"Things I heard Steve Phelps say were not the things we said" - Denny Hamlin warns of NASCAR's potential loss over charter delay

Denny Hamlin has recently opened up about the uncertainty surrounding the 2025 Charter agreement between NASCAR and Cup Series teams. In the latest Actions Detrimental podcast, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver warned that the delay in the Charter agreement could bring losses to NASCAR amid Steve Phelps' recent comments on fans' involvement with the Charter system.

In the podcast, Hamlin touched upon how NASCAR and the teams compete against each other for the same sponsors instead of locking arms together and taking the sport forward. Until teams and NASCAR join hands to work together, they will all be pedaling in the sand, he noted.

Further, he shared what he expects from the Charter agreement, as he is not just a driver on the circuit but a team owner as well. The JGR driver, as a co-owner of 23XI stated,

"NASCAR's got their stance, and the teams have theirs. We'll just see where this goes over the next few weeks," Hamlin said. "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 got a ways to go." (53:13; 53:28-53:37)

Following this, Denny Hamlin touched upon Phelps' statement from Kevin Harvick's podcast, where the NASCAR president opened up about fans' involvement in the NASCAR agreement. He said,

"I think Steve Phelps was actually correct when he said on Harvick's podcast you know fans should care about the Charter system because the Charter system is very very valuable to NASCAR itself, not just the race team, it's just as valuable to NASCAR. The only thing I will disagree with is that he mentioned that the team said they wanted these four key pillar things and the things I heard him [Steve Phelps] say we're not the things that we said." (56:16-56:45)

Denny Hamlin qualified for the playoffs after he clinched three victories in the 2024 NASCAR regular season. However, NASCAR stripped him off of 75 regular points, 10 playoff points, and the victory at Bristol after they found a discrepancy with his #11 Toyota Camry following the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway.

---

Denny Hamlin finally enjoys a championship

Denny Hamlin runs during Saturday's practice for the FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway. Source: Imagn

As per the latest developments, Denny Hamlin claimed a NASCAR championship, which was the 2024 regular season title. However, the #11 man won it as a co-owner of his team, 23XI Racing, but not as a driver.

Tyler Reddick, the star of 23XI, picked up the NASCAR regular season championship winner after the race at Darlington, and Hamlin, as a co-owner of the team, got to share the pie.

Reddick amassed a total of 860 points after 26 races, with two victories to his name. He held off Kyle Larson of Hendrick Motorsports by just a point to claim the title. Following the victory, Hamlin posted about it on X, with a caption,

"Finally won a championship, *as an owner."

Larson took a dig at Hamlin following this post and, at the same time, praised the JGR man. With the first playoff race at Atlanta Motor Speedway next weekend, Hamlin, Larson, and Reddick are all set to go against each other in the Quaker State 400 Available at Walmart on September 8, 2024.