Denny Hamlin Reveals the Harsh Reality That Awaits NASCAR At the End of 2024 – “We Just Wouldn’t Show up”

NASCAR will soon be making $1.1 billion a year, thanks to their new media contracts with Amazon, Fox Sports, NBC Sports, and Warner Bros. Discovery. Now, this number sees a steep rise of 34% if we compare it to the current deal, that’s worth $820 million. But what does that mean for the drivers and teams? Well, at this very moment, nothing.

Only to build on this thought, Denny Hamlin, the most vocal critic of the charter and payout negotiations, recently painted a dismal picture awaiting the stock car organization. He hinted at four major pillars not being met.

With that, the 23XI Racing co-owner even contradicted NASCAR’s COO Steve O’Donnell’s assertion that the agreement is ‘close’ to a conclusion. This naturally left Dale Earnhardt Jr with just one question for Hamlin on the Dale Jr Download: “Isn’t there like a day where it’s like, hey okay, the current agreement ends?”

Are teams reaching their breaking point?

As things currently stand, NASCAR and its teams are at loggerheads trying to negotiate a fair payout structure. While the organization continues to back the $9 million it pays to cover teams’ operating costs, the latter has pointed out how that hardly covers anything, with a single car requiring $10 million a year. Subsequently, this leaves teams to fend for themselves and rely on sponsorships majorly. However, this is what owners have been trying to change.

On the back of a lucrative media rights deal that will push NASCAR to newer heights, teams have been wanting a bigger piece of the pie. However, the organization has revealed that it’s not as easy as it looks. Pointing out the cost to maintain tracks and shell out prize money, NASCAR has called the current structure fair.

However, further adding to that misery is the current charter system that has seemingly taken away control from team owners. Case in point, just last year, Spire Motorsports bought a charter from Live Fast Motorsports for a staggering $40 million. The twist? They won’t even be owning it forever as teams could lose it all as the current agreement ends in 2024. Hence, it’s understandable why stakeholders have been demanding to make the charters permanent. And not just that! Owners have also expressed their wish to have a say in important decisions in the sport. But is NASCAR ready for that change? Most likely not.

It isn’t surprising that Denny Hamlin wants the charter renewal to consist of better terms and conditions. Reflecting on what happens if the current agreement ends without a new one in place, Hamlin shared an unfortunate outcome with fans and Earnhardt Jr. On the Dale Jr Download podcast, Hamlin shared, “At the end of this year, and there would be no charters. It would be ignorant of fans to say ‘That’s great, no charters!’ Well then we just wouldn’t show up and we don’t need to.” 

Owing to the sheer amount that a team stands to lose per weekend, Denny Hamlin believes the lack of a charter could demotivate many teams from showing up at all the races. He added, “The Clash, we won’t show up at that, the All-Star race, we wouldn’t show up at that. Maybe some races pay less. We just wouldn’t show up to those. It’s just not financially good.”

Denny Hamlin made his stance known rather bluntly. With how his team is performing as of late, the lack of any charter next year could mean the team carries an even higher risk than before. Probably that is why Hamlin, who has been more vocal than any stakeholder or team owner, does not have a lot of patience left in him. He concluded, “I’m sure there will be owners not like that. I’m saying this publicly, but I’ve reached the point of frustration and it’s boiling over.”

The 23XI team owner also mentioned how long-time owners, who have high contribution to the sport, deserve much more!

Hamlin calls out NASCAR for not giving Joe Gibbs and Rick Hendrick their dues

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Steve O’Donnell recently claimed that he could only commit to a team for as long as a TV Rights deal was in place. But with the TV Rights deal stretching for a mere seven years, Denny Hamlin believes those team owners who have stuck around for decades are not getting their dues. After all, could the legacy of Rick Hendrick and Joe Gibbs just vanish if their charters were taken away?

As Earnhardt Jr and Hamlin discussed the recent article by The Athletic and Jeff Gluck, Hamlin revealed how it highlighted the four pillars he was speaking of earlier.

Going over on of the pillars, The 23XI co-owner stated; “One is the permanency of charters. There’s a wide range of reasons why that is important. Especially for the teams that have purchased charters, to have them have the ability to be taken away at any moment is not ideal. By any means, people like Rick Hendrick and Joe Gibbs have invested in the sports for decades, and deserve to give their kids that permanent charter and it be something that can be passed down.” 

Currently, Hamlin felt that the stakeholders were putting up with more than they should. Even after the decades of glory JGR and HMS have brought to the sport, Hamlin revealed how teams are still the biggest losers. He stated, “There are three stakeholders in the sport; the tracks, the teams, and NASCAR. And to be quite honest, two of those stakeholders make nine-figure profits a year and one stakeholder loses seven-figure profits per year.” To give you a sneak peek into how much money tracks make, Dover Motorsports Inc, the company that owned Dover Motor Speedway & Nashville Superspeedway till 2021, reportedly made $5,786,000 in 2019 with the attendance of the two tracks alone. So we guess the ‘clear disconnect’ is not difficult to understand when Hamlin mentioned, “how offset this deal is and how unfair it is to the teams.” 

With 2024 almost halfway through, will the two sides reach an agreement?