Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski unsold on NASCAR's charter proposal - "There's still a ton of work to do"

NASCAR drivers Denny Hamlin and Brad Keselowski shared their opinions concerning the rumors and speculations surrounding the new charter agreement. It is speculated that NASCAR might limit teams to owning three charters, except for a couple of big organizations.

With the already stalled charter negotiations and the new speculated provision, several teams might suffer from this new rule. Owners like Denny Hamlin of 23XI Racing and Brad Keselowski of RFK Racing believe that there is still "work to be done". Both the owners currently field two full-time cars in the Cup Series.

In a recent conversation with Bob Pockrass, Joe Gibbs Racing driver Hamlin was asked to give his opinion on NASCAR's proposal to the team.

"I think there's still a ton of work to do. Not a little bit of work, you know, quite a bit. So, you know, that's going to be the priority over the next. I don't know how long, a few months maybe to get this thing a little closer," Hamlin said.

When asked about the above-mentioned speculation, RFK Racing's owner/driver Keselowski chimed in. He stated:

"I haven't formed a strong opinion yet. I, you know, would like a little bit more time before kind of going deep in record, but it seems like things continue to progress. But, you know, I'm not willing to go out on an edge and say that everything's done, so I'm not. But there's good progress and I respect that."

"I think there's probably some work to be done, but I don't know. I'm not ready to commit to anything,' Keselowski added.

Currently, teams like Hendrick Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing, and Stewart-Haas Racing field four-car charters in the NASCAR Cup Series. SHR declared to cease its operations by the end of the 2024 season, selling all its four charters. On the other hand, Front Row Motorsports announced that they would be adding a third car in the Cup Series from the 2025 season.

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Denny Hamlin questions NASCAR three-car charter rule

Speaking on the Actions Detrimental with Denny Hamlin podcast, Denny Hamlin discussed the possibility of smaller teams like 23XI Racing competing in the 2025 season. The 43-year-old Hamlin claimed that it would become difficult to compete with the already bigger teams like Hendrick's and Gibbs' NASCAR teams if the new speculated provision gets applied.

"[They have] more data points!" [20:30]

"If you cap it at three and say 'that's all you can do, 23XI you can only be three for your for the rest of your lives,' I'm going to say well okay, how am I going to beat Gibbs and Hendrick then? I mean it'll be tough and especially if they're trying to put some sort of salary cap into this thing. You're going to have more resources, the numbers are going to just keep going. The more you have, the more you have! So, I don't know that I necessarily agree with that, for sure," Hamlin added. [20:56]

According to reports, NASCAR would limit the teams to own only three-car charter in the Cup Series, and give exceptions to Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing as they would be grandfathered into the agreement.