dirt race that night then the entire week he had spent on some island with his girlfriend. Oh, Tony!
Yeah, I wonder what his wife thought of that?