The current NASCAR charter agreement, which ensures that the 36 race teams that opt in have a guaranteed spot on the grid, will expire at the end of the 2024 racing season. After extensive discussions with all current race teams, the sanctioning body has reached an agreement on the future of the charter system. However, two entities – Toyota’s 23XI Racing and NASCAR Ford team Front Row Motorsports (FRM) – are holding out, trying to negotiate a better deal.
A report from Kickin’ The Tires details FRM’s decision to dig its heels in on the NASCAR charter agreement. Bob Jenkins, owner of FRM, said that there were four main issues that the team was not comfortable with in the charter terms, and one of them was the short turnaround for a response.
“You know, I don’t think you can give somebody a 105-page document at six o’clock on a Friday night and expect them to sign it by midnight,” Jenkins told Kickin’ The Tires. “I think it’s very unreasonable and there, you know, there been some things that have happened through the negotiation process that quite frankly, we just don’t agree with… We’ll get it figured out.”
Jenkins also noted that another glaring issue with the charter agreement is the fact that it seems to restrict individual teams’ rights, meaning they would not have as much say in the direction of the sport moving forward.
“I think it’s been a concerted effort to pull back a lot of the teams’ rights as far as governance and we just feel like it was kind of repressive,” he said, adding, “I don’t want to see this thing dragging into 2025 or beyond. We’ve got to get to a resolution, right? And so, I’m hopeful the next week, or so, we’ll be able to sit down and talk about it and I know the folks at 23XI, their interests are similar to ours.”
It’s worth noting that FRM and 23XI are both seeking to expand into three-car Cup Series teams, which would mean purchasing an additional charter each. Simply put, charters aren’t cheap, going for around $25 million apiece. Currently, FRM fields the No. 34 NASCAR Ford Mustang Dark Horse of Michael McDowell, who is leaving the team at the end of the year, and the No. 38 Mustang of Todd Gilliland.
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