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“Self-Inflicted By the Teams”: Why NASCAR Is Not Entirely Wrong in Charter Standoff With Michael Jordan and 23XI

Rahul Ahluwalia
Published

23XI Team co-owner Michael Jordan sits atop of the pitbox during the 4EVER 400 presented by Mobil 1 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

NASCAR’s tug-of-war with 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports (FRM) over charter negotiations is playing out in the background even as the season finale approaches. Michael Jordan’s Cup Series team is ready to challenge for the sport’s ultimate prize for the first time this weekend, with Tyler Reddick piloting their #45 Toyota.

On track, 23XI, co-owned by Jordan and Denny Hamlin, are doing great. However, their court tussle teaming up with FRM against NASCAR, has put things in uncertainty not just for them, but for the entire sport.

A few hearings in the matter have already taken place where the injunction deal that the teams have proposed were discussed. Even as we await a final decision by the court, former NASCAR Xfinity Series driver, Landon Cassill, gave a fresh perspective on it.

The 35-year-old said that the legal stand-off against NASCAR, contesting the charter agreement, is something the teams brought onto themselves. It has got everything to do with how the race to remain relevant and competitive in NASCAR is an endless rabbit hole that sucks in huge amounts of money.

An organization can pump in an indefinite amount to win races and championships. But soon, the others spend as well, fuelling the already raging vicious cycle. With each passing year, the money needed to push is just going through the roof.

“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 Cassill said is true to an extent, any attempt to curb the amount of money being spent can eventually lead to the stalling of innovation and progress in the sport. Stock car racing, especially when the era of hybridization and/or electrification along with sustainable bio-fuels is fast approaching, needs to push the envelope now. After all, it’s time to take things forward from the Next Gen era.

Such debates are raging, pulling the stakeholders in multiple directions all at once. The governing body’s best course of action is to keep the teams content with a fairer share of the pie. Instead, they are trying to keep a tab on the revenue flow. That has led to the ongoing court case, and a rather annoying influx of legal jargon into the racing lingo.

Opinions, though vaguely and discreetly, are also being dropped by team owners about the current state of affairs. The soon-to-be former Cup Series owner Tony Stewart, was understandably open about it.

There are enough pros and cons to argue about the current charter situation. The right way forward would be to pick and implement what is healthy for the sport.

However, as things stand, the final decision rests with the court and the judicial system.

Post Edited By:Srijan Mandal

About the author

Rahul Ahluwalia

Rahul Ahluwalia

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Rahul Ahluwalia is a NASCAR Content Strategist and Journalist at The SportsRush. Hailing from a Journalism and Mass Communication background, Rahul's love for automobiles transformed into his passion for all things racing. With over 1200+ articles under his belt covering a mixture of NASCAR and F1, he has realized his calling in the world of motorsports with actual first hand experience behind the wheel to back it up. He has competed in several autocross events as well as rallycross-style competitions to hone his skills behind the wheel and better understand the mindset of a racecar driver, allowing him to further improve his writing as well. He also has an editorial background with respect to racing and has eye for stories which otherwise go unnoticed. Rahul is also an avid sim racer indulging in various disciplines such as rallying and oval racing during his free time. Having begun his motorsports journey at the start of 2020, he turned his passion into his work allowing him to delve deeper into the ever evolving and world of cars and motorsports. Apart from racing, Rahul also has sound technical knowledge of the automotive industry and automobiles in general. Having grown up playing video games such as Need for Speed, Forza Motorsport and Gran Turismo, it is easy to see where the love for racing and machines inculcated in the first place.

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