NASCAR has been a passion-driven sport since its inception. However, with growing popularity and mainstream success, it also became a huge business. One that attracts big-money sponsors and broadcasters. Usually, the fruits of the labor are evenly split among the stakeholders, but that’s not the case in NASCAR. The France family, being the owners and custodians of the sport, has enjoyed a bigger piece of the pie.

But those dynamics are now being challenged by 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports. The two teams are taking NASCAR to court and have filed an anti-trust lawsuit, demanding a fair and equitable business prospect. Although most of the folks in the NASCAR industry have remained tight lipped in sharing their opinions. Kyle Larson shared his take on the biggest story surrounding the sport by making interesting comparison of NASCAR with other major series and leagues.

Kyle Larson advocates for better pay and overall health of NASCAR as a sport

What’s causing this rift between team owners and NASCAR is a charter agreement. It was rolled out in 2016, essentially seen as NASCAR’s version of a franchise that allowed the team a guaranteed spot in 36 races along with a share of the TV purse. This in a short time saw the value of charters soar up to $40. Spire Motorsports made this investment just a year ago to expand its racing operation.

Not only that, NASCAR doesn’t allow the teams to compete in different series. Has control over most of the racetracks and has assigned third-party vendors for teams to purchase parts for the race car. All of this seems to be burning a hole in the pockets of the team, and it trickles down to athletes and people working in these teams. This is where Kyle Larson feels that NASCAR should be able to help the teams grow economically.

“We’re probably one of the sports, if not the only sport, that, like athlete salaries, have gone down in the last couple of decades. When you look at yearly most athletes salaries and stuff are going up. Not just athletes, coaches, staff members, everybody in the sport. So we would love to see the trend upward instead of the opposite, which has been.” Kyle Larson said this to Bob Pockrass.

It’s strange that one of the biggest superstars in NASCAR has to come in demand for an equitable business system. It’s not just him, but the team Hendrick Motorsports themselves haven’t been able to churn out profits. This was confirmed by the vice chairman of the team, Jeff Gordon: “I don’t think Hendrick Motorsports has made a profit in 10 years.” HMS was one of the 13 teams that agreed to sign the deal before the deadline set by NASCAR ahead of the playoffs.

It’s not that these big teams were scared to go up against the might of NASCAR. But a prolonged legal battle would endanger the livelihoods of people working with the teams.

Richard Childress argues he didn’t have a choice but to sign the charter deal

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Amid the public battle between 23XI Racing and NASCAR, details about how NASCAR forced teams into signing the charter agreement. After almost two years of constant back and forth between the two parties, NASCAR decided they had enough and gave the teams an ultimatum. Either sign the deal or lose their charters, strong-arming them into taking a deal that has been described as unfair.

Once a united front of the team rallying behind the banner of the team alliance were forced to bend the knee. There were reports about NASCAR holding private meetings with the teams to influence them to extend the charter agreement. But the teams didn’t sign up for a few extra bucks or special treatment. Rather, it was their fear of the detrimental consequences a retaliation would have on their company and partners.

“We got our docu signs at 6:37 when it came in. We had to sign it by 12 o’clock or we would lose our charters. I didn’t have a choice because we had to sign. I have over 400 employees, OEM in contract, contracts with sponsors, and I got to take care of my team.” Veteran team owner Richard Childress said this to Bob Pockrass.

Now that the debate has reached the courts, no one knows what the outcome of this tussle will be. Interestingly, NASCAR hasn’t come out publicly to share their side of the story.