Bubba Wallace and Others Inadvertently Save Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin’s Fate in NASCAR

NASCAR took the entire racing community by surprise with their move to help both 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports despite the ongoing lawsuit. What exactly did NASCAR do, and why is that such a big deal?

Both teams, in a joint statement, shared that NASCAR has dissolved the anticompetitive clause, which now allows them to run as open teams in 2025. Had they signed the previous agreement, their court case would have been dismissed as NASCAR protected itself against lawsuits in the agreement.

While this move is a good one for both 23XI Racing and FRM, it just doesn’t make sense why NASCAR would make it easy on them. Especially when the ball is in their court after the teams were denied the initial injunction appeal. Well, let us get into the root cause of this move and try to understand why NASCAR made this move.

NASCAR wants its drivers to compete on the racetrack next year

Imagine a world where Tyler Reddick, Bubba Wallace, Noah Gragson, and Todd Gilliland are not participating in the 2025 Daytona. Now that was a possibility if the injunction plea didn’t favor the teams and they decided not to sign the open team agreement. Now a driver from the championship 4 race not being able to race next year isn’t a good sight for NASCAR as a sport. While their differences are with the team owners, ultimately it would be drivers who would face the brunt of this legal battle.

Sharing a similar theory, Eric Estepp, while speaking on his show, explained, “I think NASCAR knows that if Tyler Reddick, Bubba Wallace, Noah Gragson, and Todd Gilliland don’t show up next year, it’s bad for business. So they’re willing to compromise on this one issue. Hoping that it would lead to the team’s losing their appeal.”

While this might look like a good gesture on NASCAR, it’s also a masterstroke in trying to swing the injunction appeal in their favor. Last time around, the teams weren’t able to prove irreparable harm during their initial hearing. But if the drivers are unable to show up on the racetrack, that would lead to a domino effect of crisis within the teams. And this would build a strong case for 23XI Racing and FRM in court to get an injunction.

“I don’t think NASCAR wants to enter a charter agreement with 23XI and Front Row based on the reports out of the courtroom NASCAR’s made it clear the teams have said very disparaging stuff about us publicly. So maybe NASCAR figures, hey, if we get rid of this clause and allow them to race as open teams, their argument in the appeals court will not be as strong,” Estepp added.

Regardless of what the potential play NASCAR has in its bag, this is indeed good news for co-owners Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan. However, Hamlin was forced to defend his stance as a team owner on X as one of the fans questioned his role in NASCAR and argued that he is in it for money.

Denny Hamlin had a befitting reply for an online hater

Now we all know Hamlin’s haters list online on social media is a long one. NASCAR fans haven’t gravitated toward him, although it is hard to single out what’s caused this rift, but for the most part, this relationship has never changed. There’s a reason why he’s labeled as NASCAR’s villain. Online comments questioning Hamlin’s opinion or message aren’t something new, but this fan perhaps got on his nerves.

It all started when Hamlin clarified that there was no agreement reached between NASCAR or the teams to dissolve the clause in the charter agreement. Media publications were portraying as if the two parties struck a deal, but in reality, it was NASCAR who willingly discarded the clause that allows 23XI Racing and FRM to race as open teams in 2025.

“For clarification sake. No agreement was reached. They just removed the provision,” the JGR driver wrote. But one of his haters tried to belittle him despite his positive comment. The fan argued that NASCAR doesn’t owe anything to him and his team and that he is one of the easiest people on this planet to hate on.

However, Denny Hamlin was having none of it and was spot on with his rebuttal. “So you think I should risk my health each week as a driver and risk my $ every week as a owner to put on a show for you and get nothing in return? GTFO.” Given the current state of NASCAR, what 23XI and FRM are trying to make is make the sport more equitable for the team owners. Yes, they want a bigger piece of the pie, but that is again to manage the rising cost of racing.

If the teams keep on agreeing to what NASCAR asks of them, there is a possibility we might see more teams ending up like Stewart Haas Racing. And NASCAR is aware of this hypothetical situation, and that is why they made sure the teams were the biggest beneficiaries from the new $7.7 media rights deal.

For the time being, the hopes of Denny Hamlin and his team will be hoping for the injunction appeal to go in their favor. If not, they have no choice but to race as open teams, and that could potentially derail their racing operations.