While NASCAR is home to many accomplished champions, there’s one man who stands out from the rest, arguably as the people’s champion. NASCAR veteran, Denny Hamlin has been the heartthrob for many fans. Adored for his straight-up attitude and his honest ways, Hamlin has been the type of guy who’ll publically voice his displeasure, even if it’s his own team.
Recently, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver came down hard upon the organization for their unconventional ways of negotiation. Reacting to the recent friction between NASCAR and its team owners, Hamlin has sharp words for NASCAR.
In an exclusive given to Frontstretch Media, the 23Xl Racing co-owner goes off as he slams the organization on the recent “meaningful dialog” row that has the organization lock horns with its team owners.
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Denny Hamlin comes out with sharp words against NASCAR
Besides being the powerhouse racing promotion, lately, NASCAR has been plagued by controversies one after another. With team owners boycotting an earlier meeting scheduled on April 3, the community got a taste of what it’s like inside the organization with charters and team owners.
Hamlin had revealed his thoughts on the much debated “boycott” then. And now the driver is back again, this time publically voicing his displeasure with the organization’s stand. While things got off the wrong foot with last month’s debacle, this time around, things have become much more complex.
While a seemingly unsuspecting letter caused all the chaos between the parties earlier this month, Frontstretch reporter, Dalton Hopkins asked Hamlin, “There was a letter team owners sent to NASCAR about negotiations on the charter. Where do you guys stand on that? You feel like progress is being made uh that you’d like to see?”
The veteran 42-year old quickly opened up as he publically exposed NASCAR’s ill intentions as he said, “Well, I think there was a little bit of traction. However, it looks like NASCAR is not acknowledging the negotiating committee anymore. They’d rather just do it the way they did, you know, 20, 30 years ago, and meet with team by team and try to pick them off one by one and get a good deal done that way.”
The abovementioned negotiating committee consists of Jeff Gordon, JGR president Dave Alpern, RFK Racing president, Steve Newmark, and Michael Jordan’s associate Curtis Polk, among others. Yet with such a competent panel vouching for the team owners’ rights, the organization’s negligence is fairly attracting a lot of backlash.
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What is causing all the smoke? What actually is behind these controversies?
To put things into a better perspective, the new revenue model has widened the gap between NASCAR and its team owners. Prompting several owners to send a letter to NASCAR’s board of directors asking for “meaningful dialog” regarding the franchise model.
Frustrated over the current franchise model where most of the revenue is amassed by racetracks and the organization, teams are now forced to look for other viable options outside the promotion. While the current system is still the 2016 charter system the recent debacle started when a copy of a letter was obtained by The Associated Press. While the contents of the letter reveal the teams acknowledging the terms.
Yet on a closer look, the letter makes a clear point between the teams and NASCAR remains the charter system, under which each of the 36 cars with a charter is guaranteed a spot in the 40-car Cup Series field each week and a slice of TV package revenue.
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While these disagreements are a part of the business model, it’s the organization’s stand that needs checking. despite the charters needing an annual renewal worth millions, teams have been vocal about making them permanent but NASCAR’s hesitant about the situation.