Richard Childress Racing driver Kyle Busch has addresses the ongoing antitrust lawsuit which has been filed against NASCAR by 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports. Busch claimed that he was “sort of the catalyst” for the charter agreement disputes, which later led to the lawsuit.
Busch’s departure from Joe Gibbs Racing in 2022 demonstrated the sponsorship issues teams are facing. His team lost its main sponsor, M&M’s, and failed to find a replacement, prompting Busch to join Richard Childress Racing. He described his exit and its aftermath as a turning point in the ongoing charter disputes. Busch stated:
“I was sort of the catalyst to this process of what’s going on in the charter agreements. When I was with Joe Gibbs Racing, we lost our main sponsor M&M’s as they pulled out of the sport, and I was left without a job because we couldn’t find a replacement sponsor.”
He added:
“Other sports are healthy. They’re a lot healthier than ours. NASCAR is a great family sport, and we have these opportunities of supporting one another at a lot of times and through a lot of good and a lot of bad. But as most families do, sometimes they fight.”
NASCAR teams are demanding a more substantial share of revenue and active participation in negotiations over charter permanence. These charters are vital for ensuring team participation in Cup Series races and securing a portion of the series earnings. The current proposal by NASCAR includes a controversial clause prohibiting negative comments about the series, which has been met with skepticism by several team owners, notably Denny Hamlin.
23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports released the following joint statement when the lawsuit was filed in early October:
“We share a passion for racing, the thrill of competition, and winning. Off the racetrack, we share a belief that change is necessary for the sport we love. Together, we brought this antitrust case so that racing can thrive and become a more competitive and fair sport in ways that will benefit teams, drivers, sponsors, and, most importantly, fans.”
Despite the turbulence, Kyle Busch remains optimistic about the future. Reflecting on the 2024 season, he acknowledged the need for improvement, both personally and for his team.
“So, there’s been some good moments of where we had strengths, a lot of the down times or the races that we weren’t as strong, we didn’t get as good of finishes as we wanted to. So, we know that we’ve got some things that we can work on this winter in order to get ourselves a lot better for next year.”
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