Millionaire Denny Hamlin's right-hand shares his take on NASCAR charter agreement rumors amid lawsuit drama

Denny Hamlin's crew chief Chris Gabehart dropped a comment as rumors of NASCAR's charter agreement continue to escalate on social media. Recent speculation also claims that the charter agreement could put the governing body in a powerful position, giving the teams a very small part of the revenue.

As the legal battle between 23XI Racing, Front Row Motorsports, and NASCAR continues, speculation remains about the 2025 charter agreement. It is being claimed that the current agreement, set to run over the course of the next seven years, could be extended for another seven years without the teams' approval. Furthermore, NASCAR would have control over the payment of the revenue which the teams wouldn't be able to negotiate.

Reacting to these rumors on social media, Chris Gabehart wrote:

"As you know, don't believe everything you hear."

23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports were the two teams that did not sign the charter agreement before the deadline. Subsequently, they filed an anti-trust lawsuit against NASCAR alleging that the governing body performed monopolistic practices with the charters. 23XI is co-owned by $65M-worth (according to Celebrity Net Worth) Denny Hamlin.

In a recent development, the US District Court allowed the preliminary injunction, giving both teams the right to run as chartered teams in the 2025 season. The court also ordered NASCAR to allow the charter transfer between the now-defunct Stewart-Haas Racing and the teams.

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Denny Hamlin on splitting with Chris Gabehart in 2025: "I certainly was shocked"

Gabehart has worked with the #11 crew since 2019 as Denny Hamlin's crew chief. The two have shared a lot of time together and were expected to team up in the next season as well.

However, Joe Gibbs Racing announced earlier that Chris Gabehart was set to become the team’s competition director in 2025 and would no longer be working as the #11's crew chief. Reacting to the news, Hamlin told the media that he was "shocked."

"I certainly was shocked," Denny Hamlin said. "That’s all I’ll say."

"The first few days was a shock, but I’m moving on," he added. "There’s nothing I can do to change anything that happened, and JGR is doing what they feel is best for them and I totally understand that. And if all of our program gets better, the 11 car’s gonna run better as well, right? And I think that all of us, all the teams, knew that we needed to have better results than what we had at the end of the year. They feel like this is the change they need to [make] to get that and that the 11 team will benefit from those changes."

Together, Chris Gabehart and Denny Hamlin claimed 22 victories and established a successful duo over the years. Chris Gayle is set to replace him as Hamlin's crew chief in 2025.