Report: NASCAR teams 'coerced and threatened' into signing charter agreement
There has been movement in the ongoing NASCAR charter negotiations and it sounds like there is going to be more drama. A number of teams have signed a deal with the sanctioning body, but there are still holdouts, as well as accusations of coercion and threats.
According to Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports, all the Cup Series teams have signed the charter agreement with NASCAR, except for 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports. These are two teams that are looking to expand in the next year.
23XI Racing, Denny Hamlin, Michael Jordan, and Curtis Polk have all be very outspoken during this process. But now there is a serious accusation going around.
Jenna Fryer of the Associated Press reports she was told that teams were “coerced and threatened” to sign the charter agreement. She followed it up with another quote that put it into perspective.
“Sign or we will revoke your charters,” Fryer wrote on X.com, formerly known as Twitter, “can be scary language to a family business.”
This feels like more bad news than good news. Teams have signed, but where does that leave 23XI and Front Row? What are their plans for the future?
These negotiations have been going on for months. They planned on having an agreement ahead of the Daytona 500, but that clearly didn’t happen. Now, there are accusations of coercion and threats. Who knows where things go from here?
Denny Hamlin outspoken during NASCAR charter negotiations
This has been a season-long issue for NASCAR. They would like to get the agreement signed and move on to finishing up 2024 and moving to 2025. However, teams still want to get what they feel they are owed.
Denny Hamlin has remained outspoken during this process. He has business partners who have been involved in other professional sports. They know how those leagues operate, and they want NASCAR to act similarly.
Of course, motorsports fans are going to start thinking back to the IndyCar split. I don’t think we need to start going there quite yet, but there is reason to be a little concerned about where negotiations go from here.
23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports are holding on. If there were threats or coercion, then this is not going to go away quietly. Is there a possibility for legal action? Perhaps. But we won’t know anything until NASCAR or the teams come out and say something.