"MJ has some attorneys giving him advice" - Kenny Wallace reacts to 23XI's charter standoff

Kenny Wallace has weighed in on the 23XI team’s standoff with NASCAR over the new charter deal for 2025-2031. Wallace opined that attorneys are involved in Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin's decision to not sign the charter agreements before the deadline.

This means the team is not involved with NASCAR next year, according to the 61-year-old. However, he doubts the American stock car racing league won't consider giving at least two spots to the Huntersville-based team co-owned by Denny Hamlin.

Wallace said,

“All the other teams [...] said 'we're exhausted, Ok whatever.' So it sounds to me like Michael Jordan has some attorneys giving him some advice, they’ve read everything" (1:58).

"Last night, was the deadline, you better sign this or you're out. Well, I doubt that...I doubt they're gonna shut down their two cup teams. Remember the regular season champion last week was Tyler Reddick" [2:19].

The former NASCAR driver said he thought the league couldn't do anything even though the owners haven't signed the agreement, saying:

“They [NASCAR] can be mad at them [Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin], but what are they going to do? The old days are gone” [7:08].

“I’m sure Michael Jordan’s attorneys have read all the fine literature. I’m sure they’re not out of the sport," he asserted. [8:09]

The 23XI team announced they refused to sign the agreements due to not getting an opportunity to negotiate fairly for a new charter contract.

NASCAR offers 36 charters for a 40-car field in the Cup Series. A charter, similar to a franchise, guarantees entry to all races in a season and a payout based on a team’s performance.

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Reactions to 23XI’s charter standoff with NASCAR

In an official statement made by 23XI, the team said it will continue competing at the highest level while standing firm in what they believe is fair governance.

In a staement shared on X (formerly Twitter), the team said:

"At 23XI Racing, we remain committed to competing at the highest level while also standing firm in our belief that NASCAR should be governed by fair and equitable practices."

23XI co-owner and JGR driver Denny Hamlin recently spoke about NASCAR’s new charter agreement on his Actions Detrimental podcast. He said the team would agree to sign "just a decent deal", if not a fair one.

Hamlin said,

“NASCAR’s got their stance, and the teams have theirs. We’ll just see where this goes over the next few weeks. It’s never been great, you know I think personally, from 23XI’s perspective, we would take a decent deal not even a fair deal, just a decent one, and from our standpoint, it’s got a ways to go.”

Meanwhile, 23XI driver Bubba Wallace gave his take on the standoff regarding the charter deal, saying it was "frustrating."

Wallace said (via Frontstretch),

"It's frustrating to see where we're at, because that impacts my life and livelihood and everything moving forward for my future."

23XI and Front Row Motorsports are the only two teams to have refused to sign the multi-year extension deal.

The next race will be in Atlanta as part of the first round of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. Regular season champion Tyler Reddick will be the lone driver representing the Huntersville-based team in the Round of 16.