NASCAR’s tug-of-war with 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports (FRM) over charter negotiations is nothing new. The saga has been long brewing on the sidelines as Michael Jordan’s Cup Series team gets ready to challenge for the sport’s ultimate prize this weekend.
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The driver of the #45 Toyota fielded by the team co-owned by Denny Hamlin, Tyler Reddick will be leading the organization’s first charge into championship contention in stock car racing’s highest echelon. While all seems rosy on the on-track competition side of things, the racing outfit along with FRM has been going to court to fight for what they believe are their rights in the sport.
With a few hearings already having taken place discussing the injunction deal that the teams have proposed until a final decision is made by the court, former NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Landon Cassill gave a fresh perspective on the whole matter, which can be food for thought for the fans.
The 35-year-old opined on how the charter agreement and the reason behind teams not being fully onboard with the same idea has been somewhat of their own doing. The former Front Row Motorsports driver elaborated on how remaining relevant and competitive in NASCAR is an endless rabbit hole.
An organization can pump in an indefinite amount of cash to win races and championships, only to have the other teams do it as well, starting a vicious circle that only keeps on increasing in size and in the amount of money being spent.
“The reason it costs $20 million to run a competitive Cup Series team is it’s an arms race. It’s self-inflicted by the teams. The teams and the manufacturers could stop that tomorrow if they chose to. And that’s probably an unpopular opinion. To go faster, you have to spend more money. And when that’s unchecked and there’s nobody stopping you, that’s going to keep happening,” Cassill told The Athletic’s Jeff Gluck.
While what the former driver said is true to an extent, curbing the amount of money being spent can eventually lead to NASCAR’s innovation and progress coming to a halt as a result. Stock car racing especially in times like these where hybridization and/or electrification along with sustainable bio-fuels are on the horizon for not only every global motorsports series but also the consumer car market.
With the current state of NASCAR in the Next Gen era and how much a team needs to invest in the sport to win up for debate, the governing body’s best course of action is to keep the teams themselves content with a fairer share of the pie, which incidentally was the primary reason behind all legal jargon being thrown around currently.
With several instances of owners from the fraternity dropping hints such as soon-to-be former Cup Series owner Tony Stewart, one could argue both in favor of or against the notion. Ultimately, the final decision rests with the courts and the judicial system.
