Denny Hamlin, co-owner of 23XI Racing, testified that signing the NASCAR Charter Agreement would have been akin to signing his own "death certificate" as a team owner. The former NBA legend and his business partner Michael Jordan created 23XI Racing in 2021, initially projecting a $900,000 profit for their first year. However, the team has since become profitable, with earnings of approximately $2.5 million in 2022 and $3.4 million in 2023.
During the trial, Hamlin emphasized that his co-ownership in 23XI is an investment into the future of NASCAR, stating he makes around $14 million per year from Joe Gibbs Racing. He also testified that 23XI has paid a total of $46.2 million for three successive NASCAR Cup Series Charters.
Meanwhile, NASCAR's Senior Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer Scott Prime compared how LIV Golf disrupted golf and NASCAR was fearful of the same happening to stock car racing. The plaintiffs claim that NASCAR's actions, such as enforcing tracks with exclusivity agreements, underpaying teams, and placing intellectual property patents on its race teams to make them unusable elsewhere, constitute monopolistic practices and violation of anti-trust laws.
Hamlin also testified that it costs $20 million to run one race car per season, contradicting NASCAR CEO Jim France's claim that it should cost only $10 million a year. Additionally, Hamlin stated that he had a meeting with France and was told the teams are spending too much money, but France did not provide an alternative solution.
The plaintiffs believe that 23XI and Front Row Motorsports made the right decision to forfeit their Charters instead of signing them as other teams did. They argue that the 2016 agreement delivered significant benefits to race teams, including guaranteed starting positions and contractually secured payments of over $300 million a year.
NASCAR has released a statement denying many of the allegations brought forth by Hamlin, stating that he is seeking a "900 percent return on investment" for signing the charter agreement. The trial will resume on Wednesday, December 3, and is expected to last for two weeks.
During the trial, Hamlin emphasized that his co-ownership in 23XI is an investment into the future of NASCAR, stating he makes around $14 million per year from Joe Gibbs Racing. He also testified that 23XI has paid a total of $46.2 million for three successive NASCAR Cup Series Charters.
Meanwhile, NASCAR's Senior Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer Scott Prime compared how LIV Golf disrupted golf and NASCAR was fearful of the same happening to stock car racing. The plaintiffs claim that NASCAR's actions, such as enforcing tracks with exclusivity agreements, underpaying teams, and placing intellectual property patents on its race teams to make them unusable elsewhere, constitute monopolistic practices and violation of anti-trust laws.
Hamlin also testified that it costs $20 million to run one race car per season, contradicting NASCAR CEO Jim France's claim that it should cost only $10 million a year. Additionally, Hamlin stated that he had a meeting with France and was told the teams are spending too much money, but France did not provide an alternative solution.
The plaintiffs believe that 23XI and Front Row Motorsports made the right decision to forfeit their Charters instead of signing them as other teams did. They argue that the 2016 agreement delivered significant benefits to race teams, including guaranteed starting positions and contractually secured payments of over $300 million a year.
NASCAR has released a statement denying many of the allegations brought forth by Hamlin, stating that he is seeking a "900 percent return on investment" for signing the charter agreement. The trial will resume on Wednesday, December 3, and is expected to last for two weeks.
. I mean, Denny Hamlin makes a huge salary from Joe Gibbs Racing but is still throwing good money after bad by signing the charter agreement? It's just common sense, folks! $46.2 million for three years of "investment" is just crazy talk 
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. Newsflash: they were smart business owners who saw through the monopoly game and got out while they could!
. Anyway, I hope this trial brings some real accountability to NASCAR and puts an end to these shady practices once and for all 
I'm kinda surprised Denny Hamlin's team made it out okay despite what went down. $46 million seems like a lot, but I guess they must've done their math right? 
It'd be crazy if NASCAR was just gonna let teams go bankrupt because of some charter deal 
. I can see how the plaintiffs have a point tho, exclusivity agreements and all that stuff does sound like it could stifle competition. But at the same time, someone's gotta keep these tracks running, right? 
! Like, can you believe what's going on? He's basically putting his neck on the line saying that signing those charter agreements would be a death sentence for 23XI Racing... and I don't blame him one bit! 
And now they're saying that 23XI's decision to forfeit their charter was all about getting a 900% return on investment? Give me a break 
like 20 mil a year to run one car? that's not even a typo, it's like he's trying to make the teams wanna quit racing lol. and then Denny Hamlin spills the tea that there was no alternative solution from France, talk about owning the mic 
meanwhile LIV Golf is out here being all "we're the disruptors" while NASCAR is just over here like "oh no we might get disrupted too 
". 23XI and Front Row making the right decision to forfeit their Charters? yaaas pls, they were just trying to make a profit and now they're gonna win this whole thing 
Like, who wouldn't want guaranteed starting positions and payments of over $300 million a year? The whole thing just seems fishy to me. And let's not forget that LIV Golf did kinda disrupt golf, so I'm low-key wondering if NASCAR was too slow to adapt... 
. And $20 million to run one race car per season? That's straight fire 
. I'm not saying NASCAR is doing everything wrong, but they gotta take Hamlin's words into consideration, you know? 
. I mean, $300 million a year guaranteed starting positions? That's some serious cash 
. Denny Hamlin seems legit when he says signing those charters would've been a death sentence for his team, but at the same time, $20 million to run one race car per season? That's insane 
i mean what's up with all these teams making so much money but still struggling somehow? like how can you make $14m per year from racing cars but still have to pay $46.2 million just to be part of the league lol? and what's with this $20 million per season thingy did they just decide to make cars more expensive or something 
. And $46.2 million in payments over three years? That's a lot of cash 
. And the cost of running a race car season? $20 million per year? That's crazy high! 
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. I mean, come on, $20 million a season? That sounds crazy expensive 
. Maybe they're just trying to milk the system for all it's worth? 
. I mean, he was gonna be stuck with a guaranteed spot in NASCAR but also paying out big time as part of the deal 
. I'm glad they're pushing back against the bigwigs at NASCAR and fighting for what's right 
. It's time to shake things up in that sport and make sure everyone gets a fair shot 
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I'm so hyped for this trial! 
Like, he's literally risking his own team's future by standing up to NASCAR 
. And can we talk about Michael Jordan's involvement in all of this? 
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. It's like, if they're not happy with the way things are going, maybe they should just walk away 
.