Denny Hamlin, for long, has been a critic of NASCAR’s charter agreement. NASCAR rushed the teams and compelled them to sign the charter deal ahead of the 2024 Cup Series playoffs. However, 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports refused to sign it as their demands for a permanent charter, among others, weren’t met.

Now a month later, the teams have filed a joint antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR and its owner, the France Family. The teams have accused NASCAR of using unlawful methods to showcase and maintain their monopoly in the sport. Amidst this legal battle, 23XI co-owner Hamlin is facing a dilemma as he drives for Joe Gibbs Racing, one of the teams that has signed the same charter he is opposing. Recently, Hamlin cleared the air on how he strikes a balance between the two.

Denny Hamlin is in a quandary amidst the legal battle

The two teams have accused NASCAR of its lack of transparency and the ways in which they control the sport. In a joint statement, the teams said, “NASCAR and the France family operate without transparency, have stifled competition, and control the sport of stock car racing in ways that unfairly benefit them at the expense of team owners, drivers, sponsors, partners, and fans, through anti-competitive practices.”

According to the 23XI and FRM, the long list of anti-competitive practices includes buying a majority of the premier racetracks that are exclusive to NASCAR races, forcing teams to buy their parts from single-source suppliers chosen by NASCAR, and preventing teams from participating in any other stock car races, to name a few. The teams have accused the France family of unfairly controlling the sport since 1948, when it was started. Amidst this tussle, Denny Hamlin recently appeared uneasy as he tried to balance being a race car driver and the co-owner of the 23XI team.

On the recent episode of the Actions Detrimental podcast, he was requested to speak about the lawsuit. To this, he said, “While at the race track, I am the driver of the 11 first and obviously wanna keep your comments pretty short and limited. To be respectful to the sponsors that I got on my hat, my shirt, during that time. That’s the tough balance. People ask me about what’s the balance. That’s one of the toughest having to walk that tightrope. Well, I’m here as a driver and you are asking me owner questions.”

Hamlin has been with Joe Gibbs Racing since 2005 and has bagged 54 race wins with the team. On many occasions, the #11 has come close to winning a championship for them. And in September 202o, Hamlin, along with Michael Jordan, founded the 23XI Racing team. The young team has seen significant success this season with Tyler Reddick winning the regular season championship. Amidst the legal battle, the NASCAR veteran would neither like to jeopardize his relations with JGR nor look weak in front of NASCAR as 23XI fights them.

Choosing his words carefully, Hamlin on the lawsuit said, “I wanna be respectful and answer your questions right so. A lot has been said about it. You heard our attorneys did a few media outlets last week. Obviously, this is a big deal for the sport. This is just something that I feel that is an important moment in our sport. For myself personally, I have invested a lot back into this sport to help put on the NASCAR show. And all I have asked them from the very beginning is show me an avenue where I can get that investment back.”

According to Hamlin, he has failed to recoup the investment he made with the 23XI team in the sport. And it’s not a secret that NASCAR is an expensive sport. The lawsuit mentions that running a single chartered team for a whole season can cost $18 Million. In addition to that, the #11 driver also sheds light on how teams are not making a profit. And it’s not just the 23XI team other NASCAR teams too, have been vocal about the same.

NASCAR teams are not profitable

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According to the lawsuit, since 2016, the charter team’s number, which used to be 19, has been reduced to 8. This is evident enough how tough it is to financially survive in the sport. Hamlin, further in the conversation, said, “NASCAR said we don’t want big investment companies coming into our sport. We want old drivers being car owners. They tried it, and it failed. When does it stop?… I know it’s easy to look in the short term and say we are fine, everything’s fine. It’s not fine. And the 2025 agreement binds the teams in such a way that there is no upside whatsoever. All the upside goes to one side.”

Even Bob Jenkins, the founder of Front Row Motorsports said, he’s not been profitable even after being in NASCAR for over 20 years. According to him, a solution to these needs to be found. “We need a more competitive and fair system where teams, drivers, and sponsors can be rewarded for our collective investment by building long-term enterprise value, just like every other successful professional sports league,” Jenkins said.

Hendrick Motorsports, vice chairman and NASCAR veteran Jeff Gordon too has been vocal in the past about Hendrick Motorsports not making a profit in years. He had previously questioned the sustainability aspect of the sport and how NASCAR has a broken economic model. If a team as big as Hendrick Motorsports is not profitable. It’s pretty obvious that smaller teams are hanging by the thread. Sadly, this is the case despite NASCAR having signed a $7.7 Billion broadcasting deal, a 40% increase over its previous deal.

What do you think about the NASCAR suit? Do you think the France family is being unjust? Let us know in the comments below.