23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports are the only two who have not decided to sign the charter agreement with NASCAR for the next cycle. With the end of the year edging closer and closer, the governing body wanted to get an extension signed and done with. Well, according to the 23XI Racing camp, they weren’t allowed to have a fair bargain.

There has been speculation that the teams were forced to sign the agreement. This was refuted by Brad Keselowski, who shared his side of the story that it was important to get things settled. And also claimed that “forced” would be strong terms in explaining how the teams agreed to sign the new deal.

Now Justin Marks has joined in this conversation, sharing his take on the raging debate. It has to be noted that the Trackhouse Racing Team is also one of the new teams, who were hoping for a better outcome from these charter talks. So, why exactly did they fall in line knowing that all their concerns weren’t necessarily going to be resolved? As it turns out, they just couldn’t afford to compete with the giant that NASCAR and the France family are.

“For Trackhouse I look at it, we didn’t get everything we wanted, but we wanted some of what we wanted. But at the end of the day, agreement is what I think I can build the business around and that we can embark on the future, embrace what it is, and go on ahead.” He said this while speaking to SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Interestingly, fans have also taken a keen interest in this charter negotiation, which wasn’t the case before. Therefore, this new statement by Justin Marks opened up a debate among the fans online on Reddit and X. While some were against 23XI and FRM trying to fight to battle that is already lost. Meanwhile, a few questioned why the team crumbled against the pressure of NASCAR.

Team Alliance is not a cohesive and united front anymore

Truth be told, it was NASCAR who always had the leverage over the negotiations. Having bagged the new TV deal worth $7.7 billion, it only further strengthens their stance. Eventually, there was going to come a time when a settlement had to be made. And it looks like the teams are the ones who are leaving a lot of things on the table in comparison to NASCAR. “From these points, it seems like Trackhouse negotiated and compromised to the point they were comfortable with, like a normal business dealing.”

One of the hypothetical situations is that 23XI and FRM could be losing out on their charters if they do not sign the deal. In doing so, they would lose all their control over the charters and be unable to make the most of their initial investment. Now, none of the teams would want to go to war against NASCAR to get a better deal, which could result in their expulsion from the sport. Thus, willingly or unwillingly, they had to agree to sign the new deal; according to this fan, “they made them a offer they couldn’t refuse.”

This has led to another big question: Why did the team break ranks?

Not long ago, the owners were unified and unwilling to bend against the pressure. However, it seems like NASCAR dealing with the teams on a one-on-one basis just might have done the trick. Therefore, 23XI Racing’s stand against the governing body didn’t make sense to this race fan. “What I don’t get is what 23XI and FRM really think they are going to accomplish by holding out. Do they think a better deal will come about? Where is the RTA’s unified front? Shouldn’t it be all or none?”

Is 23XI Racing looking to go the legal route, or do they still have a trick or two up their sleeves that could change the dynamics of this situation? Well, this has to be considered given that NASCAR, for the first time, is having to deal with a rebellious front led by Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin.

“I’m just interested as to what leverage does 23XI and Front Row think that they have when everyone else has already signed? Seems like they are just playing a losing hand at this point,” a fan wrote on Reddit.

Just like Michael Jordan, Rick Hendrick also holds a big influence over the sport. Now, a united front of Mr. H and MJ would pressure NASCAR into finding a solution with the rest of the pack. And the reason the winningest team’s owner gave was, “I think we worked really hard for two years and it got down to, you’re not going to make everybody happy. And I think it got down to, I was just tired. Not everybody was happy. But in any negotiation, you’re not going to get everything you want, and so I felt it was a fair deal and we protected the charters, which was number one, we got the [revenue] increase, I feel a lot of things we didn’t like we got taken out, so I’m happy with where we were.”

Even Brad Keselowski, in his post-signing interaction with the media, said, “You know, for us, we felt it was right to do a deal and move forward.”

But surely that is out of bounds now. Disappointed to see the teams prioritizing survival over enterprise was a shocker to this NASCAR fan. “I think all the #nascar teams should have agreed to work together and hold true to not signing the deal until it is fair and that would also include the money splits.”

Unless and until there is a clear indication of what NASCAR and the two teams are going to do about their disagreement, the negotiations won’t be concluded. While almost 90% of them have signed a new deal, the job is only half done.