The third day of testimony in the antitrust clash between 23XI Racing, Front Row Motorsports, and NASCAR underlined the financial strain that has seeped into every corner of the industry. Teams revealed how they have struggled to make money, while NASCAR also justified its position by reporting staggering losses of its own. As a result, veteran of the sport Kenny Wallace had something to say to the organization.
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Bob Jenkins testified that he has never turned a profit since launching Front Row Motorsports in the early 2000s, estimating his losses at roughly $100 million despite winning the 2021 Daytona 500. He was joined by multiple teams that were said to be facing financial struggles due to the charter system, which was described as lopsided and unsustainable.
Steve O’Donnell, the league’s chief operating officer, then laid out the numbers, stating that NASCAR lost $55 million over three years staging the Chicago Street Course experiment and another $6 million racing in Mexico City. However, he framed those setbacks as long-range gambles rather than reckless spending, claiming those ventures were pivotal in securing Amazon as a broadcast partner.
According to O’Donnell, without those high-risk moves, the sport never would have landed the streaming giant’s media deal. Still, not everyone is convinced that NASCAR should keep rolling the dice on pricey detours.
Having raced in Mexico himself when the Xfinity Series made trips south from 2005 to 2007, Wallace pushed back on the notion that Mexico City is a financial death trap for the Cup Series at this point. “I ran Mexico City a couple three times, and we all went down there just fine with no problems,” he said while nursing his coffee.
But when Wallace heard NASCAR had hauled Cup cars there this summer only to “lose their a**,” as he put it, he didn’t hesitate to draw a line in the sand.
Wallace’s message for the executives is to stop wandering off in search of the next big frontier and focus on fixing the product at home. “Stay your lane and get things right at home. Quit trying to venture out and get new. We got problems right here in River City. Let’s make the people that love us happy,” he said.
Hearing that the league burned $55 million trying to crack Chicago, all in hopes of luring Amazon, only hardened Wallace’s stance. “Quit losing money, and let’s take care of the home base first. I think that would be a good start.”
And that $61 million in losses does not even factor in the LA Coliseum experiment, which Wallace skeptically suggested was not exactly minting cash either. In his eyes, NASCAR’s path forward is not in splashy one-offs or expensive market tests. It lies in repairing the foundation, the traditional tracks, the core fans, and the competitive equilibrium that teams argue has eroded.
