It’s been a thrilling season for the NASCAR Cup Series on the track, but there’s been even more drama brewing off of it.
One of the biggest tension points between NASCAR executives and team officials is the sport’s charter system, which requires teams to buy an individual charter for every car they want to race in the Cup Series.
The existing charter agreements were signed in 2015 and are set to expire after this season. On Friday, nearly all of NASCAR’s racing teams opted to sign an extension – but two of the 15 teams are drawing a line in the sand.
23XI Racing, Front Row Motorsports miss deadline to extend NASCAR charters
According to a report by The Athletic, 13 of the 15 racing teams signed a multi-year extension on Friday for a new charter agreement set to last through 2031.
The lone holdouts? 23XI Racing – the team co-owned by Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin – and Front Row Motorsports, both of which were otherwise expected to add a new charter in 2025.
23XI Racing, in particular, has been vocal in its displeasure with the NASCAR charter system, which forces teams to re-up its charter instead of buying a permanent spot.
Hamlin has also been critical about the potential anti-disparagement clause that could be included in the new charter agreement, which would prohibit teams from speaking negatively about NASCAR or the France family that owns the league.
“I certainly respect everything they have built …” Hamlin said this week of the France family. “At a certain point, you have to update your thinking or else you will hold the sport back.”
What happens next for NASCAR, holdouts?
It’s unclear what the future holds for 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports, which missed the self-imposed deadline by NASCAR for its teams to sign a new charter agreement by Friday.
Hamlin and Co. have effectively dared NASCAR to take away their charter for next season and suggested that a legal battle could ensue if the sport’s governing body tries to seize charters from teams that fairly purchased them back in 2015.
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We’ve heard far less from Front Row Motorsports, which is set to expand to three cars next season. That move is obviously complicated by its failure to extend a charter deal this week.
Front Row will fittingly start in the front row of Sunday’s playoff opener at Atlanta Motor Speedway after driver Michael McDowell took the pole.
Tyler Reddick, who won the regular-season championship last week for 23XI Racing, will start 23rd as he looks to secure the first Cup Series title for his racing team.