It is safe to say that Dale Earnhardt Jr. knows a thing or two about NASCAR. The former Cup Series driver turned analyst and broadcaster for the sport recently spoke out on the charter lawsuit between 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports, going up against the stock car racing promotion, and how he thinks the same will pan out.
Advertisement
Given his years of experience in the sport, not only as a driver but as a team owner, Junior opined on how he expects the lawsuit to be mutually settled between the two parties. One of 23XI Racing’s owners, Michael Jordan, is a phenomenon known not only for his legendary exploits in the NBA but in sports and pop culture in general.
Junior believes that the level of reach and publicity Jordan brings to NASCAR is the key to a future compromise between him and the stock car racing governing body.
He recently spoke on how it is beneficial for the sport to keep one of their biggest star owners happy, especially when they are as invested in the sport from the ground up as Jordan is.
“I think NASCAR wants Michael Jordan to be happy and to be enjoying what he’s doing. What’s going to happen, I believe, is both sides will compromise and come to an agreement, and then Jordan will enjoy being an owner and have success,” Junior elaborated in an interview with USA Today Sports.
The reasoning behind the conflict of interest between Jordan’s team and NASCAR came when the promotion denied teams permanent charters in the sport. A charter is essentially what teams require to compete on a weekly basis in NASCAR. The teams have to renew their charters after a specific period to continue to race on the track.
23XI and FRM argued that it is the teams that put on the show for NASCAR, thus they deserve to have a permanent return on their investment in the sport.
Coupled with Jordan‘s experience from the NBA and how the business side of sports works differently in the stick and ball genre, the 23XI and FRM decided to go on offense on what has been an underlying issue in the sport for years, according to the majority of the teams at least.
Because of all this, NASCAR is in a peculiar spot. On one hand, they want one of the biggest names in sports to remain invested in stock car racing. While on the other hand, they are simultaneously embroiled in controversy with the same.
“A championship team owned by Michael Jordan is a great thing for NASCAR, and I think I’ll see that one day,” Junior said, further solidifying why he thinks a compromise is on the cards.
With the sport’s constant endeavors to appeal to a newer, younger audience, it is easy to see why Junior has the opinion that he does. Now, what remains to be seen is if the higher-ups at NASCAR can see the same reasoning.
