Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan co-owned 23XI Racing NASCAR Cup Series team has refused to sign the latest charter agreement. Among the 15 Cup teams, 13 have signed the new agreement while 23XI and Front Row Motorsports are holding out.
After the news broke during the playoff opener in Atlanta, Hamlin refused to elaborate on the charter conflict with NASCAR. Jordan's longtime business manager Curtis Polk addressed the media and described the negotiations as "David facing Goliath" and criticized NASCAR's "predatory practices."
In the latest episode of Actions Detrimental, Hamlin, worth $65 million (as per Celebrity Net Worth), addressed the charter drama but provided no additional details. Hamlin stated that the team was given a "crazy timeline" to sign the deal on Friday, September 6.
"Really, not gonna comment a whole lot further than what was said in my media availability, which was a whole lot of nothing. Just because this is a serious situation and the statement that 23XI put out accurately summed it all up," he said [at 8:00].
"Curtis Polk had a few media members ask him questions yesterday which he answered, I would just kind of echo those statements. It's certainly an unfortunate situation. We were just put under a crazy timeline and just thought that it was not appropriate and decided to stand up and say, this is not right."
The statement released by Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan's team suggested they were open to constructive negotiations with NASCAR to reach a "fair resolution". It remains uncertain whether 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports risk losing their charters.
Denny Hamlin reveals Round of 16 strategy following disappointing playoff opener
Amidst the off-track drama at Atlanta, Denny Hamlin endured a tough race. He ran at the back of the pack aiming to avoid the wrecks but ultimately got caught in a wreck and was classified 24th, scoring 13 points.
After facing criticism for his strategy in the playoff opener, Hamlin explained that his goal was to secure at least 20 points at Atlanta. Based on his analysis, a driver needs approximately 75 points in a round to advance. Having entered the playoffs with 15 bonus points, he aimed for a minimum of 20 points in each race of the Round of 16.
"You need to get to like 75 in the first round. I start with 15 right? So, essentially I need to get 60 points, that's 20 points per event over the next three events," he said on his podcast.
"I only got 13 this time [at Atlanta], so I need to get 47 over the next two. Like historically that's the upper echelon of making it [to the next round]."
Heading to Watkins Glen just two points above the cutline, Denny Hamlin has a strong chance of securing a top-five result. He has finished in the top-5 in five of his last seven races. He is also the favorite to win the cut-off race at Bristol.