NASCAR facing tense summer of talks

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — NASCAR spent the weekend at Darlington Raceway celebrating its 75th anniversary, a salute that will now move to North Wilkesboro Speedway with the first Cup Series race at the reopened track since 1996.

The nostalgic nod to NASCAR’S early days has created a festive atmosphere at the surface level for the stock car series. Underneath, though, is a dispute between NASCAR and its Cup teams.

A letter last week essentially sent by the entire Cup field to NASCAR warns a tentative agreement to a new industry revenue breakdown depends on its franchises becoming permanent. The charter system introduced in 2016 guarantees race entry and earnings to 36 of 40 teams each week, but the charters must be renewed and can be revoked. The current charters expire at the end of the 2024 season, teams have made it clear they want them permanent, and they have asked NASCAR for discussion on why NASCAR opposes the idea.

Because the sides are at a “significant impasse” on the charters, the teams skipped an April meeting with series leadership and NASCAR’S top executives are now meeting individually with the teams.

NASCAR points to those conversations as proof that talks remain amicable. Denny Hamlin, a veteran driver and founding owner of Cup team 23XI, said he believes the individual meetings are meant to undermine the strength in collective negotiating by the chartered teams. “I think there was a little bit of (negotiating) traction, but it looks like NASCAR’S not acknowledging the negotiating committee anymore,” said Hamlin.

“They’d rather ... meet team-by-team and try to pick them off one-by-one and get a deal done that way.”

The negotiating committee has representatives from four teams, tasked to hammer out a new revenue sharing model for the Race Team Alliance, the consortium of 16 organizations that hold all 36 charters. The committee is comprised of Jeff Gordon representing Hendrick Motorsports; Joe Gibbs Racing president Dave Alpern; RFK Racing president Steve Newmark; and Curtis Polk, an owner in 23XI Racing.

NASCAR has already met individually with Hendrick Motorsports, and team owner Rick Hendrick said: “NASCAR is listening, so we’ll see if we can’t get something worked out that everybody can live with.”

Gordon, after William Byron on Sunday won at Darlington to give Hendrick five wins this season, downplayed the perceived tenor of current negotiations. He noted NASCAR is also in the middle of talks on a new television rights deal; the current package with FOX and NBC Sports expires at the end of 2024, same as the charters.

To renew a charter beyond the 2024 season, the teams had to inform NASCAR in February of their intent. The negotiating window on renewals is July 1 through Dec. 31; under current terms, NASCAR is supposed to negotiate in good faith and shouldn’t revoke a charter without cause. “We all want to have a sport that’s thriving that fans love and great competition... and also have something that works out economically for the teams, for the tracks, for NASCAR,” Gordon said. “I think we’re in a good place, but we’re also making sure that NASCAR knows kind of where the teams stand and how united they are.”