“We Are All-In”: NASCAR Might’ve Heard Denny Hamlin’s Calls for Justice

A little while back NASCAR driver and 23XI Racing co-owner, Denny Hamlin shared his opinion on how the charter system should bring in some element of profitability for the legacy owners in the Cup level. Now with the NASCAR’s president’s latest statement, it may indicate that Hamlin’s advocacy for fairness for the charter owners has finally been acknowledged by the organization.

Speaking with the press, NASCAR president Steve Phelps mentioned, “We are all-in on the charter system. We think that the charters have been valuable to the sport overall.”

“The race teams want three things — or so they have told us. They want to be competitive on the racetrack, which right now that’s a check. They want to increase the enterprise value of the charters and that has been a check, and they want to have a path to profitability. That’s not a check right now,” he added. Phelps spoke about the financial challenges faced by race teams at the Cup level, expressing the need to address their financial viability. He outlined two key strategies to address this issue.

First, he highlighted the importance of securing additional revenue for the teams through increased payouts from the sanctioning body and tracks, which would be facilitated by enhanced media rights negotiations.

Secondly, he stressed the significance of implementing some form of cost containment, such as a potential cap or restrictions on the components of the Next-Gen car. Although, he acknowledged that solely reducing costs would not lead to success for the race teams, indicating a balanced approach to financial sustainability.

What did Denny Hamlin say about the deal before?

The conversation erupted after Spire Motorsports acquired a single charter from Live Fast Motorsports for a whopping $40 Million. Speaking about the sale, Hamlin expressed satisfaction with his own investment (23XI Racing’s charters) in light of this development.

The JGR driver then emphasized that, while charters hold value in terms of franchise worth, they do not necessarily guarantee profitability upon sale. Hamlin also highlighted the significant ongoing costs of competition and the reliance on sponsorship for financial viability.

He further wanted justice for the legacy team owners such as Rick Hendrick, Joe Gibbs, Roger Penske, and Richard Childress to get their deserving compensation. Especially since their commitment to the sport over all these years warranted substantial franchise valuations.