Jeff Gordon Highlights F1 Model Amid Internal NASCAR Conflict

NASCAR’s negotiations with teams over the charter agreement continue to cast a dark cloud over the sport. The latest negotiation window that closed earlier this month yielded no positive results and teams head to the Daytona 500 uncertain of their future beyond 2024. A key figure in the middle of the ongoing civil war, Jeff Gordon has spotlighted the financial models of other leagues such as Formula 1 for NASCAR to look at and follow.

Talking to Dale Earnhardt Jr. on his podcast, Gordon said, “They [Formula 1] are truly sharing in the revenues and they’re sharing in the ideas and philosophies and looking at you know how do we grow you know together?” He continued to express how the transparency that the sanctioning body across the pond showed helped teams focus on growing the sport internationally instead of worrying about the revenue.

Here in NASCAR, however, teams are mainly concerned with appeasing the stomachs of their sponsors because that’s their main source of revenue. Gordon believes that this balance needs to change with the new charter agreement. He continued, “I think that what we need to do is get to a place where we’re focused on not only taking care of our sponsors and winning races but how do we collectively grow the sport and and and have a broader reach.”

The main issue of transparency that is pulling back the charter agreement

One of the key issues that pull the NASCAR agreement behind is the lack of transparency regarding the total revenue that the promotion generates. 23XI Racing co-owner Denny Hamlin said of this last month, “Once you figure out the financials — and there has to be transparency to figure out the financials — then you could work on all the other languages.” 

Even with the new media deal worth $7.7 billion, NASCAR has refused to reveal the economic particulars to teams. Reports suggest that teams are unwilling to reach a common ground without understanding the overall revenue generated. NASCAR President Steve Phelps assured last November that things were in a good place and a deal would be reached soon.

Several meetings have passed since and there hasn’t been a show of light yet. In a recent Actions Detrimental episode, Hamlin said, “We tried to start these conversations two years ago and it’s just been delay, delay, delay. So now here we are at the end of the rope. Do I believe we are closer to a deal now than 12 months ago? I don’t think so.”

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• Dale Earnhardt Jr.
• Denny Hamlin
• Jeff Gordon