One of the likely outcomes of the ongoing antitrust lawsuit trial between NASCAR and 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports is that the sanctioning body could lose control of the racetracks it owns. While many have not yet begun to grasp what that would truly mean, Dale Earnhardt Jr. has, and he laid out that dark reality for fans on his podcast.
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NASCAR and Speedway Motorsports Inc. own most of the racetracks that the Cup Series visits each season. If NASCAR were no longer allowed to own and operate its tracks, it could mean that many of them might cease to exist in the future. That would create a major decline in both oval racing and short track racing.
Or at least that’s what Dale Jr. fears will happen. He said, “Be careful what you wish for. No one is building race tracks. Running a race track today is not a lucrative operation. If NASCAR and Marcus [Smith] don’t own these race tracks, they are going to turn into developments.
“In ten years, we will be racing in a bunch of street courses. We need NASCAR to run the tracks because it’s a dying sort of business model.”
Whatever happens, we don’t want to see race tracks disappear. @DaleJr | @EarnhardtKelley pic.twitter.com/8MZyrmN4hZ
— Dirty Mo Media (@DirtyMoMedia) December 10, 2025
Kelley Earnhardt was alongside Dale Jr. on the podcast, and she likened operating a racetrack to running a farm. It is a business that is hardly sustainable unless it is done on a large scale. She also emphasized that the land on which these operations take place is far more valuable than the business model itself.
Dale Jr. added, “If NASCAR or really anyone were off to selling race tracks, one after the other, they’re gonna be gone and disappear. We are not gonna have these big ovals and short tracks and all this stuff. This sport would just change incredibly.”
How likely is it that his fears become a reality?
Judge Kenneth D. Bell had issued multiple warnings before December 1 that proceeding to trial could carry severe consequences. He also noted that there was a possibility NASCAR might be instructed to sell its racetracks in order to adapt to whatever new reality emerges from the outcome of the trial.
The sanctioning body and the teams moved forward with full awareness of this. If the teams come out of this ordeal victorious, the chances of NASCAR being forced to sell its tracks would be high.
