Dale Earnhardt Jr. reacts to 23XI, Front Row refusing to sign charter agreement amid NASCAR 'threat'
Like the rest of the NASCAR world, Dale Earnhardt Jr. is watching the latest drama regarding the NASCAR charter agreement unfold. This appeared to be settled, but 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports have refused to sign the agreement.
According to 23XI Racing, NASCAR imposed a deadline for teams. Friday night was the deadline, but 23XI and Front Row did not sign. Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan’s team is arguing they did not have time to negotiate after the latest offer.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. can’t believe what he’s seeing. His reaction was simple, but said plenty.
“Holy [cow],” Earnhardt posted on his social media.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. isn’t naive. He knows that this is a big deal. While it might not seem like 23XI and Front Row can do much without the other teams behind them, this is clearly not what anyone had in mind.
23XI Racing claims that NASCAR imposed a deadline on teams last night. There is also reports that teams were “coerced and threatened” to sign the charter agreement or they would potentially have their charters revoked.
So, where does NASCAR go from here? Last week, Denny Hamlin complained that no one from NASCAR presented Tyler Reddick with the regular season championship trophy. There is clearly a rift between the two parties, but how big of a rift remains to be seen.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. reacts to 23XI Racing’s defiance
The NASCAR charter negotiations have officially entered scary territory. 23XI Racing has now released a statement on why they have not signed. The team believes that they and the other Cup Series owners were not given time to negotiate the latest offer.
According to the statement from 23XI Racing, NASCAR set a deadline for teams for last night. There were reports that the sanctioning body wanted to have the deal signed before the playoffs.
“23XI decided to not meet a NASCAR-imposed deadline last night to sign Charter agreements for its two cars for 2025-2031. 23XI’s position, as stated in a letter to NASCAR, is that we did not have an opportunity to fairly bargain for a new Charter contract.
“We notified NASCAR what issues needed to be addressed, in writing, at the deadline. We are interested in engaging in constructive discussions with NASCAR to address these issues and move forward in a way that comes to a fair resolution, while strengthening the sport we all love.
“At 23XI Racing, we remain committed to competing at the highest level while also standing firm in our belief that NASCAR should be governed by fair and equitable practices.”
Will we see 23XI sign an agreement this year or will this bleed into 2025?