NASCAR Antitrust Lawsuit Is 'About More than What Drivers Are Making'

• Team owners Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin have sued NASCAR and CEO Jim France over what they consider restraint of trade and several other revenue-sharing issues.

• Bob Jenkins, a lower-profile owner, has joined them in the suit.

• They claim their teams will become more profitable and thus more competitive if they could only get a larger share of NASCAR’s financial pie.

If a random survey at Charlotte last weekend can be trusted, many NASCAR fans have no interest in the lawsuit recently filed against the organization by three Cup Series team owners.

Almost unanimously, people in the campgrounds and waiting in concession lines took a ho-hum approach to the matter.

Their only concern seems to be if the high-profile legal action dramatically changes their favorite sport. As long as a full grid shows up every weekend, who’s making how much money doesn’t bother them.

To varying degrees, drivers in the Bank of America 400 felt about the same. For them, competing for bragging rights and winning trophies come before money. They say the lawsuit might change how they live, but not how they race.

“Money makes the world go around,” said Team Penske driver Austin Cindric, “but that’s not what drives us to race hard. It’s the competition.”

To review: 23XI team owners Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin have sued NASCAR and CEO Jim France over what they consider restraint of trade and several other revenue-sharing issues. Bob Jenkins, a lower-profile owner, has joined them in the suit. They claim their teams will become more profitable and thus more competitive if they could only get a larger share of NASCAR’s financial pie. Jordan/Hamlin and Jenkins are the only owners who didn’t sign the latest seven-year Charter Agreement, NASCAR’s version of a labor-management contract.

Hardly anyone expects the case to reach trial. History shows that NASCAR has never wanted anything to get that far. The discovery process terrifies it, which has won or quietly settled every suit for 76 years. The privately-owned company is loathe to open its books to anyone, especially plaintiffs seeking money.

As for the drivers: they say they’ll keep racing as hard as they can regardless of how the suit is decided. The paychecks are a bonus, of course, but that’s not why they race.

From two-time champion Joey Logano of Team Penske: “Everyone here will race the same no matter what money is on the line,” he said. “You could put us in go-karts with no money at the end and we’d still race as hard as we could, trying to win, trying to beat the other guys.”

Moments later he added this interesting warning. “But the lawsuit is about more than what drivers are making. It’s about the health of the sport. Fans may not care now, but it’ll affect them if racing doesn’t continue. We need to make sure it’s in a good place.”

From championship-contender Christopher Bell of Joe Gibbs Racing: “No, (the lawsuit) won’t affect how hard I race or how much I want to win,” he said. “No matter what’s on the line, we’re all getting paid to race as hard as we can. It won’t have any effect on my effort in the race car.”

Similar to Logano, reigning Cup Series champion and Team Penske teammate Ryan Blaney said the welfare of the sport overrides driver salaries.

“In the moment, we’re not thinking about how much more we’ll make for winning instead of finishing fifth,” Blaney said. “We’re racing at 100 to 105% already; we can’t race any harder. Money is nice, but we’re not thinking about money during a race.”

Many fans said they’d heard about the lawsuit, but didn’t understand much about the legal wrangling. Others didn’t know enough to have an opinion. Most said they’d be fine with either outcome as long as it doesn’t change the nature of the sport. One man said the enormous, palatial, futuristic shop that Jordan/Hamlin built tells him that 23XI isn’t hurting for money.

Perhaps refreshingly, one fan had a very different take. Her husband works for a team that once enjoyed great success, but not so much lately. She asked that the team not be named, but was adamant that the lawsuit is far more important to racing than many fans think.

“My team had to lay off people and cut back on hours because we lost a sponsor,” she said. “This sport is so sponsor-driven that any loss of income filters down to everybody in the shop. This suit doesn’t really affect drivers or crew chiefs as much as it does the little guys. You know, the welders, the machinists, the mechanics, the tire-changers.

“The guys who put these cars together and get them to the track aren’t making the great living fans might think. I can tell you that things aren’t always as glamorous as they look from the grandstands. A lot more people will be affected by how this thing turns out than you think. To them—and to my family—it’s very, very important.”

As always … time will tell.