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I wish I could find the source, but I remember reading somewhere about a year ago that some sponsors get a cut of the merchandising profits. After all their logo is being displayed on the merchandise as well. For example Budweiser might get 20 percent of Dale Jr.'s Bud merchandise profit. With as many souvenirs as he sells, it is not unreasonable to think Anheuser-Busch could be recouping half of their investment in Jr's car before they have sold a single beer as a result of that sponsorship. I don't think they would drop Jr. just because he makes an occasional bonehead move.
On track actions don't mean a whole lot to sponsors. Off track ones do, like when Home Depot fined Tony Stewart and made him take anger management courses, above and beyond the penalties NASCAR imposed after one of his tantrums a couple of years ago.
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