NASCAR has shown a willingness to take the Cup Series to new destinations in recent years, but as unsealed court documents show, the Race Team Alliance had actually developed plans for an entirely different type of race weekend in the Middle East.

The discovery happened as part of hundreds of documents being uploaded to the PACER service hosting everything related to the antitrust lawsuit (23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports vs. NASCAR). Many of these documents highlighted sensitive text discussions about team owners, SRX, and other topics. A few highlighted potential new areas where teams could race.

MORE: Full Race Team Alliance Middle East proposal

According to one discussion between the Race Team Alliance (15 team owners), the possibility existed that they could race yearly in the Middle Eastern country of Oman. This race would take place in multiple possible destinations, including the city of Muscat and the Sultan Qaboos Stadium.

The proposal from the Race Team Alliance and Ray Evernham Enterprises compared racing in Muscat to Monaco where F1 teams race. It compared racing in the Sultan Qaboos Stadium to racing at the LA Memorial Coliseum.

The Race Team Alliance did not settle on the cars used for this hypothetical exhibition race. It mentioned Late Models, purpose-built cars, and TA2 cars. The proposal said that they could use the cars for this event and then leave them in the Middle East for the Omanis to race.

Evernham proposed mirroring the plan that he put together for the SRX series, which would see a chassis builder construct a rolling chassis that the team would then maintain and repair. He added that they would need to conduct surveys and case studies to see what truly excites the Omanis.

The format of the hypothetical race would feature 15 entries split into three teams. Each team would have a “well-known American crew chief, retired driver, or celebrity” leading it. Each team would have three RTA drivers, one Omani driver, and one wild card driver.

The race would have four rounds consisting of 50 laps or 20 minutes, with 10 minutes between each round. The proposal said that this would create an Olympic-style event. The field would then change the running order after each round.

The race would feature round winners, an Omani driver champion, an overall driver champion, and a team champion.

The proposal noted that this could help the RTA create a sustainable business plan based on cars, parts, and technology that they could replicate in other areas of the world.

The goal would be to have the RTA or designated owners retain all rights to the IP moving forward. The Omanis could then purchase parts and create a franchise system if they so desired.

This proposal/discussion occurred during charter negotiations, which ultimately turned fairly contentious. As one email included in the exhibit asked, would the RTA gain leverage by pursuing this exhibition event in Oman? Would pursuing this still make sense if discussions with NASCAR were productive?

RTA founder Rob Kaufman strongly stated his support for the teams doing an exhibition race, even if the talks with NASCAR were productive. He said it was “100% within the current charters.” He called this a strong brand building item and urged the other RTA members to not squander the opportunity.

This exhibition race in the Middle East and other regions of the world did not materialize. The teams signed the 2025 Charter Agreement — with the exception of 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports — which ultimately led to this antitrust lawsuit.

 

 

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