Dale Earnhardt Jr Believes NASCAR Can Exploit Team’s Divided Stance for Charter Negotiations

Beyond the pre-exhibition race at the Clash and the biggest race of the year, the Daytona 500, the new charter system is one that is causing all the smoke in NASCAR nation. After NASCAR signed a record $1.1 billion per year media contract for 2025 and beyond, teams are negotiating for a higher share of revenue. However, the governing body claims teams don’t see the costs associated with running and maintaining the tracks, and even declined the meeting called up by the teams and owners in Daytona. With such developments coming out, NASCAR veteran, Dale Earnhardt Jr who is also a proud team owner, shared his take on the organization’s decision. The JR Motorsports co-owner who fields racecars in the Xfinity Series then opined how things will probably play out as NASCAR readies for a meeting at an individual level.

“Here’s what I think is going on” – Dale Earnhardt Jr dissects NASCAR’s decision to turn down its meeting with RTA 

As NASCAR enters its 2024 racing season with ‘The Great American Race’ at Daytona pushing the boundaries and enthralling the masses, NASCAR still remains the most popular motorsports league in the U.S., with an ambition to expand its operations into Canada and/or Mexico, and a billion-dollar-a-year media rights deal that shattered the internet.

While the media rights contract will certainly allow the organization to spread its wings, reaching out to its international fans, not everyone is content with the new charter system. Teams and owners don’t feel the new proposed contract is in their best interest and are demanding a bigger cut, mentioning the hardships of running a race team with numerous employees and pieces of equipment.

Now with NASCAR turning down the meeting, NBC commentator and JRM co-owner, Dale Jr revealed NASCAR’s possible strategy to pick each team one by one and secure a deal. In his podcast, the veteran said, “One of the big dominating storylines of the entire week was the charter news, NASCAR executives turned down invites to meetings with the teams the NASCAR you know teams were like, hey, let’s all come together, let’s get in the room, come on NASCAR we’re going to meet together. NASCAR would rather meet with the teams individually and if I’m NASCAR I like that. So, okay here’s what I think is going on.”

“The truth is, they’re not all like-minded. Some teams you know, may dont want to make things difficult on NASCAR, some teams in the back end of this RTA will be like you know what I’m good with this deal,” added the 49-year-old before mentioning NASCAR’s workable strategy. 

Stating the obvious, Junior continued his take, uncovering why he thinks NASCAR will take the route he thinks. He said, “If there wasn’t a bunch of these guys pushing back, trying to get a better deal, I’d probably take this deal. So that’s why I think NASCAR wants to meet them individually, so it’s more like trying to go to each individual team and steer everything closer to an agreement. NASCAR probably feels like it’s easier to make that happen, talking to them one at a time as opposed to all getting in the room and just shouting from side to side .”

WATCH THIS STORY: Kenny Wallace backs Dale Earnhardt Jr’s stance against the Clash 

While the stock car racing organization has been making plans of its own, even teams have doubled down on their approach in hopes of seeing the deal come to fruition.

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NASCAR teams have hired one of the country’s top antitrust and sports lawyers to advise them in their ongoing dispute with the family-owned stock car series over a new revenue-sharing model after the organization failed to show up to its meeting in Daytona. “We want to make a deal, we are just looking for a fair deal. There is no give and take. This is all there is; there is no flexibility. That’s not a negotiation,” said Curtis Polk, a part owner of 23XI Racing and member of the teams’ negotiating committee.

The Associated Press reported Kessler’s hiring on Sunday night. “I think the sport is a sleeping giant, but we all have to get the interest aligned because we need to grow it together. We need to grow more revenue, and we need to create great sharing and an arrangement where every dollar that is created benefits the drivers, benefits the teams, benefits the tracks, benefits NASCAR. That’s not how it’s set up right now,” said Polk according to RACER.com.

Other team executives like the HMS Vice Chairman Jeff Gordon and RFK Racing President Steve Newman have made it clear that their teams cannot be sustained under the current business model. Gordon also admitted that Hendrick Motorsports hasn’t turned a profit in 10 years.

READ MORE: Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson Unfurls His Biggest NASCAR Disappointment Amidst Daytona 500 Grand Marshall Showing

With such developments rocking the community, NASCAR and its teams will have to strike an accord for fans to get their fair share of weekly racing entertainment.