NASCAR President, Steve O’Donnell speaks to the media during the NASCAR annual “State of the Sport” press conference at Phoenix Raceway on October 31, 2025 in Avondale, Arizona. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
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NASCAR President Steve O’Donnell, one of the top executives of the organization, took the stand on Thursday, December 4 in the NASCAR Trial over anti-trust practices in Federal Court in Charlotte, North Carolina.
O’Donnell revealed during his testimony that the France Family that owns NASCAR were against any changes to a new revenue model that was sought by the teams, Jenna Fryer of the Associated Press reported.
A charter is the equivalent of the franchise model used by other sports leagues, but in NASCAR it guarantees a team a spot in the field for all 38 races plus a designated percentage of revenue.
NASCAR is being sued by 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports for anti-trust violations claiming it operates as a monopoly. Basketball Hall of Famer Michael Jordan and three-time Daytona 500 winner and NASCAR star Denny Hamlin co-owns 23XI Racing. Bob Jenkins is the owner of Front Row Motorsports. Those were the only two organizations of the 15 in NASCAR that did not sign agreements in 2024 on new charters.
NASCAR Triall Details On Day 4
According to the AP report, NASCAR teams went to the sanctioning body in early 2022 asking for an improved revenue model and argued the system at the time was unsustainable, the president of the series testified Thursday.
O’Donnell, who was named president of NASCAR earlier this year, was at that March meeting when representatives of four teams asked that the negotiating window on a new charter agreement open early because they were fighting for their financial survival, according to AP. The negotiating window was not supposed to open until July 2023.
O’Donnell revealed the first meeting included Hendrick Motorsports Vice Chairman Jeff Gordon, a four-time NASCAR Cup Series Champion. Gordon asked if the France family would consider a new business model.
According to O’Donnell, Ben Kennedy, the great grandson of NASCAR founder Bill France told Gordon they were open to a new model.
NASCAR Senior Vice President of Strategy and Innovation Ben Kennedy at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on February 04, 2022. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
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O’Donnell, an adverse witness by the plaintiffs of the lawsuit, testified on Thursday that NASCAR chairman Jim France was opposed to a new revenue model, according to the AP.
That began a bitter negotiation period for a new charter agreement that was final in September 2024. The teams wanted a deal to be concluded by July 2022. NASCAR presented the new charter agreement on the weekend when the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs began in 2024 and had a six-hour deadline to sign the agreement.
Thirteen of 15 organizations signed with Front Row Motorsports and Michael Jordan-owned 23XI Racing refusing to the deal. That has led to the lawsuit that is being here in the first week of what could be a two-week trial.
O’Donnell Gives Additional Details On Team Requests In Current Charter Negotiations
During testimony, O’Donnell said team representatives had very specific requests: maximized television revenue, the creation of a more competitive landscape, a new cost model and a potential cost cap, the AP reported.
That began an internal discussion at NASCAR on the approach to the charter renewal, O’Donnell said.
Although NASCAR acknowledged the teams were financially struggling, the main concern was the possibility of breakaway series similar to the LIV golf league. O’Donnell had various options that he told the board at NASCAR including possible race boycotts by teams, building their own race cars instead of the customer-based Next Gen model and competed at tracks that are not owned by NASCAR. He also believed teams could potentially sell their charters to Liberty Media, which owns the commercial rights to Formula 1.
O’Donnell advised the board to lock down an exclusivity agreement with tracks not owned by NASCAR, dissolve the charter system, or partner directly with the drivers.
The extensions that began this year upped the guaranteed money for every chartered car to $12.5 million in annual revenue, from $9 million, according to AP from documents revealed in the trial.
NASCAR Trial Plaintiffs Reveal Financial Details Of Competition
Earlier this week, Denny Hamlin, co-owner of 23XI, and Front Row owner Bob Jenkins said it costs $20 million to bring a single car to the track for all 38 races, no including overhead, operating costs and driver’s salary.
Front Row Motorsports Team owner Bob Jenkins on April 28,2018 at Talladega Superspeedway. (Photo by Jeff Robinson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
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Jenkins continued his testimony when the trial reconvened on December 4. He revealed he has lost $100 million since becoming a NASCAR team owner in 2004 and “held his nose” when he signed the original charter agreement in 2016, according to The AP.
He stated in court that the current charter agreement was “virtually backward in so many ways.” He refused to sign and joined 23XI in filing a lawsuit.
“I’d reached my tipping point,” Jenkins said in court. “Our voice was not being heard. They did put a gun to our head and got a domino effect — teams that said they would never sign saw their neighbor sign.”
Later, Jenkins said, “To add $150,000 to $200,000 to the cost of the car — I don’t think any of the teams anticipated that,” Jenkins testified. “What’s anti-competitive is I don’t own that car. I can’t use that car anywhere else.”
The current Next Gen car was introduced in 2022 and was supposed to cost $205,000 but parts must be purchased from specified NASCAR vendors and teams cannot make any repairs themselves, so the actual cost is now closer to double the price, according to AP.
NASCAR Trial Has Other Interesting Financial Findings
Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports reported that O’Donnell’s testing revealed his salary of $1.2 million plus bonuses, that NASCAR lost $6 million on the Mexico City race and lost $55 million in three years in the spectacular, but troubled race in downtown Chicago.
NASCAR stuck with the Chicago races because O’Donnell said Amazon would not have agreed to sign as a media right partner without those events.
The NASCAR trial continues on Friday, December 5.
Michael Jordan (C), co-owner of 23XI Racing, arrives for trial at the Charles R Jonas Federal Building on December 1, 2025 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Baldwin/Getty Images)
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