“The best thing to be is NASCAR, the second best a driver, and the last thing a team owner.” The words of Jimmie Johnson were written largely in the NASCAR lawsuit. Indeed, when the sanctioning body slapped a 105-page charter agreement with a 6-hour deadline on September 6th, teams felt the true meaning of these words. The deal came with a “take it or leave it” aspect and enormous financial commitments lay at stake if teams refused.

Yet two of them prevailed against this threatening onslaught. Michael Jordan and Bob Jenkins are at the helm of these teams, striving to carve out a better future in the sport. This remarkable act of bravado has made jaws drop in the Cup garage, where most team owners could not face ‘Goliath.’

Others salute Jordan and Co.’s guts in the NASCAR lawsuit.

Well, NASCAR did not give much legroom to teams in the first place. The charter system came into being in 2016, providing guaranteed entries to teams with figurative tokens or charters. However, teams had little to no autonomy—NASCAR controlled the revenue, the cars, the racetracks, and even when to determine a team’s demise if its performance was not up to the mark. Then NASCAR slapped a razor-thin deadline to sign the new agreement. It gives slight concessions in terms of revenue but warns teams against lawsuits.

So Michael Jordan’s intention to do just that amazed the other team owners. Journalist Jordan Bianchi recalled a meaningful encounter with an anonymous owner. “I had a team owner tell me, ‘I did not have the b**ls to do what 23XI and Front Row did because I was worried about losing my charters.'” 

Then Jeff Gluck tried to get into both sides’ shoes. He initially reasoned team owners must have considered protesting: “If I’m the owners who did sign this, I’m thinking, maybe I would have liked to hold out. because the only reason I signed was because I thought I was gonna lose my charters. And I couldn’t afford to do that. I had a piece of paper worth $50 Million.” 

However, the caveat emerged when NASCAR, in the words of a team owner, “put a gun to our heads.” Gluck continued, “You’re holding the winning lottery tickets. Somebody’s coming up to you and saying, ‘If you don’t do X, these lottery tickets are voided – they’re worth nothing. So you wanna take that chance? You wanna play ball?’ And I’d be like, oh man. I hate this guy, I don’t like this tactic. But I don’t want my tickets to be worthless.” So owners including Rick Hendrick, Richard Childress, Joe Gibbs, and others did not want to get into NASCAR’s bad books.

Although other teams could not throw their weight behind the NASCAR lawsuit, 23XI Racing people understand. Michael Jordan could make a comparison to the NBA, and the financial disparity is wild.

Why is the lack of guts reasonable?

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When 23XI Racing and FRM emerged as the only contenders against NASCAR’s charter deal, other teams explained. Rick Hendrick said he was “tired” of the Race Team Alliance’s two-year-long battle. Trackhouse Racing owner Justin Marks also said he “can build a business” around the agreement.

Despite these claims, the NASCAR lawsuit revealed that teams actually had no choice. According to Jeffrey Kessler, who is representing 23XI and Front Row Motorsports, teams currently receive only 13% of NASCAR’s revenue. Drivers get a cut of only 3% from that amount.

These stats are dwindling when one considers NBA numbers. Basketball players make up 49 percent of the revenue generated by the league. 23XI Racing co-owner Curtis Polk also compared Michael Jordan’s Charlotte Hornets with the NASCAR team.

A glaring disparity exists, and hence Polk is motivated to change things for the entire sport. He said, “Over the past two years, me on behalf of 23XI, I have dedicated myself to championing a more equitable and transparent system within NASCAR, one that respects the interest of all the stakeholders. Our passionate fans and hard-working teams deserve a structure that not only promotes growth but ensures sustainability for everyone involved.”

Evidently, matters have reached a sticky climax inside NASCAR. Although most had to bend under the sanctioning body’s pressure, team owners are rooting for the NASCAR lawsuit to come to fruition.