Could It Change NASCAR Forever?

Denny Hamlin is a guy who wears a lot of hats: that of a NASCAR driver, racing for Joe Gibbs Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series; as a father to two daughters; and as a NASCAR team owner, specifically a co-owner of 23XI Racing alongside NBA legend Michael Jordan and Curtis Polk since 2020. And ever since he put on the team owner hat, Hamlin’s become pretty skilled at doing a high-speed hat dance. He’s met with the media as a winning driver, and he’s stood in as a team owner when one of 23XI Racing’s drivers clinched a victory.

It’s mostly been champagne showers and smiles, congrats, and trophies. But then last week rolled around, and 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports—NASCAR’s last two Charter agreement holdouts—filed an anti-trust lawsuit against NASCAR and CEO Jim France. They allege that NASCAR’s leadership has been using “anti-competitive practices to prevent fair competition in the sport.”

“Everyone knows that I have always been a fierce competitor, and that will to win is what drives me and the entire 23XI team each and every week out on the track,” Jordan, who is arguably one of the greatest players in any professional sport, said. “I love the sport of racing and the passion of our fans, but the way NASCAR is run today is unfair to teams, drivers, sponsors, and fans. Today’s action shows I’m willing to fight for a competitive market where everyone wins.”

This past weekend at Talladega Superspeedway Hamlin appeared in front of the media or the first time since the suit was filed in the Western District of North Carolina. He had to wear his team owner hat and answer the inevitable questions about the legal action.

“Michael Jordan sent me an awesome clip from the ‘Moneyball,’ where John Henry was saying ‘the first one through the wall always gets bloodied.’” Hamlin said when asked about the lawsuit. “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.”

For those unfamiliar, ‘Moneyball’ is a 2011 film based on the true story of Billy Beane’s analytics-driven approach to building a professional baseball team, the Oakland A’s. When it first emerged, it was seen as revolutionary, shaking up the way teams were built and challenging the norms of Major League Baseball.

The core issue in this lawsuit seems to be that teams want a bigger slice of the revenue pie NASCAR collects. For years, many teams have claimed they’re bleeding cash, losing their collective shirts, and teetering on the brink of bankruptcy. It’s like that old saying from NASCAR Hall of Famer Junior Johnson: “The best way to make a small fortune in racing is to start with a big one.”

Meanwhile, some folks say NASCAR is rolling in dough, pulling in cash faster than a Cup Series car roaring down Daytona’s backstretch, leaving a cloud of dust and dollar bills in its wake. And that’s the rub. According to critics, NASCAR has a money mountain and should be willing to share more of it with the teams that bring the show to life every weekend.

ForbesNASCAR’s Charter War Heats Up As 23XI, Front Row File LawsuitBy Greg Engle

That may have some truth to it, but NASCAR’s not a publicly traded company, so its financial records stay locked up tighter than a vault. It’s a family business, after all, started by “Big” Bill France in 1947. And Big Bill wasn’t exactly known for playing nice when it came to pushback from drivers or teams.

Driver Curtis Turner tried to form a union with business partner Bruton Smith in 1961 while they were building Charlotte Motor Speedway. They sought help from the Teamsters Union to form the Federation of Professional Athletes (FPA). Big Bill shut that down, banning any union-affiliated driver from racing on NASCAR tracks. The rest of the drivers fell in line, leaving Turner and Tim Flock as the lone holdouts. Both were banned from NASCAR for life, and Charlotte Motor Speedway went bankrupt just over a year after it opened. Turner and Flock were eventually reinstated, and Charlotte emerged from bankruptcy but Big Bill’s message rang loud and clear.

Flash forward to 1969, and Richard Petty led 11 drivers to form the Professional Driver’s Association (PDA). They boycotted the inaugural race at Talladega due to safety concerns over tires. Big Bill found enough replacement drivers to hold the race, and the PDA folded soon after. The iron-fisted rule carried on through to his son Bill France Jr. and now rests with Big Bill’s youngest son, Jim France, the current CEO, who has to handle this latest uprising.

Of course, filing a lawsuit doesn’t mean there’ll be a trial. Often, these disputes lead to private discussions and out-of-court settlements. But sometimes, things head to trial, where a judge or jury makes the call. If that happens here, we might see some eye-opening revelations.

You can bet the plaintiffs will want to dig into NASCAR’s books, hoping to back up their claim that NASCAR is sitting on a cash pile tall enough to make Mount Everest look like a hill in the Blue Ridge Mountains. They’re looking for that ‘ah-ha’ moment to shout, “See, we told you so!”

But this move could boomerang on the teams, too. NASCAR might want to take a peek at the teams’ financials to see if they’re really bleeding money or just trying to get a sweeter deal. And unless a judge seals the records, the rest of us might get a front-row seat to the financial reality of both sides—something no one’s ever seen before.

Don’t count on it though.

Neither side is likely interested in airing out their finances. Instead, expect closed-door negotiations where no one’s eavesdropping. And these discussions could get heated. On NASCAR’s side is the fact that 13 other teams signed the new Charter agreement (even if some grumbled that they were “forced” into it), leaving 23XI and Front Row as the last two holdouts. The France family might just stick to their guns, let the two teams’ Charters expire, and put them in a tough spot next season. It’s a classic NASCAR power play: play by our rules or take a hike.

For now, the plaintiffs are all about trying to not only get a bigger share of the revenue but weaken what they see as a stranglehold on the sport by NASCAR. If they pull it off, it’d be historic—a shake-up that could leave Big Bill France spinning in his grave.

But don’t count on that, either. Hamlin admitted over the weekend he’s not sure what the future holds for the lawsuit, or if it’ll reach a point where no one wins.

“Yeah, I’m not really sure and can’t speak to that part of it,” he said. “I think it’s been stated in statements by Michael Jordan that he loves NASCAR. We’ve obviously invested heavily in NASCAR and reinvested what I got out of this sport as a driver back into it as an owner. Certainly, we love the sport, just would love to see change as well.”

Maybe Hamlin should revisit “Moneyball,” because the true story it’s based on doesn’t exactly have a fairy-tale ending. Sure, Billy Beane’s analytics-based system inspired a great story, but there were more artistic liberties than there are pickup trucks in Texas.

In real life, Beane is now an advisor to the team. And the Oakland A’s who have not won a World Series since 1989. And though some (including the movie’s producers) credit his system, known as “sabermatics”, with helping John Henry’s Boston Red Sox win their first World Series in 2004 after 86 years, others bemoan the way the fundamental sport of baseball has changed to one that is driven by data-analytics. For the record the A’s have all but abandoned the sabermatic system.

So, is 23XI’s goal to fundamentally reshape NASCAR or just get a bigger paycheck for their efforts? Whatever the reason, Denny Hamlin’s lost more races than he’s won, Michael Jordan didn’t win every game he played, and the Oakland A’s never won another World Series. Sometimes, even the best stories don’t have the endings we expect.

So, is 23XI and Michael Jordan’s mission to fundamentally reshape NASCAR, or is it just about getting a bigger paycheck for their efforts? Either way, the gamble is a risky one. History has shown that going up against NASCAR’s iron grip doesn’t often end in victory. Hamlin has lost more races than he’s won, Jordan didn’t win every game he played, and the Oakland A’s haven’t lifted a World Series trophy since 1989.

Change is hard to come by, and sometimes, even the most well-intentioned battles end up as cautionary tales. But one thing’s for sure: when Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan decide to fight, they don’t back down without leaving a mark—win, lose, or draw.