NASCAR NEWS: Top NASCAR Officials Holds Meeting Over Serious Inclusion Of New Racing Regulations
Dale Earnhardt Jr. has shed light on the contentious issues surrounding NASCAR’s charter agreements that have led two teams, 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports, to refuse to sign. On his podcast, the Dale Jr. Download, Earnhardt spoke about the current state of NASCAR charters, drawing comparisons to the ownership models of NFL teams. His insights reveal a growing frustration among teams like 23XI Racing, who see immense growth potential but are hindered by existing agreements that fail to create sufficient value.
Earnhardt commented: “What a lot of investment firms and a lot of people, say like Michael Jordan and a lot of people in these investment firms considering NASCAR and certain entities like the Yankees and so forth that are looking into it, they’re looking at these big sports franchises that they’ve built and thinking how much higher of the value of this Major League Baseball team or this NFL team, where is the ceiling.” He recalled the historical increase in value of NFL teams to illustrate his point:
“…NFL teams are selling for $6 billion. In the 90s, NFL teams were selling under a billion, $800-$600 million. Washington was sold to Dan Snyder for $800 [million] or something like that. I can’t remember, but it was like a huge number back in the day. Now that team just sold last year for 6 point something billion.” Currently, owning a NASCAR team costs approximately $24 million. Earnhardt sees a future where NASCAR teams could be worth $125 to $150 million, provided changes are made to existing agreements that enhance the value for team owners. “If you’re one of those folks from that part of the world, you’re looking at NASCAR and going I can own a team for two dozen million or $24 million? There’s so much growth potential.
“23XI believes that, but they cannot get there, they can’t get that growth potential unless NASCAR creates that value for them in this new agreement. That’s why they’re fighting. “…I will not be shocked if the charters go to at one day down the road, maybe in a very short period of time, maybe it might be five years, are $125, $150 million.” The resistance to signing the current charter agreements centers on the lack of value creation, which is preventing these teams from realizing their full growth potential.
Confirming the decision not to sign the new charter agreement, 23XI Racing released the following statement last week: “23XI decided to not meet a NASCAR-imposed deadline last night to sign Charter agreements for its two cars for 2025-2031. 23XI’s position, as stated in a letter to NASCAR, is that we did not have an opportunity to fairly bargain for a new Charter contract. “We notified NASCAR what issues needed to be addressed, in writing, at the deadline. We are interested in engaging in constructive discussions with NASCAR to address these issues and move forward in a way that comes to a fair resolution, while strengthening the sport we all love.
“At 23XI Racing, we remain committed to competing at the highest level while also standing firm in our belief that NASCAR should be governed by fair and equitable practices.”
