As discussions remain ongoing about a potential new alignment in NASCAR that might change the outlook of the sport, tensions remain high. There’s a lot at stake when it comes to the bargaining piece of the ordeal.

Teams want NASCAR to give them a bigger cut of the revenue from things like the sport’s new television deal, while they also want NASCAR and the teams to negotiate together on marketing and licensing deals, rather than against one another.

It has left the sport in turmoil under the surface.

“It needs to be a fair deal. It’s not close to fair currently, and we just need some movement to help make it a little bit better.” – Denny Hamlin

“Listen, there’s too much at stake for both sides,” driver Denny Hamlin said on the Kenny Conversations podcast with Kenny Wallace. “It needs to be a fair deal. It’s not close to fair currently, and we just need some movement to help make it a little bit better.”

The use of charters and NASCAR’s heavy control over them also remains under scrutiny as the bargaining continues.

“A team like 23XI deserves to have some franchise value attached to that.” – Denny Hamlin

“Listen, the minute there’s a charter deal you’re going to have Michael Jordan being pissed because he just invested into this sport and you’ve got someone that’s willing to just sweep it and take it all away whenever they want to,” Hamlin explained. “That is just ridiculous, and it shouldn’t happen. And a team like 23XI that has invested significant money in this sport and helped grow it over the last four years deserves to have some franchise value attached to that.”

The goal for NASCAR drivers

The goal for NASCAR drivers appears to be fairly straightforward. They want the sport to continue growing, but they also want to maintain a little more of the pie under the league’s current structure.

The advertising piece and the need for a more unilateral structure

The advertising piece is another key component; currently the system allows for sponsors to compete against each other, rather than having a more unilateral structure where all deals and sponsorships are organized through NASCAR… thus producing more pricing power.

But the sport needs to have ownership see eye to eye with the rank and file.

“This sport is a sleeping giant if you’re just willing to change.” – Denny Hamlin

“We all have the same goals, and that’s to grow this together,” Hamlin said. “We met with NASCAR about this a month ago, we were like, ‘Let’s lock arms and do this. This sport is a sleeping giant if you’re just willing to change. Just because it’s what you did for 50, 60 years, it doesn’t mean it’s the right thing to do now. Every sport has evolved over time. We have got to evolve.’”

In some ways, NASCAR has.

Positive changes in NASCAR

“People like Ben Kennedy have done a great job of changing the schedule around, taking us to places like Chicago,” Hamlin pointed out. “It’s been fantastic what they’ve done with schedule variation over the last few years. The Next-Gen car, while some may like it, some may not, it’s still been a net positive for our sport, and the access to be competitive is easier now than what it has been before. So we’re doing a lot of good things.”

Still, there’s some distance remaining between NASCAR and its teams. Should that structure close and become a more unified entity, drivers like Hamlin believe the sky is the limit.

“Let’s get this deal done.” – Denny Hamlin

But hurdles remain in the way.

“I just hate that we keep hanging up and this has been a subject for the better part of two years and we just can’t get a fair deal done, because if we ever can, the sport will take off,” Hamlin said. “They need the teams to be able to do that, and the teams need NASCAR. So let’s get this deal done.”