Dale Earnhardt Jr. doesn't expect legal battle out of 23XI Racing, NASCAR charter dispute

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is watching with a keen eye as 23XI Racing and NASCAR take their charter dispute to the next level.

The longer the team led by Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan don’t sign the latest charter agreement, the possibility of the team leaving the Cup Series becomes more prevalent. Many are theorizing this will end in the court room, but Earnhardt Jr. isn’t so sure that’s where we’re headed.

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“It’s interesting, interesting times,” the NASCAR Hall of Fame Inductee said, regarding a potential court battle between 23XI Racing and NASCAR, via the latest episode of the Dale Jr. Download. “I honestly don’t see this creating — I don’t see this turning into a clown show, or creating some sort of a legal battle, I don’t. 

“I mean, (23XI Racing) may, but I don’t think anyone’s going to really care (about a legal battle). I don’t, you know, I don’t think the public is going to invest emotionally in any litigation or a legal battle. I mean, if it goes into the courts, are you going to follow that? I would probably go, ‘Okay, they’re going to do that. I’ll see that. We’ll see who wins.’ … I think the news cycle is just too fast, and like, there’s a lot of wild shit that happens in today’s world that gets your attention, but in a week later, you’re like, ‘On to the next,’ and I just feel like this would kind of be the same thing.

“Once it gets kind of down, weaving and woven into the, you know, a court case, I think we’re all going to check out, and there’s the other stuff going on in the sport that will be more important. … I just don’t see it getting to be — I don’t see the sport like, rushing up to a roadblock and everything grinds to a halt over this.”

Earnhardt Jr. makes some solid points, but 23XI Racing has shown no signs of backing down from their stance since it was revealed they’re one of two teams, along with Front Row Motorsports, who didn’t sign the agreement. With every other team inking the dotted line, it remains to be seen if they even have a leg to stand on.

The worst case scenario would be 23XI Racing leaving NASCAR, as they’ve certainly added intrigue to the sport over their couple of seasons in the Cup Series. Time will tell where the charter negotiations go from here, but Dale Earnhardt Jr. and the rest of the motorsports world are waiting to see where the situation heads next.