{"id":230792,"date":"2025-10-22T02:20:09","date_gmt":"2025-10-22T02:20:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/230792\/"},"modified":"2025-10-22T02:20:09","modified_gmt":"2025-10-22T02:20:09","slug":"jeb-burton-shows-how-nascars-lawsuit-is-trickling-down-into-xfinity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/230792\/","title":{"rendered":"Jeb Burton Shows How NASCAR’s Lawsuit Is Trickling Down Into Xfinity"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jeb Burton<\/a>\u2019s weekend at Talladega Superspeedway was \u2014 let\u2019s call it eventful.<\/p>\n

The first big crash of the day that took out several of the NASCAR Xfinity Series playoff contenders was, to his admission, partially on him as he explained on X (formerly Twitter).<\/p>\n

Hate this happened. The 00 is on the 18 and I\u2019m on the 00. This part of the track the cars are on edge. The lane checked up a hair and we all got super loose. When that happened it shot my car up the hill into the 20. Sorry to everyone involved. https:\/\/t.co\/xR589m1gSa<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Jeb Burton (@JebBurtonRacing) October 19, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

Burton then got damaged in the Aric Almirola<\/a> crash with two laps to go, and his potential bid at a third win at Talladega turned into a 17th-place finish.<\/p>\n

A busy, chaotic day at Talladega. Par for the course for almost any driver. But there was a point where Burton\u2019s weekend was set to be more, at least according to him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was supposed to be in (the NASCAR Cup Series) race today,\u201d Burton posted on X. \u201cHad it all signed and done, but this lawsuit situation made it very difficult for us to be able to go and make the race so we backed off. Hopefully next year!\u201d<\/p>\n

I was supposed to be in this race today had it all signed and done but this lawsuit situation made it very difficult for us to be able to go and make the race so we backed off. Hopefully next year! https:\/\/t.co\/WntAhLoeha<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Jeb Burton (@JebBurtonRacing) October 19, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

Burton then left a few more tea leaves to sift through among some trash talk with fans, saying it was going to be with a \u201cwinning team\u201d in the Cup Series. The biggest of which was a reply from one tweet \u2014 yeah, I still call them tweets \u2014 saying that since Front Row Motorsports and 23XI Racing cars are open teams, that it\u2019d be harder to qualify to get in to do so. Burton replied with an emoji.<\/p>\n

\u201c100%.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the first example we\u2019ve had, at least discussed in public, of a team or driver shutting down their chance to enter as an open car with the new rules in place for the team\u2019s part of the antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR. The rules allowing a limit on entries goes on top of all the things open teams are up against, most notably the money they lose out on by not spending more for a charter.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Xfinity Breakdown: Who Else But Austin Hill?<\/p>\n

The charter system has already, in a way, bit Burton in his career. Burton\u2019s first, and so far only, season in the Cup Series was in 2015 with BK Racing. The next year, the charter system was introduced, and with that and a loss of sponsorship, Burton was released and BK shrank from a four-car team to a three-car team.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s not just Burton that\u2019s been bit by the charter system, it\u2019s all drivers that are looking for opportunities to make starts in the Cup Series. Seventy-five drivers made at least one start in the 2015 Cup Series season. That number was down to 61 the next year when the charter system started.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This year, among the 60 drivers who\u2019ve made at least one Cup start, only eight are full-time drivers in NASCAR\u2019s other two national series. Life\u2019s already hard for the smaller teams in the charter system. Add in the pending lawsuit and ensuing rule changes limiting entries, and it\u2019s easy to see why drivers like Burton aren\u2019t getting the same opportunities they were 10 years ago.<\/p>\n

And it might not stop there.<\/p>\n

JR Motorsports, the team that won last year\u2019s Xfinity title and has a chance to put all four of its full-time drivers in the Championship 4, announced its 2026 lineup<\/a> on Tuesday (Oct. 21). The team will continue to run four full-time rides and one part-time ride. However, only two drivers \u2014 Justin Allgaier<\/a> and Sammy Smith<\/a> \u2014 are confirmed to be full-time.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Carson Kvapil<\/a> is going to have to split time between JR Motorsports and another team to run a full-time schedule. Same for Rajah Caruth<\/a>, should he decide to run Xfinity full time.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This could have something to do with sponsorship coming from the drivers involved, or maybe there\u2019s an organizational shift of resources that we don\u2019t know about. However, there\u2019s a few ways the charter lawsuit may influence not just what JRM is doing, but what other teams in Xfinity are going to have to do when deciding their 2026 lineups.<\/p>\n

\"#45:<\/p>\n

Josh Williams\u2019 Talladega Thrill Months After Being \u2018Fired Because He Couldn\u2019t Drive\u2019<\/p>\n

If NASCAR wins the lawsuit during the offseason, there\u2019s a chance that the six charters from 23XI and FRM are opened up to all bidders. That very well might include JRM after it made its Cup debut at the Daytona 500.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Then, there\u2019s Haas Factory Team, Richard Childress Racing and Kaulig Racing. The teams that have a presence in Cup might decide to pull the trigger and turn more of their focus toward Cup racing. There\u2019s already a rumor that Kaulig could shutter its NXS program entirely, which would make sense given that it is fielding five teams in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series next year. \u00a0<\/p>\n

What does the landscape look like for a free agent with fewer established rides available? What does it look like for teams when there\u2019s suddenly an abundance of talent \u2014 even potentially some in the Cup right now \u2014 available to sign?\u00a0<\/p>\n

Few drivers in NASCAR are great enough to have certainty in their long-term future. It\u2019s already difficult enough for developing drivers or those on the fringe of competing at the next level to navigate free agency or part-time deals. Burton\u2019s story of the race he didn\u2019t run shows just how much the charter system, and the impending lawsuit hearings centered on it, trickle down into the depths of the sport.\u00a0<\/p>\n

There\u2019s two weekends left in the NASCAR season. After that, how much 2026 will resemble 2025 in the sport will be decided in a courthouse in North Carolina. And it doesn\u2019t just decide the fate of the sanctioning body and two of its teams. Everyone\u2019s careers, in different ways, weigh in the balance.<\/p>\n

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James Krause joined Frontstretch in March 2024 as a contributor. Krause was born and raised in Illinois and graduated from Northern Illinois University. He currently works in La Crosse, Wisconsin as a local sports reporter, including local short track racing. Outside of racing, Krause loves to keep up with football, music, anime and video games.<\/p>\n

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