“Please don’t ask me about my Charter. I don’t want to disparage NASCAR and lose it,” read the handwritten note on Michael Jordan’s business partner, Curtis Polk’s shirt at the Darlington Raceway, prompting yet another heated discussion on charter negotiations.

23XI Racing Camp has been the most vocal among the team representatives, and Denny Hamlin didn’t mince his words in revealing the harsh realities of the deadlock they currently face. NASCAR’s rebuttal was claiming that they are close to signing a new agreement as soon as this week. None of the two parties involved are willing to soften their stance. And going by Hamlin’s words, it is NASCAR that is yet to be reasonable to see any potential progress moving forward.

Is NASCAR at odds with 23XI Racing?

Denny Hamlin didn’t exactly react to Curtis Polk’s shirt signage initially, but now has asked NASCAR to change the way they proceed. Speaking on the Actions Detrimental podcast, the 23XI co-owner said, “I think the world has changed since that mentality was set forth by Big Bill a long time ago.” And it seems like the JGR ace isn’t done explaining his side of the story, stating that it’s NASCAR that has stalled the charter negotiations.

Interestingly, the stock car racing organization has reportedly added a new clause to its charters recent drafts against making “anti-disparaging remarks”. 

Speaking to the media ahead of the playoff race in Atlanta, Hamlin was asked about the state of the discussions. To this, he replied, “It’s stagnant,” further adding that all they need is NASCAR to come up with a reasonable offer: “One side would have to wake up and be reasonable, that’s all.”

Moreover, the #11 was particularly disappointed with how NASCAR treated his driver Tyler Reddick after winning the regular-season championship. “I’m not sure. I was certainly disappointed not seeing anyone from NASCAR present Tyler his trophy; that was a little disappointing. I don’t know; it’s the first I’ve seen.” Hamlin said about the alleged snub. Perhaps 23XI’s continuous resistance has irked top officials? After all, it’s no joke when Michael Jordan speaks against you, is it?

After Tyler Reddick picked up a victory a Talladega this year, Jordan’s words were clear: Either come to a common ground or let the sport die. He pointed out how it’s not a good partnership if “NASCAR’s the only one making money”.

Case in point: NASCAR signed a $7.7 billion media rights deal with NBC, Fox, Amazon Prime Video and TNT Sports for 2025-31—a 40% increase from its previous deal. However, team owners continue battling the high cost of trying to stay relevant in the sport. As per Denny Hamlin, it takes $18 million per year to run a car. But teams get just 39% of the broadcast contract, which includes the prize purses. NASCAR takes 51% and 10% goes to the tracks.

Teams have been asking for a bigger share in the revenue, which is yet to see fruition. But remember those reports about NASCAR trying to meet with the teams privately in an attempt to create a divide among the alliance?

It looks like they might have been successful in doing that, as a section of teams have agreed to take the deal while others are still awaiting a better proposal.

Is NASCAR banking on divide and rule policy?

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A report by Adam Stern from SBJ stated that NASCAR is looking to reach an agreement on the charter deal with its premier teams. No names were specified, but going by the tag, the likes of Hendrick Motorsports, Team Penske, and Joe Gibbs Racing could be a part of it. It also mentioned that the team expressed concerns over the new cost cap rules along with the team’s ability to speak freely.

Denny Hamlin was asked about this development, and he simply answered that NASCAR isn’t being truthful about the talks. “Of course they want it to, but the truth is they keep going in the wrong direction. I believe I am (saying the truth) from our standpoint. It depends on who you ask, but certainly I feel like there’s a handful of teams that are just happy to take any deal that they can get. And there’s others with some business sense who say this is unreasonable.”

It has to be noted that the current deal runs until the end of 2024. A failure between the teams and NASCAR to sign an agreement could lead to detrimental outcomes for the sport.