Denny Hamlin explains why 23XI Racing took stand against NASCAR in charter negotiation

As Denny Hamlin chases his first NASCAR Cup Series title as a driver, he’s also involved in a fascinating battle as an owner with 23XI Racing, due to the charter negotiations that have taken center stage over the past few days.

While many of the top teams in the sport have signed the new charter agreement, two remain in limbo in 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports. Specifically, 23XI Racing, led by Michael Jordan and Hamlin, have been outspoken regarding their issues with the agreement, and it seems more like we’re at the beginning of a saga than the end of one. 

CLICK HERE to go to PrizePicks and use code ON3 to receive a guaranteed $50 once you play $5 in lineups!

During the latest episode of his Actions Detrimental podcast following Atlanta over the weekend, Hamlin took some time to explain why 23XI Racing has taken a stand against NASCAR, and it’s evident we’re far from a resolution on the matter.

“Yeah, really not gonna comment a whole lot further than what was said in my media availability, which is a whole lot of nothing,” Hamlin stated. “You know, just because, you know, this is a serious situation, obviously, and you know, I think the statement that 23XI put out kind of accurately summed it all up. And then, you know, I believe Curtis Polk had a few media members ask him questions yesterday, to which he answered, and I would just kind of echo those statements. But yeah, it’s certainly an unfortunate situation, you know.

“We were just put under a kind of a crazy timeline there, and just thought that, you know, it was not appropriate, and decided to kind of stand up and say, ‘This is not right.’”

As more information has come out on the charter negotiations, it’s certainly understandable why 23XI Racing decided to take a stand. Still, it’ll be interesting to see what the end goal is. Jeff Gluck and Jordan Bianchi of The Athletic wondered if 23XI Racing even has a leg to stand on in the matter.

“There’s a lot of pros and cons in this,” Bianchi explained on the latest episode of The Teardown. “I wish I had the answer to this, because you know, this isn’t public record, but if the charter agreement says, like, if the contract ends on Dec. 31, 2024, and there’s no more charter agreement, it disappears, like — if the current agreement ends, you’re operating under (the new) one, I don’t know how you can — can you said, ‘They’re taking my charter.’ I don’t know. They could just let them expire. So, I don’t know. 

“It’s very fascinating to see how this pays off, because you have two sides who, NASCAR is very used to, historically, getting its way, and running its sport however it wants to. There’s a long history, dating back to really the first year NASCAR was founded. Like, this is how Bill France, or Bill Sr. is going to do it, this is how Bill Jr. is going to do it, and Jim France is kind of continuing that legacy of, ‘This is my sport. It’s a private business, we’ll run it how we want to.’ 

“But you also have another side, in Michael Jordan and Curtis Polk, who are very much used to getting things they want, and doing things their way. So, it’s going to be interesting.”

Alas, 23XI Racing has been tremendous for the sport, and it’d be a huge blow if NASCAR isn’t able to come to terms with the Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin-led team. It’ll be fascinating to see who blinks first over the next couple of weeks.