Denny Hamlin pens strong response to Landon Cassill’s claims over NASCAR costs

Amid charter negotiations between NASCAR and the race teams, former NASCAR driver Landon Cassill responded to Denny Hamlin's assertion about the costs of fielding a race car. Cassill challenged Hamlin’s claim that teams spend $18 million, suggesting that NASCAR’s stance might be, “we’re not making you spend $18 million.”

Denny Hamlin quickly responded, explaining that the teams had disclosed their expenses to NASCAR, and both parties agreed the costs were not excessive.

The #11 driver responded to Cassill's comments via a post on X, clarifying the $18 million figure he discussed with Kenny Wallace on Kenny Conversation. Denny Hamlin emphasized that this amount solely covers fielding a racecar and does not include the costs of a driver or additional team members.

As he put it:

"First, 18M is just for the car on the track to put on this show each and every week (NO driver) Seems as though you think it’s excessive. Well we (teams) opened our books to NASCAR to show what exactly that money was spent on and that it was not excessive. (Nas executives agreed) You mentioned that anything we make beyond 18m is “profit”. That would be incorrect. As someone who started a team from scratch and kept it as lean as I could, there are MANY other depts at a race team that are 💯 necessary to operate."

"Business, marketing, sponsorship, social media, it goes on and on. That all cost a significant amount of money that is above and beyond the numbers listed above. That money is spent as not only as a necessity for our team but to GROW the sport thru on and off the track activation. Hopefully this is helpful when debating this topic," he added.

The debate began when Cassill pointed out on his podcast- "The Money Lap"- that teams could significantly increase their profitability by cutting unnecessary expenditures. He used Denny Hamlin’s earlier statement about the $18 million required to field a car as a basis for his argument.

Cassill highlighted that NASCAR does not force team owners to employ 100 engineers, fly on private jets, or invest $250,000 in a pit box, indicating that there are many areas where teams could potentially reduce their spending.

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A NASCAR Insider aligns with Denny Hamlin's viewpoint

Backing Denny Hamlin's assertion that it costs $18 million to run a charter and advocating for NASCAR to adopt a procurement model similar to those used by NFL, NBA, and MLB teams, Cup Series spotter Brett Griffin challenged Cassill's perspective, stating:

“Money over talent until we pay the teams to hire talent. The Xfinity Series is slowly being ruined and, in time, Cup will be next. Anyone who doesn’t see the progression and where it’s headed is BLIND. NFL teams don’t have to sign a new sponsor to hire the best QB that’s a free agent.”

Denny Hamlin is currently fourth in the Cup Series standings with 706 points to his name. He recently was unable to finish his race at the Brickyard 400.