Denny Hamlin Trashes Rumors of Conflict Among Cup Series Teams to Call Out NASCAR’s Stagnant Charter Approach

The 2024 Cup Series season is nearly halfway over, and still, there is no agreement to extend the charter agreement between the teams and NASCAR. Going by recent developments, the teams have grown frustrated with NASCAR’s proposal. This, in turn, has led NASCAR to resort to a divide-and-rule strategy. They are trying to single out the teams in order to get them to agree on their proposal, which is far from making the charters permanent.

However, despite the rumors and speculations, Denny Hamlin has come out to clear the air, stating the Team Alliance is still holding strong. He further went on to explain why the teams are persistent about their demands to make their charters permanent.

Teams holding out strong against NASCAR and their lucrative side proposals

Unlike other stick-and-ball major sports, NASCAR does not have a franchise model. Rather, the teams have to buy a multi-million-dollar charter that secures their spot on the grid on race days. This also allows the teams to draw from the media revenue pool, which certainly isn’t seen as a sustainable prospect by the owners. The France family still owns the sport and the majority of the racetracks, so they are in a unique position to cut different deals with different teams in such uncertain circumstances.

But despite this possibility, Denny Hamlin affirms that the teams are united against NASCAR to get their demands fulfilled. “NASCAR can cut a different deal with all different teams. That’s one of the provisions that they’ve got. It could happen for sure, but again, I think the teams are pretty aligned on what their needs are. It’s been the same four things that we’ve asked for two years now, and we haven’t got any movement on any of them.” The JGR driver said via the Actions Detrimental podcast.

Although Hamlin did acknowledge that the teams are well within their rights to look out for themselves. But, given the gravity of the situation, the teams are now looking at the bigger picture of safeguarding their investment in the sport. “I think it’s okay if teams want to do their own thing and say that this is good enough for them. I think everyone has those rights to do that and we’ve seen that happen for many, many decades. But I think the teams are more aligned in the fact that these are the key issues for us that need to be addressed.”

But given that NASCAR is trying to offer a seven-year extension on the charter, why is it that the teams are hell-bent on getting permanent charters? Well, Denny Hamlin had a rather interesting yet befitting reply to this query with his explanation.

Just a charter agreement doesn’t safeguard a team’s future in NASCAR

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It is indeed tough for teams to purchase charters for a premium, spend a premium building their racing project, and then rely on such negotiations that could provide them with a runway to do this all over again. There is no guaranteed success in NASCAR racing, and motor racing being a financially burdening sport; even the most decorated teams can take a fall. Stewart Haas Racing was just a recent example of how teams are unable to sustain themselves in the ever-volatile NASCAR racing scene.

Weighing on the topic with a similar sentiment, Hamlin went on to add, “When you look at the number of Chartered teams that were part of the previous agreement versus now, there’s only a handful that are still here that were here during that 10 years ago moment. So this is a very key moment in our sport. Are we going to lock arms and do this thing together and grow this thing together or not?”

The only saving grace the teams have is that NASCAR hasn’t been able to get into the ears of big-name teams like Joe Gibbs Racing, Hendrick Motorsports, Team Penske, and Richard Childress Racing. And as long as these stalwarts are united, they will be the Team Alliance’s best hope in getting a fair deal.