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AVONDALE, ARIZONA – NOVEMBER 08: NASCAR Executive Vice President Steve O’Donnell speaks to the media during the NASCAR annual State of the Sport address at Phoenix Raceway on November 08, 2024 in Avondale, Arizona. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Steve O\u2019Donnell took the witness stand Thursday as the NASCAR antitrust case brought by 23XI Racing<\/a> and Front Row Motorsports<\/a> moved into its fourth day in federal court in Charlotte. His testimony gave the jury a clearer look at the long-running money issues between NASCAR and its teams.<\/p>\n O\u2019Donnell described a tense March 2022 meeting with Curtis Polk, Jeff Gordon<\/a>, Dave Alpern, and Steve Newmark, where the team leaders warned that the current business system was breaking down. He said they believed the sport\u2019s economics were failing.<\/p>\n According to Kelly Crandall of Racer.com<\/a>, \u201cO\u2019Donnell acknowledged he had no basis to dispute their estimate that it cost about $20 million a year to run one car. He said he \u2018took them at their word.\u201d<\/p>\n Teams pushed for a new model in the NASCAR antitrust case<\/p>\n Kelly Crandall reported<\/a> that Polk asked for \u201ca fair model and more revenue\u201d and said \u201che had driver support\u201d for those goals. O\u2019Donnell\u2019s own notes from that meeting listed key priorities such as \u201cmaximizing TV revenue, creating a competitive landscape, and considering a cost cap.\u201d<\/p>\n Jenna Fryer of AP News<\/a> also described how teams told NASCAR the structure was \u201cunsustainable\u201d and that they were \u201cfighting for their financial survival.\u201d<\/p>\n A major exchange came when Jeff Gordon asked if the France family was willing to consider a new approach. \u201cBen Kennedy first told Gordon yes, but O\u2019Donnell testified that chairman Jim France was opposed to a new revenue model.\u201d<\/p>\n The Athletic\u2019s Jeff Gluck and Jordan Bianchi reported<\/a> the same point, noting O\u2019Donnell confirmed that \u201cas it turned out, Jim France was not open to a new model.\u201d<\/p>\n Tension grew as charter talks stalled<\/p>\n Jenna Fryer reporting<\/a> said teams wanted a charter deal by July 2022, but the final offer did not arrive until September 2024. Teams were given six hours to sign. Only 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports refused, which led to the current lawsuit.<\/p>\n O\u2019Donnell also faced questions about NASCAR\u2019s concerns that the teams might consider forming a breakaway series. The Athletic<\/a> said he \u201cthought through a variety of options,\u201d including the idea that teams could build their own cars with help from foreign partners. NASCAR worried teams could attempt something \u201csimilar to the LIV golf league.\u201d<\/p>\n These details added to the growing picture of how deep the tension had become between the sanctioning body and its top teams as costs rose and talks dragged on.<\/p>\n Jenkins describes the financial strain on teams<\/p>\n Earlier Thursday, Front Row Motorsports owner Bob Jenkins finished his testimony. Gluck and Bianchi<\/a> quoted him saying, \u201cThe median cost is $20 million; the fact I can do it for less helps me reduce my costs,\u201d explaining why that number still matters in the case.<\/p>\n Jenkins told the court he has \u201clost $100 million\u201d as a Cup owner. He said he \u201cheld his nose\u201d when signing the 2016 charter agreements and felt the 2024 extension \u201cwent virtually backward in so many ways.\u201d He described the short deadline to sign the new deal as a \u201cdomino effect\u201d that pushed reluctant teams to agree. Jenkins also pointed to the rising price of the Next Gen car.<\/p>\n \u201cHe testified, To add $150,000 to $200,000 to the cost of the car, I don\u2019t think any of the teams anticipated that,\u201d and added, \u201cWhat\u2019s anti-competitive is I don\u2019t own that car. I can\u2019t use that car anywhere else.\u201d<\/p>\n With more witnesses expected, the NASCAR antitrust case continues to reveal years of financial strain and disagreements between NASCAR and its teams, supported by detailed reporting from inside the courtroom.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tDogli Wilberforce<\/a> is a sports writer who covers NASCAR, Formula 1 and IndyCar Series for Heavy Sports. With bylines at Total Apex Sports and Last Word on Sports, Wilberforce has built a reputation for delivering timely, engaging coverage that blends sharp analysis with accessible storytelling. Wilberforce has covered everything from major football transfers to fight-night drama, bringing readers the insight and context behind the headlines. More about Dogli Wilberforce<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMore Heavy on NASCAR\n\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty AVONDALE, ARIZONA – NOVEMBER 08: NASCAR Executive Vice President Steve O’Donnell speaks to the media during the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":325841,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[446],"tags":[49,48,634,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-325840","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nascar","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-nascar","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/325840","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=325840"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/325840\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/325841"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=325840"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=325840"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=325840"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}