NASCAR Charter Talks Enter New Phase at Atlanta

By David Morgan, Associate Editor

HAMPTON, Ga. – Charters have been the word of the season with the negotiations between NASCAR and the teams in the Cup Series dragging on and on in a constant back and forth between the two entities.

Entering the start of the Cup Series Playoffs at Atlanta Motor Speedway, those talks have taken a turn with the majority of teams electing to sign the new deal put in place by the sanctioning body and two teams – 23XI Racing co-owned by Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan, as well as Front Row Motorsports – holding out for the time being.

In a statement, 23XI explained its rationale for not signing the new charter deal.

“23XI decided to not meet a NASCAR-imposed deadline [Friday] night to sign Charter agreements for its two cars for 2025-2031. 23XI’s position, as stated in a letter to NASCAR, is that we did not have an opportunity to fairly bargain for a new Charter contract.

“We notified NASCAR what issues needed to be addressed, in writing, at the deadline. We are interested in engaging in constructive discussions with NASCAR to address these issues and move forward in a way that comes to a fair resolution, while strengthening the sport we all love.

“At 23XI Racing, we remain committed to competing at the highest level while also standing firm in our belief that NASCAR should be governed by fair and equitable practices.”

Hamlin has long been outspoken about the ongoing charter negotiations and earlier this week, explained his thinking on the current state of the charter agreement. He noted on Playoff media day on Wednesday that the negotiations had become “stagnant” between the two parties.

“One side will have to wake up and be reasonable. That’s all,” Hamlin said of what it will take to reach an equitable agreement.

“People see me gripe, but they have to realize I made a good living in this as a NASCAR driver and I chose to invest back in the France family and NASCAR, and they are yet to show me an opportunity where I’m going to get that back.”

Hamlin continued, noting that the teams are shouldering a lot of what makes the sport what it is and he’s not seeing the same value in return from the sanctioning body, hence his and the team’s current situation.

“I’m not really sure where leverage lies. I would argue both sides feel like they have some, but I think it’s more just a frustration of a lack of acknowledgement that the teams have built this sport,” Hamlin said.

“(Rick) Hendrick and (Joe) Gibbs putting superstars on the race track – that is what has built the sport. Fans do not come to see cars going around in circles. If they would, then we would sell out ARCA races, but they don’t. They come to sell out on Sunday to watch Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson and Kyle Busch.

“So, who provides them the cars? And that’s the teams. Who spends the money? That’s the teams. Whose sponsors go buy a suite? That’s the teams. Whose sponsors activate in their midways? That’s the teams. That’s the tough part that, they just don’t value us.”

Hamlin concluded by explaining that he just wants to make the sport a better place for all involved, especially as he transitions toward the latter half of his driving career and eyes long-term team ownership.

“I’m just trying to make it better than what it was and still try to grow it and it’s unfortunate. I wish I had a bigger role in it,” Hamlin said.

“Certainly, there’s been some changes that have happened around some conversations that you have, and I think NASCAR for a while has been very receptive to listening to advice and some things. But certainly, when it comes to dollars and cents, that’s where we’re in two different ballparks.

As a driver, I’ve put in 20 years doing this and I feel like I’ve tried to do my best to grow social following, giving more content. Things like that. Trying to update the times, right? I tried to start a race team to build my legacy well beyond being a race car driver itself. Being part of the sport, investing in Jim France, investing in NASCAR.

“You know, I’m doing my part, but certainly I think probably from their standpoint they just see me as a thorn in their side and more than likely would be better off without me.”

Things may have changed for some teams to sign the new agreement since those comments were made, but Hamlin and 23XI remain steadfast in their beliefs that it is not yet in their best interest to sign.

After the 23XI statement was put out on Saturday morning, Hamlin was reticent on commenting further, noting that the team statement said what needs to be said at this point in time.

With the stalemate between 23XI and NASCAR, any contract negotiations between its drivers and the team to sign for future years are on hold. This includes Bubba Wallace, who is currently in the midst of working out a contract extension for him to stay as the driver of the No. 23 Toyota into the future.

“My process has been kind of going hand in hand with the charter agreements, so it’s frustrating to see where we’re at because that impacts my life, livelihood and everything moving forward for my future. That’s really all I gotta say about it,” Wallace said of things getting put into a holding pattern until things are worked out with NASCAR.

On the other side of the coin, team owners like Brad Keselowski explained why his team, RFK Racing, was among those that elected to sign the new charter agreement ahead of the race weekend in Atlanta.

“We know we wanna run NASCAR for a long time to come and signing the charter agreement is a statement to our commitment to doing just that. We’ve got great plans for the sport and excited to see that continue on for quite some time,” Keselowski said.

He added that there are pros and cons to the new deal, but felt good enough about it to err on the side of signing it versus taking the 23XI path and holding out.

“One of these agreements is only good when everybody’s just a little bit jaded, he said with a laugh. “There’s things obviously we would like to have better, but to some degree, there’s pieces that we really like and there’s pieces that, not so much, but it’s hard to use the word fair. I don’t know if I know what that means.”

Keselowski continued, noting that when the media rights deal was signed ahead of the 2024 season, that was a big step in the negotiations that led the teams that signed to where they are this week.

“We’re glad that the economics are improved to go with where the media landscape has moved and we’re certainly glad to see the sport perpetuate,” Keselowski said. “And you know, right now this sport lives and dies off of the media rights deal and there’s no getting around that. So, when the media rights deal got done this winter, that was a big, big deal for the sport. And then now you’re seeing the dominoes fall behind that, but don’t forget what the first domino is.”

Despite 23XI’s current decision to hold off on signing the new deal, Keselowski said they were well within their right to do so and didn’t begrudge them for taking that path.

“Certainly respect their decision making ability and the autonomy that comes with that. But, for us we felt like it was right to do a deal and move forward.”