NASCAR should be governed by fair and equitable practices

The quote: “NASCAR should be governed by fair and equitable practices,” is part of a bigger statement put forth by 23X1 Racing this morning in response to NASCAR’s imposed midnight deadline to sign on with the new charter deal.

At last weekend’s Southern 500 regular season cut-off race, 23XI Racing investor Curtis Polk made a bold statement with a sign stapled to the back of his shirt that read: “Please don’t ask me about my charter. I don’t want to disparage NASCAR and lose it.” Undoubtedly, the message was a shot at NASCAR for the anti-disparagement clause being discussed as part of the new deal.

“Yeah, it’s a threat,” said Denny Hamlin when asked about the potential clause. “That’s if you speak negatively. If they don’t like what you say, yeah, they’re trying to reserve the right.”

The tension escalated later that day when 23X1 driver Tyler Reddick won the regular season championship, but none of NASCAR’s officials showed up for the presentation.

While the specifics of NASCAR’s proposed ownership agreement remain largely confidential, it’s clear that teams are struggling to reach common ground on the new charter deal for 2025. It’s even more clear that Denny Hamlin has emerged as the most vocal critic.

On Saturday morning, the saga continued when 23XI Racing announced it had opted out of NASCAR’s midnight deadline by refusing to sign a new charter bound questionable terms. Front Row Motorsports adopted the very same stance. Undoubtedly, this move is one of the sport’s most public challenges to NASCAR’s leadership. By drawing a definitive line in the sand, they’ve taken a stand that other team owners have yet to follow. In its official statement, 23XI Racing explained its reasoning for rejecting the charter on NASCAR’s terms.

“23XI decided to not meet a NASCAR-imposed deadline last 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.”

The team, co-owned by Michael Jordan and Hamlin, clearly believes it has enough influence to push for changes. But these are uncharted waters for NASCAR, and it remains unclear how both parties will resolve their differences. As of media day on Wednesday, Hamlin indicated the negotiations were still far from productive, stating that “they keep going in the wrong direction.”

“There’s probably a handful of teams that are just happy to take any deal that they can get, and there’s others with some business sense that say this is unreasonable,” Hamlin added.

Hamlin has positioned himself as a dissenting voice, believing NASCAR leadership views him “as a thorn in their side.” He elaborated on the deal, describing it as “one-sided” in favor of the sanctioning body. “I made a good living in this as a NASCAR driver, and I chose to invest back in the France family and NASCAR,” Hamlin said. “And they are yet to show me an opportunity where I’m going to get that back.”

According to FOX Sports reporter Bob Pockrass, Front Row Motorsports has also declined to sign the agreement, though FRM has not issued an official statement.

As for the implications of this new deal on NASCAR’s power structure, Hamlin commented: “Who’s the jury, the judge, and the executioner? It sounds like it’s all the same person. It’s never been the same person, but now they’re proposing that it is.”