Denny Hamlin Takes a Dig at NASCAR Cutting Its ‘Way to Prosperity’ Amid Surprising Kevin Harvick Lawsuit Invite

It’s no secret that running a Truck Series team is no easy feat. The Truck Series has always been the stepping stone for drivers hoping to make it to the Xfinity or Cup Series, but it’s also expensive. Only last year, Hailie Deegan had openly said that drivers often have to come up with around $2 million to fund their rides—either from sponsors or their own pockets.

While for a long time, there has been a debate on how Truck Series teams can be better compensated, nothing concrete has happened in that direction. However, recently NASCAR has brought a cost-cutting solution for the teams, but veterans are calling it a bizarre move.

Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick lash out at NASCAR

This will naturally be the case as the Truck Series being the lower division, struggles with popularity and hence doesn’t have the viewership same as the Cup Series, and hence probably it’s not profitable enough for NASCAR to invest heavily in their race purses.  To see how the Truck Series has been struggling monetarily, look at the last race purses. For example, while the purchase of the Cup and Xfinity Series at the last Martinsville race saw growth, the Truck Series saw a decline. It was $672,417 for 2024 compared to $693,842 for 2023.

And for the same race, the Cup Series race purse went from $7,669,028 in 2023 to $8,991,338 in 2024. Yes, the Truck and Cup are nowhere comparable in popularity, but that doesn’t justify how it can only be less than 6% to that of the Cup Series. NASCAR did bring a change in 2015 when they capped the maximum number of entries to 32. Earlier it used to be 36, but it was reduced by 4 so that the 32 teams could have a slightly higher cut in the race purse. And now in a move to cut costs for the teams, NASCAR is placing design restrictions on both over-the-wall and behind-the-wall firesuits for the race teams next season.

The idea is to save teams money, but it’s not exactly sitting well with everyone. Starting in 2025, NASCAR will limit the logos on crew members’ suits, banning sponsors’ logos from being displayed on the fire suits of those behind the wall. Over-the-wall pit crew members can still sport logos, but they’ll have to stick to the same set of sponsors for the entire year. Recently Sportsnaut journalist Matt Weaver broke the news on X with a post saying, “With an eye towards cost containment, NASCAR places restrictions on Truck Series pit crew uniforms for 2025.” And NASCAR veteran Kevin Harvick was quick to call out NASCAR’s strange move, responding to the news with a simple, “What in the world is happening.” Denny Hamlin, never one to hold back, chimed in with a sarcastic comment, replying to Harvick with, “It’s called cutting your way to prosperity, Kev. Duhhh.” Ouch.

This is a big deal because the fire suit space is a major revenue source for teams, especially in a series like the Truck Series, where every dollar counts. NASCAR’s decision to reduce this revenue stream is sparking some serious frustration, and it’s not just the veterans who are upset.

The fans aren’t staying quiet, either. One fan even joked that Harvick should run for president of NASCAR to stop the madness, to which Harvick replied, “Sign me up, this is crazy. NASCAR Doge committee, where do we start.” Hamlin, ever the instigator, invited Harvick to join the ongoing anti-trust lawsuit against NASCAR. “Start here…” Hamlin posted, linking to a Fox article about the lawsuit his team, 23XI Racing, and FRM are involved in.

And Hamlin and Harvick aren’t the only ones from the NASCAR community lashing out at NASCAR’s move.

NASCAR Insiders question the racing organizations’ move

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Well, if NASCAR wants to do good for the Truck Series, a logical way to cut costs could have been reducing the number of races in the next season, as that would mean spending less money overall. Even Harvick agreed, and wrote, “First don’t add more races to the schedule…” But rather NASCAR has increased the number of races, making it even costlier for teams to compete next year in the Truck Series. The two added races are at Rockingham Speedway and Lime Rock Park.

Now the total race tally has gone from 23 to 25 and now this not allowing teams to have branding on firesuits is only making things difficult for team owners. This is why the Reaume Racing owner, Josh Reaume, took a sarcastic jibe at NASCAR with an X post, in a cartoon depicting a probable hope of an increase in race purse thanks to the new media deal, but it getting rendered useless with this new rule coming. Even JR Motorsports CEO and Dale Earnhardt Jr’s sister called this move odd.

She wrote on X, “So why not require current branding instead? Or at least current team branding. Mandating you can utilize an asset for sponsorship sales in a sport where sponsorship makes up the bulk of our funding doesn’t make sense to this business owner.” Earnhardt could not understand why NASCAR is blocking the revenue source of the already struggling teams.

What do you think of NASCAR’s move? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.