TALLADEGA, Ala. — Three days after his team sued NASCAR, Denny Hamlin says not to question his focus going into Sunday’s Cup playoff race at Talladega Superspeedway.
“Make no mistake that the competitor in me, you don’t think that I want to come out here and win this weekend more than any?” Hamlin said in response to a question from NBC Sports on Saturday. “ … Anyone that knows me personally will tell you that these moments I will typically get more out of Denny … because I hate to lose and certainly will not justify any excuses to losing. So I’m going to give it all I can.”
Hamlin will start Sunday’s race eighth. He is the top Toyota car in the lineup. Front Row Motorsports’ Michael McDowell will lead the field to the green flag.
Hamlin’s playoff push comes amidst a significant week for the sport that saw his 23XI Racing team, along with Front Row Motorsports, file an antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR and NASCAR Chairman Jim France on Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The lawsuit states: “The France family and NASCAR are monopolistic bullies. And bullies will continue to impose their will to hurt others until their targets stand up and refuse to be victims. That moment has now arrived.”
NASCAR and France have not commented publicly on the suit. NASCAR and France both had a waiver of the service summons. That means that they do not have to serve an answer to the complaint until 60 days after the request was sent (which was Oct. 2). Their response is due by Dec. 2.
In a court filing, 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports indicated they planned to file a motion for preliminary injunction “on or about October 8.” In their complaint, the two teams stated that they planned to file a preliminary injunction “that will allow them to accept and operate under the 2025 Charter Agreement until the case is resolved.”
Hamlin told NBC Sports on Saturday that co-owner Michael Jordan was “adamant” about the lawsuit but talked with Hamlin to make sure he was willing to do it because Hamlin had more to lose than Jordan. Hamlin, who has tried to invoke change in the sport, including organizing the drivers years ago, told Jordan he was with him.
“(Fiancé Jordan Fish) sent me an awesome clip from ‘The Moneyball,’ where (the) John Henry (character) was saying ‘The first one through the wall always gets bloodied.’ But, in the end, it’s because you’re threatening the status quo and threatening people’s jobs and things like that.
“I hope it’s not seen that way, just seeing that this is certainly an opportunity for us to try to promote change in the sport that’s positive for everyone. And that’s teams, drivers, fans, everyone.”
Brad Keselowski, co-owner of RFK Racing, talked about what needs to happen.
“We have to find ways to grow the sport for everybody,” Keselowski said Saturday. “That’s the key here. There’s always going to be fighting over the piece of the pie and all that. The reality is we want to grow the sport as a whole. I know that’s where my head is at.
“I can’t control anything else that happens outside my world, but I can do whatever small part possible to grow NASCAR and motorsports as a whole.”
Asked what he wants to see as a resolution to the matter, Keselowski said: “Peace.”
23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports filed a lawsuit against NASCAR on Wednesday.
Kyle Larson, who co-owns a sprint car racing series, is intrigued by the lawsuit.
“It’s pretty interesting to see how strong they’re being,” Larson said of 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports. “It’s cool to see somebody stand up to a huge corporation like that.”
While he said he didn’t know the details of the lawsuit, Larson noted that more money for teams would be good.
“Obviously, I would love to see our teams making more money because I think that just helps the overall health of our sport,” Larson said. “I definitely give kudos to Front Row and 2311 for sticking up for what they believe.”
Details for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup race on NBC.
Curtis Polk, who is an owner of 23XI with Hamlin and Jordan, told reporters on Wednesday that teams need more financial help.
In response to a question from NBC Sports, Polk noted the differences in finances for NASCAR drivers and teams compared to others professional sports.
Polk said that in the new charter agreement, which begins next year, teams will receive “roughly over $400 million.”
Polk estimated — NASCAR, a privately held organization, does not release its financial figures — that the sport “generates close to $3 billion a year.” He estimated that teams were receiving about 13% of that amount.
Polk estimated that the average salary for drivers of the 36 chartered Cup teams is $3 million a year. Polk noted that the figure would be about 3% of the money he estimates NASCAR generates a year.
Team Penske’s Austin Cindric, Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney have excelled at drafting style tracks this season.
NASCAR driver salaries are not publicly released as contract details are for other professional sports.
“I think we’re probably one of the only sports, if not the only sport that athlete salaries has gone down in the last couple of decades,” Larson said.
“You look at yearly, most athletes’ salaries and stuff are going up, not just athletes but coaches and staff members, everybody in the sport. Obviously, we would love to see it trend upward instead of the opposite, which it’s been.”
Michael McDowell claims his fifth consecutive pole at a drafting track, the most since Bill Elliott won six in a row in 1985-86.
As the race nears, the focus for Hamlin is squarely on the race and next opportunity to advance in the playoffs.
“Just need to prepare the best you can and do the best you can on Sunday,” Hamlin said. “I think, you know, it’s more of a question for my team and I would ask them ‘Has your driver never not been prepared? Has he never given 100%?’ Never.
“I’ve certainly talked about it, probably a year or so ago when it came down to this and I became more comfortable with what the result was. No matter what, whether I win a championship or not, I’m going to make sure I can sleep at night knowing that I gave it my all for my team.
“Certainly, there’s been some circumstances over time that I haven’t been able to control, but to not let those situations affect me. Certainly, this is a situation I can control and I give the team the proper preparation and make sure that when I get in the race car on Sunday, they know through my actions on the track that I’m 100% in it and focused.”
