“They didn’t like the terms of the deal” - NASCAR insider highlights 23XI and FRM’s “frustrating” sentiments behind declining charter extension

NASCAR insider Jordan Bianchi has shared 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports' belief behind rejecting the charter extension agreement. He expressed that the sport was "heavy-handed" on the teams and didn't give room for negotiating the terms.

For nearly two years, the teams have tirelessly worked to strike a mutual deal with NASCAR regarding the charter extension. Their demands included a cut from the business deals made by the sport, permanent charters, an increased share from the purse, and a say in the governance.

However, as mentioned in 23XI Racing's statement, NASCAR didn't provide an opportunity for fair bargaining of the terms and conditions of the charter agreement. Moreover, the Huntersville-based outfit submitted a written notification to the officials regarding the issues that needed to be addressed, but to no avail.

As a result, of the 15 teams, Michael Jordan's 23XI and Bob Jenkins' FRM refused to sign the charter extension, valid from 2025 to 2031.

Bianchi highlighted the "frustration" among teams regarding the sport dating back to its old days and being stubborn with the terms. He said via Dirty Mo Media on X (0:45):

"They didn't like the terms of the deal. I mean that's the gist of it. They felt like NASCAR was being heavy-handed and more (to) 23XI than FRM in this. Though FRM does share a lot of the sentiment expressed by 23XI in their statement. There's a lot of frustration that NASCAR kind of fell back in their historic ways of being heavy-handed. You know, 'Our way or the highway, this is how we do things.' There was no negotiating in good faith is probably the best way to describe it."

"We were just put under a crazy timeline": Denny Hamlin on NASCAR's push to complete the new charter agreement

During the Actions Detrimental Podcast, Denny Hamlin expanded on the ongoing charter fiasco and highlighted the scarcity of time at their disposal to sign the extension. NASCAR aimed to wind the charter process before the Cup Series playoff began at the Atlanta Motor Speedway, and thus, set the deadline for Friday, September 6.

The agreement was sent to the teams just a week before the deadline. Moreover, if the teams failed to agree by Friday midnight, they were supposedly at risk of losing their charters, valued between $30-$50 million. As a result, 13 teams inked the charter extension.

Despite the high-stakes risk, 23XI Racing and FRM refrained from accepting and stood up against the inappropriate situation. Hamlin gave his take on the matter, saying on his podcast (8.40):

"Curtis Polk had a few media members ask him questions yesterday which he answered, I would just kind of echo those statements. It's certainly an unfortunate situation. We were just put under a crazy timeline and just thought that it was not appropriate and decided to stand up and say, this is not right."

23XI Racing co-owner Curtis Polk slammed the high-octane sport for their "predatory practices" in the charter negotiations.