NASCAR fans might be missing out on the racing action in the off-season, but there’s still plenty of drama. Especially since Denny Hamlin’s 23XI Racing is suing NASCAR on antitrust grounds after refusing to sign the new charter agreement. If you know Hamlin, he doesn’t beat around the bush to make his points; rather, he has an approach of jumping in first and thinking about it later.

This was evident when he took a jab at former crew chief and respected SiriusXM NASCAR radio host, Larry McReynolds. “Oh, and if you could stop spreading disinformation to your listeners about our lawsuit, I would really appreciate it. Thanks!” Hamlin shared this on X. However, with the recent developments and momentum swinging in NASCAR’s favor, McReynolds has once again made a bold prediction. One that is likely to garner a response from the JGR driver.

Did 23XI Racing and FRM make a mistake in filing a lawsuit against NASCAR?

Although Denny Hamlin and Co. have been the loudest in backing their argument against NASCAR on social media platforms, the court hearings haven’t exactly gone their way. The rejection of their expedited discovery was the first blow for the teams, who were banking on their ruling to solidify their preliminary injunction case. The idea here was to get access to the information and details about the charter negotiations right from their inception in 2016.

That was not it; their initial appeal for the injunction was also rejected by the federal court, as the teams failed to prove irreparable harm. Their final resort is now the US Appeals Court, where they have refiled a motion for an injunction, which has again been countered by NASCAR in their statement. While it’s tough to guess where the ball might land, Larry McReynolds seems to have made his judgment. He pitched a scenario that would be detrimental to 23XI Racing’s existence and their future in NASCAR.

“Honestly, at the end of the day, I’m starting to get concerned about the whole Front Row and the 23XI deal. Based on what little I know, based on what I hear and what people explain, it just does not sound like it’s going in their favor… I think when it’s all said and done, I know I’m probably going down a rabbit hole. I don’t think 23XI, Front Row is going to regret that they ever did this.” McReynolds said this SiriusXM Radio show, On-Track.

He didn’t stop there and went on to make bold claims that all the team owners didn’t necessarily see the new charter agreement as a bad deal. “I’m not backing down from my stance on this, and I’m sure if you did a private conversation off the record with the other 13 owners, the ones that signed this agreement, Probably most of them, or all of them, would tell you there’s a lot of things that could be better for us as owners in this sport, but as I’ve heard some of them say, it’s not bad.”

Well, let us take a look back at what the team owners really had to say about the charter negotiations. We had the likes of Richard Childress, Rick Hendrick, and former SHR owner Tony Stewart all sharing their honest thoughts about it.

Not all owners were thrilled to sign the new charter deal

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Teams certainly weren’t content with how tough it was becoming to run their racing operations with giant teams like Hendrick Motorsports being unable to turn a profit year after year. For context, the charter negotiation lasted for almost two years, and at the end of the day, NASCAR got fed up with the bickering and gave the teams the ultimatum.

They strong-armed the team into signing the deal with the threat of losing out on their charters. And this is where most of them fell in line. Going by Rick Hendrick’s words, it felt like teams settled for what they were getting. “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.”

Meanwhile, veteran team owner Richard Childress knew about the risks involved in going against the mighty NASCAR. And given the span at which his team operates, he wasn’t willing to bet it all on a lawsuit. “I didn’t have a choice, because we had to sign. I got over 400 employees, OEM contracts, contracts with sponsors, and I’ve gotta take care of my team.”

While the two owners were careful in what they said about the lawsuit and the charter situation, outgoing owner Tony Stewart didn’t hold any punches. “The charter systems are a joke. When someone like Rick Hendrick says, ‘I just got tired of arguing with them,’ do you think Rick Hendrick runs his business and negotiations and just says, ‘I’m going to just sign this agreement because I’m tired of arguing with you.’? Rick Hendrick’s never done that a day in his life.” 

Although 23XI and FRM have refiled their injunction plea, there’s no confirmation on the date of the hearing. And the comments above suggest that there’s still plenty of drama that is yet to come from this lawsuit.