Did NASCAR Prove Michael Jordan & Co’s ‘Monopolistic’ & Money Minded Accusations Right With This Shocking Move?

NASCAR is bringing about new changes to the Craftsman Truck Series. To be precise, these are cost-cutting measures that are going to be enforced by the sanctioning body in 2025. This isn’t the first time that NASCAR’s new change has stirred up conversation among the NASCAR community. But, the timing on this one with the 23XI Racing anti-trust lawsuit in the background is interesting, to say the least.

But what is going on, and why is this new change such a big deal? Well, the Truck Series teams will have to make new firesuits for pit crew members for next season. However, the issue here is that NASCAR has mandated new changes that might prove detrimental to the teams and their pit crews. Especially with how to conduct their business and generate revenue.

Denny Hamlin aims a dig at NASCAR, whereas Kevin Harvick is puzzled

NASCAR sent a memo to the Truck Series teams on Tuesday that underlines the new guidelines for the pit crew members for the 2025 season. Now, as we all know, NASCAR has been finding measures to reduce the cost of racing. They started it by pulling the plug on the long practice sessions, and then they introduced their new invention—the Next Gen race car. The idea was to control the spending by the team and allow them to generate profits.

While NASCAR might have cashed in on the mega $7.7 billion dollar TV deal, sponsorship and collaboration are what allow the teams to operate. And the series of new restrictions at the Truck Series level might disrupt these dynamics. Now NASCAR wants the teams to print one-off designs for the firesuits and keep a generic look off camera for every team participating in the Craftsman Truck Series.

Behind-the-wall pit crew members can have different color firesuits but won’t be permitted to have sponsors. Meanwhile, over-the-wall pit crews will be able to promote the sponsors that the teams are partnered with. Kevin Harvick was confused as to what was actually happening, and when he came to know this was a cost-cutting measure, his response was, “First, don’t add more races to the schedule…”

Well, Denny Hamlin didn’t need the invitation to join in this conversation and replied to Harvick, stating, “Its called cutting your way to prosperity Kev. Duhhh.” The important thing to note is that despite this change aimed at saving money, the teams will have to shell out money out of their pockets for these new uniforms. Not only that but taking branding off the behind-the-wall members does hinder the smaller teams from generating revenue, as sponsorship is indeed the bread and butter for these organizations.

Although NASAR is increasing the race purse next year, it’s hard to see if these changes will bring about a practical change in helping teams save money. Well, the likes of Kelley Earnhardt and driver Ryan Ellis weren’t entirely sold on this master plan by NASCAR.

NASCAR’s new mandate isn’t seen as a welcoming change

Not all the teams in the Craftsman Truck Series are able to roll out with full-time crew members. They run on tight budgets, and many crew members jump from one team to another throughout the season. Moreover, the teams from the tail end of the grid opt to purchase a second-hand firesuit to minimize their spending. But, with this new rule, they won’t be able to do that, and what’s even worse is that over-the-wall crews won’t have sponsorship branding.

Journalist Matt Weaver presented a theory that the top-tier teams or the brand themselves might have played a role in imposing these restrictions. They didn’t want their branding to appear on the team at the lower spectrum of the series. To which JRM co-owner Kelley Earnhardt responded, “So why not require current branding instead? Or at least current team branding. Mandating you can utilize an asset for sponsorship sales in a sport where sponsorship makes up the bulk of our funding doesn’t make sense to this business owner.”

Xfinity Series driver Ryan Ellis also chimed in with a similar take. “IMO crew suits & shirts are ways for us to create more value for our partners, who we depend on mightily to race. Having the ability to brand everything beyond the car—pit box, crew shirts/suits, pit wall banner, etc, can be low cost (relatively) investments to over-deliver.”

Well, it is tough to understand the logic behind NASCAR’s decision given that the industry leaders are not fans of this cost-saving mandate. But again, the true potential or shortcoming of this new change will only come to light when the 2025 season starts.