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Could NASCAR be in danger of its biggest teams deciding to skip races in the future?
According to driver and team owner Denny Hamlin, it’s a real possibility.
Hamlin mentioned the drastic measure while on a recent episode of Dale Earnhardt Jr’s “Dale Jr. Download” podcast.
“To be quite honest, two of those stakeholders make nine-figure profits a year, and one stakeholder loses seven-figure profits per year,” Hamlin said of NASCAR, track owners and team owners. “So there’s clearly a disconnect. And I wish the fans were more informed of how offset this deal is and how unfair it is to the teams.”
Hamlin then said that teams are asking for an even revenue split, three ways each, in the future. But he claims that NASCAR has “adamantly said no.”
So, what recourse do the teams have to combat that?
Earnhardt Jr. asked Hamlin what the deadline is for all parties to come to an agreement, and Hamlin’s answer was clear.
‘It doesn’t have to,” he said bluntly.
The current agreement expires at the end of the 2024 season, at which point there will be no charter agreement in place.
“It would be ignorant of fans to say ‘well that’s great. No charters,'” Hamlin continued. “Well then we just wouldn’t show up when we don’t need to. The Clash, we wouldn’t show up for that. The All-Star Race, we wouldn’t show up for that. You know, maybe there’s some races that pay less. We just won’t show up to those. It’s just not financially good.”
Hamlin acknowledged that not all team owners agree with him and that some may not like him publicly airing his grievances, but that his frustration has officially boiled over.
Just last month, Hamlin engaged in a public spat with Speedway Motorsports president Marcus Smith.
So the often controversial driver is clearly not afraid of speaking his mind.