Brad Keselowski of RFK Racing, another pivotal voice in the NASCAR community, conveyed the conflicted sentiments permeating through the paddock. He commented to the media: “It’s one of these agreements that is only good when everybody’s just a little bit jaded. “I think there’s things obviously we would like to have better, but I think to some degree, there’s pieces that we really like, and there’s pieces not so much. But it’s hard to use the word ‘fair.’ I don’t know if I know what that means.”

Teams were vying for a more substantial slice of the revenue pie, an influential voice in governance affairs, and remunerations for business engagements leveraging team or driver likeness. “However, the charter’s most divisive point was the exclusion of permanent charters, a compromise presented as a non-negotiable “take it or leave it final offer” according to the Associated Press, which left several stakeholders grappling with reluctant acceptance. This new charter agreement also rekindles the longstanding debate about the distribution of television rights revenue. The current formula allocates 25% to the teams, a modest 10% to NASCAR, while the lion’s share-65%-goes to the tracks.

This disproportionate split was a core grievance for many team owners who argued for a reassessment, particularly given the staggering $1.1 billion TV rights deal slated to span from 2025 to 2031. Despite these financial and governance hurdles, there remains a thread of optimism for a more balanced future. Hendrick added: “[The deal will be done] pretty soon … because it’s too important to everybody, NASCAR, the owners and the tracks. It’s just, we got to get it done.”

23XI Racing, one of the teams to miss the deadline for signing the new agreement, shared the following statement ahead of the race at Atlanta Motor Speedway (below): “23XI decided to not meet a NASCAR-imposed deadline last night to sign Charter agreements for its two cars for 2025-2031. 23XI’s position, as stated in a letter to NASCAR, is that we did not have an opportunity to fairly bargain for a new Charter contract. “We notified NASCAR what issues needed to be addressed, in writing, at the deadline. We are interested in engaging in constructive discussions with NASCAR to address these issues and move forward in a way that comes to a fair resolution, while strengthening the sport we all love.

At 23XI Racing, we remain committed to competing at the highest level while also standing firm in our belief that NASCAR should be governed by fair and equitable practices.”