Multiple team owners told The Associated Press that NASCAR’s most recent proposal — delivered almost two weeks ago — was one of the worst offers yet from the stock car series sanctioning body.
Among the complaints: The France family, which owns NASCAR as a private company, still won’t budge on making the charters permanent, the series made rollbacks from previous offers and the proposal now includes a provision that would allow the France family/NASCAR to purchase charters, which are at the heart of series’ business model.
NASCAR’s latest offer was for charters that are guaranteed for seven years, and an option for another seven years after that. It also included a cost cap and, in addition to the France family being allowed to buy charters, a provision in which NASCAR would allow private equity firms to buy into charters.
Teams are now worried that Front Row’s announcement [to buy a third charter] is an indication some of the smaller teams are ready to take NASCAR’s offer despite an alliance that all 15 would stick together in negotiations. Yet there is no clear fallback plan.
The teams don’t want to start their own racing league, and believe NASCAR would move on without the likes of Hendrick Motorsports or Joe Gibbs Racing or Team Penske if they decided to boycott races. Such a scenario would leave it to fans to decide if the replacements — likely drivers and teams from lower-level series — provide a watchable product.
