Insider Warns NASCAR, Hinting at Owners’ Plans to “Pull Stunts on Track” in Retaliation Amid Tense Charter Conversations

Going into 2024, NASCAR has had a lot on its plate. Following the recent signing of the new media rights deal, which comes into effect in 2025, the next agenda to take priority is the Charter Agreement. However, things aren’t moving at a pace they should and this will soon make quite a few people lose their cool.

Renowned NASCAR journalist Adam Stern has been keeping close tabs on the developments in this situation. Speaking to The Money Lap, Stern revealed that NASCAR’s delay in its decision about the Charter Agreement could pose unforeseen problems for NASCAR. As per him, the issue allows teams to show their dissatisfaction with NASCAR by ‘pulling stunts on the track.’

Adam Stern feels teams could protest against NASCAR’s slow decision-making

The Charter Agreement was introduced in 2016, as per which, the charters (or simply, car numbers) can compete for championships, and at the end of the season, these charters are very much part of the revenue-sharing process. What percentage of NASCAR’s earnings is distributed among the charters is one important aspect that the agreement outlines.

Owing to this, teams have toiled hard to turn a profit every year and solidify their position in the Cup Series. With NASCAR adding certain requirements to maintain a charter every year, like revenue and place in the final standing, certain teams have struggled to fit in the scenario.

The sanctioning body and Cup Series teams have continuously tried to find a middle ground that benefits both parties. In recent news, teams have deployed a tactic to demand a larger share of the TV viewership revenue, which will be implemented in the next deal. With the current contract ending in 2025, teams want a bigger incentive to be a part of the Charter agreement, which has already caused them enough problems.

According to Adam Stern, this could be the most significant cause for a show of revolt from the Cup Series teams. He said, “One person last week who’s close to several teams, several top owners and drivers, I asked them if the deal that NASCAR got last week with its media rights partners was going to ensure that the deal will be done by Daytona, and they said no.”

“If the deal doesn’t get done by Daytona, it is fine because the next deal for the charter agreement and media rights starts from 2025, but that will start opening up the opportunity for teams to potentially pull stunts on the track. There have been rumblings about things like that.”

Last week, NASCAR announced its latest media rights agreement with FOX Sports, Prime Video, Warner Bros. Discovery, and NBC Sports. The deal sees these four broadcast partners take responsibility for the Cup Series live coverage and will cost NASCAR $1.1 billion annually, amounting to $7.7 billion from 2025 to 2031. With the media rights deal already in the bag, teams were hoping for some acceleration in revising the charter agreement.

“Nothing has happened. But there have been rumblings about teams somehow showing their displeasure to NASCAR during a race. Obviously, they can do things kind of with the PR side and media side as well as they kind of did when they held their original,” said Stern, shedding light on the methods that teams could use to show their displeasure.

Meanwhile, NASCAR President Steve Phelps also addressed the charter negotiations, among many more topics, at the annual State of the Sport Address last week.

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Steve Phelps is confident about reaching an agreement with teams

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With the ever-increasing impatience and unrest within teams, Phelps believes that finding the best solution for both parties should take the highest priority. “We’ve acknowledged that we want to change the paradigm for our race teams, and we need to make sure our race teams are profitable, competing on the racetracks,” claimed Phelps. “We are interested in having their enterprise value climb, as I said earlier.”

The previous deal saw Cup Series teams get 25 percent of the media rights revenue, while NASCAR only reserves 10% of that amount. The remaining 65 percent of the revenue is used to improve NASCAR-owned or Speedway Motorsports-owned race tracks. With the latest media rights deal adding major partners to the equation, it is tough to determine a balance. On being asked about the details of the advancements in the case, Phelps said, “We won’t get into the negotiations specifically, but I would say that I’m confident that the teams and NASCAR will come to an agreement that is fair for race teams, fair for NASCAR, and help grow the sport. I think that’s what we’re going to do,”

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If the current situation continues, the Charter Agreement may or may not be a thing in 2025. With teams unhappy about the delayed communications, it won’t be long before they start taking measures to express their concerns publicly.