Any talks about charter negotiations were supposed to be kept behind closed doors, both by NASCAR and the team owners. However, a failure to reach a middle ground to ink a new agreement has seen both parties feuding publicly. 23XI Racing Camp has been the most vocal among the team representatives, and Denny Hamlin didn’t mince his words in revealing the harsh realities of the deadlock in charter negotiations.
It all started with Michael Jordan’s business partner Curtis Polk throwing a jab at NASCAR at Darlington Raceway. And NASCAR’s rebuttal was claiming that they are close to signing a new agreement as soon as this week. None of the two parties involved are willing to soften their stance. And going by Hamlin’s words, it is NASCAR that is yet to be reasonable to see any potential progress moving forward.
Is NASCAR at odds with 23XI Racing?
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Denny Hamlin didn’t exactly react to Curtis Polk’s shirt signage initially but now has asked NASCAR to change the way they proceed. Speaking on the Actions Detrimental, the 23XI co-owner said, “I think the world has changed since that mentality was set forth by Big Bill a long time ago.” And it seems like the JGR ace isn’t done explaining his side of the story, stating that it’s NASCAR that has stalled the charter negotiations.
What’s your reaction? Denny Hamlin’s fury over NASCAR’s neglect of 23XI Racing is absolutely justified! React! Reactions
Speaking to the media ahead of the playoff race in Atlanta, Hamlin was asked about the state of the charter negotiations. To which he replied, “It’s stagnant,” further adding that all they need is NASCAR to come up with a reasonable offer: “One side would have to wake up and be reasonable, that’s all.”
Moreover, Denny Hamlin was particularly disappointed with how NASCAR treated his driver Tyler Reddick after winning the regular-season championship. “I’m not sure. I was certainly disappointed not seeing anyone from NASCAR present Tyler his trophy; that was a little disappointing. I don’t know; it’s the first I’ve seen.” Hamlin went on to add.
.@DennyHamlin described the charter talks as, “stagnant,” and that he was also frustrated that the sanctioning body didn’t have a representative present the regular season championship trophy to @TylerReddick as they have done in the past. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/eHPAmvQzOb
— Toby Christie (@Toby_Christie) September 4, 2024
Remember there were reports about NASCAR trying to meet with the teams privately in an attempt to create a divide among the alliance?
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It looks like they might have been successful in doing that, as a section of teams have agreed to take the deal while others are still awaiting a better proposal.
Is NASCAR banking on divide and rule policy?
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A report by Adam Stern from SBJ stated that NASCAR is looking to reach an agreement on the charter deal with its premier teams. No names were specified, but going by the tag, the likes of Hendrick Motorsports, Team Penske, and Joe Gibbs Racing could be a part of it. It also mentioned that the team expressed concerns over the new cost cap rules along with the team’s ability to speak freely.
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Denny Hamlin was asked about this development, and he simply answered that NASCAR isn’t being truthful about the talks. “Of course they want it to, but the truth is they keep going in the wrong direction. I believe I am (saying the truth) from our standpoint. It depends on who you ask, but certainly I feel like there’s a handful of teams that are just happy to take any deal that they can get. And there’s others with some business sense who say this is unreasonable.”
It has to be noted that the current deal runs until the end of 2024. A failure between the teams and NASCAR to sign an agreement could lead to detrimental outcomes for the sport.