Report: NASCAR Teams Encouraged by Charter Talks, but No Agreement Yet

What’s Happening?

The charter agreement has been a major point of contention between NASCAR and the race teams throughout the last couple of years, but, it seems there has been some encouraging news. According to Adam Stern of Sports Business Journal, as many as half of the race teams are willing to accept NASCAR’s most recent charter offer. However, the agreement will likely not come until after the next TV deal, to which, there is no immediate end in sight.

You Need to Know:

• The charter agreement was implemented first in 2016, and it has been 36 teams since its inception. The reward for race teams with a charter includes a guaranteed starting slot for every race and a financial bonus, which Stern says is as high as $8-10 million for the top teams. However, team owners have grown dissatisfied with the current agreement, and that is where these talks stem from.
• Charters have become increasingly more valuable as time has gone on, and they have become a must for anyone wanting to start a NASCAR team. Spire Motorsports recently bought a charter from Live Fast Motorsports for the reported price of $40 million.
• Fans are a bit mixed in their opinions of the charter system. Some fans like it, but others do not. Some point out how the new system has seemingly helped increase competition, but the charter system has also increased the barrier to entry into an already expensive sport. Others posed adding an extra charter to the grid.

In the Stands

BeefinGR points out some of the positives and negatives of the charter system.

PayneTrainSG believes there should be an easier way to add an additional charter to the grid.

WheedMBoise says that NASCAR needs to add more charters to the field.

Evtona500 says that he has warmed up to the Charter system in recent years.

Immediate_Lie7810 expects the charter system to be abolished. This may seem unlikely, but, anything can happen.

rainking6 feels that waiting until the next TV deal makes a lot of sense from a business standpoint.

The charter system has been a sticking point for a while now. Now that there seems to be some progress made, there is a good chance that an agreement will be reached in time. However, it may still be a while before that comes.