Dale Earnhardt Jr. explains how NASCAR broke down RTA's unity in charter negotiations

Dale Earnhardt Jr. recently shared his take on the 23XI-FRM-NASCAR charter conflict. Ahead of last weekend's race at Atlanta, the team co-owned by Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan announced that it, along with Front Row Motorsports, hadn't signed the new charter proposal.

This led to a variety of discussions within the NASCAR community, with many insiders speculating over what's next. Recently, it was Dale Earnhardt Jr., who laid out the misunderstanding between the teams and NASCAR over what charters are and what their function is. He said (via "DirtyMoMedia" on YouTube):

“They're not going to take away Michael Jordan's charters. There may be a little bit of disconnect between what NASCAR thought the charter system would be and what the teams think the charter system is. The charter system wasn't called a franchise for a reason. They weren't considered franchises," Earnhardt Jr. said [at 59:30]

The JR Motorsports co-owner mentioned that having a charter allowed for a guaranteed starting spot on the race which would then let teams approach sponsors and show their charters as proof of being on the field on a race day.

"The teams have shifted that idea that the charter is a franchise, like owning the Indianpolis Cults, and I don't think that NASCAR ever thought it would be that," he added.

Further speaking on this subject, Dale Earnhardt Jr. said that 23XI Racing not signing the charter agreement wasn't "a big shocker" to him. But what surprised the NASCAR Hall of Famer was the fact that the teams split.

"I felt like when they started meeting with NASCAR individually, that NASCAR gained the upper hand. If the teams are all going to band together and really have leverage, they had to stay together. When NASCAR starts meeting with them individually, that was going to erode at the trust and confidence and teamwork they had. A lot of their leverage, as a group, went away," Dale Earnhardt Jr. said [48:50]

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Dale Earnhardt Jr. claims NASCAR was 'done negotiating' with the teams

While there is uncertainty surrounding what 23XI Racing would do next, Dale Earnhardt Jr. commented that while the team could believe they had the leverage in this situation, NASCAR potentially holds the upper hand and is aware of the same. During the same episode of Dale Jr. Download, he said:

"NASCAR made it clear that they were done negotiating. Didn’t get everything we wanted, there were some things we like, some things we didn’t like, and I feel like that’s expected. That’s part of the process," Junior said [at 50:10].

Earnhardt mentioned that team officials like Justin Marks and Jeff Gordon have already suggested that the current deal is the best one they could've got from NASCAR.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. further added that the message from NASCAR to the teams was very clear, "take it or leave it". And while 13 teams took the offer, two, 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports, decided to not take it and enter uncharted territory.