NASCAR’s negotiations with teams over a new charter agreement have still not seen any light. This has caused tension from within the closed walls to ooze out and drivers who have contrasting opinions on the issue are beginning to find themselves more and more agitated. Denny Hamlin hit back at former Xfinity Series driver Landon Cassill on X for his suggestion that teams aren’t being fiscally responsible.
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The most important demand from teams in the charter negotiations is a bigger share of revenue from the total pool. They have long contended that operating costs are too high and that they are struggling to keep themselves afloat. It is at this juncture that Cassill said to Parker Kligerman on the Money Lap podcast that NASCAR was not forcing teams to spend on private jets and lavish pit stalls.
He expressed his belief that teams could be more profitable by easily avoiding the unnecessary costs they were incurring. He also referenced his opinion with Hamlin’s words from earlier about how it took $18 million to put a car on the race track. Hamlin couldn’t be a silent spectator watching this conversation gain traction among the fanbase on X.
He responded with a string of explanations which were summed up into one post, “First, 18M is just for the car on the track to put on this show each and every week (NO driver) Seems as though you think it’s excessive. Well, we (teams) opened our books to NASCAR to show what exactly that money was spent on and that it was not excessive. (Nas executives agreed).”
Hamlin further explains why Cassill has the wrong idea about team costs
The 23XI Racing co-owner continued that Cassill was mistaken about every penny earned beyond $18 million ending up as a profit for the team. He reasoned that many departments are required for a race team to function beyond just the obvious. He wrote that these additional arms require a lot of funding and that they help not only the team grow but also the sport.
As an owner himself, Hamlin has tried his best to keep his race team as lean as possible from a financial standpoint and still struggled. That’s part of the reason why he is steadfast in his opinion that NASCAR needs to be willing to part with a bigger share of the revenue it gets. Despite his pointed words to Cassill he doesn’t appear to have developed any ill feelings for him.
He replied to a fan who was unduly critical of the driver, “He doesn’t know what he doesn’t know. (He hasn’t claimed that he knows all the facts) He’s giving his opinion on his platform that im absolutely supportive of. I’m just here to help with some facts as they are needed so the debate can continue.”
Hopefully, Cassill doesn’t stir up the pot more.
