NASCAR Owner Accuses Sport's Leadership Of Acting 'Communist'

09/09/2024 01:06 PM

NASCAR and its team owners are currently in the process of trying to get a charter agreement in place. 

It's not going well.

While some of the NASCAR team owners have agreed to the deal, others are pushing back - in significant fashion. One of the owners of Michael Jordan's 23XI Racing sounded off prior to Sunday's race in Atlanta.

"The contract offer took away essential rights, and we believe that all teams, including those who signed, may not have been given a true opportunity to negotiate or fully understand the implications of the contract terms," Curtis Polk explained to the Associated Press.

"This isn't the 1960s and these predatory practices do not withstand scrutiny.

"NASCAR has consistently refused to deal with 23XI – these negotiations, we are David facing Goliath. NASCAR has superior bargaining power and undue influence over the sport and the charter process."

Polk isn't even the most outspoken of the NASCAR team owners on the topic. One anonymous NASCAR team owner accused the sport's leadership of behaving in a "communist" fashion.

According to Jeff Gluck of The Athletic, some NASCAR owners felt that the sport's leadership was essentially putting them over a barrel and forcing them to sign the charter agreement.

"So, 13 of the 15 team owners, not thrilled but they fall in line," Gluck explained on The Teardown. "We have posted a story on The Athletic with a bunch of quotes from various team owners, most of whom did not want to be identified out of fear of retribution. It's been compared to, 'putting a gun to our head,' one [team owner] said. 'Communist regime.'"

Bianchi responded: "A team owner did compare NASCAR to a communist regime, correct."

So, things aren't going very well. While a couple of NASCAR team owners are on board with the deal, most seem to be pushing back. 

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