Joseph maintains the role of Managing Editor for TobyChristie.com, while also working as an Editor for Racing America. Additionally, Joseph graduated from the University of Windsor in 2022 with a Business Administration degree, a specialization in Supply Chain Management and Data Analytics, and a minor in Mathematics.

Thursday, news broke that the U.S. Court of Appeals plans to overturn the preliminary injunction that allowed 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports to compete with charters while suing NASCAR over the 2025 Charter Agreement. Should the ruling go uncontested, it will take effect on June 26th and both teams will lose their charters ahead of the Atlanta race weekend, but what does this mean? We’re here to explain it all.

Contracts voided, qualify on time, and loss of income

The most glaring issue involves guaranteed grid spots. Chartered teams are guaranteed a spot on the grid each week while Open teams have to qualify on time. However, only one race this year has had more than a full field of entries, sending cars home (the Daytona 500). The Coca-Cola 600 was the only other race that reached the cap for field size with 40 cars starting.

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Open teams will not benefit from the financial aspect of the Charter Agreement either, meaning that they will earn far less money than chartered teams every race weekend, regardless of where they finish. Part of that is revenue from NASCAR’s multi-billion dollar broadcasting deal, and only Chartered teams get a slice of that pie. While exact figures aren’t made public, it’s clearly several million dollars.

As pointed out by 23XI/FRM attorney Jeffrey Kessler, this will also compromise and void contracts with sponsors and drivers. Drivers such as Tyler Reddick can move to other teams while sponsorship deals that were locked in will suddenly be in jeopardy. There are clauses in some contract that nullify any previously existing agreements.

With no charters, teams will have to rely heavily on sponsorship dollars and in the case of 23XI, funding from team co-owner Michael Jordan. In this situation, things would likely be tighter for a FRM team owner and restaurant entrepreneur Bob Jenkins. Either way, they will surely be operating in the red as even chartered teams have spoken about struggling to make a profit due to the cost of business.

Michael McDowell, Front Row Motorsports Ford; Tyler Reddick, 23XI Racing Toyota

Jeff Robinson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

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Now, what it does not have an impact on is the championship. The points system is identical for both open and chartered entries. Open teams are eligible to compete in the playoffs and run for the championship. And if an open team fails to qualify for a race but is competing full-time, they do not need a playoff waiver because they attempted the race.

This won’t compromise on-track speed other than being a possible distraction, but an open entry hasn’t won a Cup race since Shane van Gisbergen’s 2023 victory in the Chicago Street Course race in Trackhouse’s Project 91 entry.

Contrary to what some mistakingly believe, losing charters does not mean a team will lose their car numbers. Charters are numbered, yes, but that is not tied directly to actual car numbers.

What becomes of the charters

Another interesting question in this specific scenario is what becomes of the six charters the teams now hold. If this ruling holds, NASCAR could choose to just run with 30 charters, increasing the payout for the remaining teams.

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However, no one is sure what will happen in the case of the charters that helped create the third teams for both 23XI and FRM. They each purchased a charter from Stewart-Haas Racing at the end of the 2024 season, a team that has since shut down. The deal only went through because 23XI and FRM used the courts to push it through. These charters cannot be returned to SHR because SHR doesn’t exist. Gene Haas continues to race, but only as a single-car team in the Cup Series.

Read Also:

23XI and FRM likely to lose NASCAR charters after major loss in U.S. Court of Appeals

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Privacy Manager

Spire Motorsports co-owner Jeff Dickerson has revealed a unique parental approach to deal with his 22-year-old driver, Carson Hocevar, who crashed into the rear of Ricky Stenhouse Jr.’s car in Nashville. Hocevar has made news in the world of NASCAR through his stellar performances, but his aggressive driving doesn’t go unnoticed.

Hocevar finished the Cracker Barrel 400 in second place despite the incident, while Stenhouse Jr. came last. What made Stenhouse Jr. more furious was the fact that Hocevar did not approach him after the race, and thus, the Hyak Motorsports driver hinted at a payback in the future. Stenhouse Jr. even escalated the matter to Dickerson.

Dickerson made it clear to Hocevar that the clash was unnecessary. Speaking on the Door Bumper Clear podcast, he said:

“Full transparency here’s what I said: ‘Man, you didn’t need to do that. You know, you just didn’t need to do that.’ It wasn’t going to cost him anything to let Ricky back in line.”

He added:

“I just wish he would have cut him a break. I have a personal relationship with Ricky, and so I don’t want that to cloud it. I’m like, ‘S**t man.'”

Dickerson then admitted that he counsels Hocevar like a parent. Revealing his mature approach that most likely offers his driver a unique perspective, he said:

“There’s plenty of times I go to Carson and I’m just like, ’35-year-old Carson is not going to be cool with what you just did, or what you just said.’ This isn’t a Carson thing I think it’s in general, they’re too young to know that it’s cool to be like, ‘Man, I f***ed that up.’ Know what I’m saying?

“And that’s where I wish they would help themselves more. But again, I want to teach Carson how it is, quote, unquote.

“I’m not trying to change him. I certainly don’t want to get in car-crashing contests out there, right? And Ricky to me is a guy that, like, he’s not going to wreck our car, he’s going to go beat the hell out of him. You know what I’m saying? Which is how it probably should be, you know what I mean? But you can’t get it until you go through it, right? So, it’s like being a parent, sometimes your kid just wants to shut his hand in the car door to see if it hurts, right? Sometimes you just gotta let them.”

NASCAR on Prime speeds into the Michigan International Speedway for the third of its exclusive five-race package with the Firekeepers Casino 400.

Ahead of the race, host Danielle Trotta, alongside NASCAR Hall-of-Famer Carl Edwards and current Cup Series Driver Corey LaJoie, present NASCAR Live from Michigan, beginning at 1:30 PM ET. Joined by NASCAR on Prime analyst Dale Earnhardt Jr. for select segments, the all-star announce crew get fans ready with the following:   

• Edwards and Earnhardt Jr. reflect on their on-track run-in from 2006
• Steve Letarte serves up another round of libations to his friends as he sets the stage for racing in Michigan  
• The team dives into the importance of winning this race in the Motor City, and home for NASCAR’s three car manufacturers
• Driver interviews as they get ready for command

The Firekeepers Casino 400 is the third of five NASCAR Cup Series races that Prime Video will exclusively stream to conclude the first half of the season. Adam Alexander serves as race announcer alongside analysts Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Steve Letarte in the booth, with Trevor Bayne, Kim Coon, and Marty Snider patrolling pit road. Danielle Trotta hosts Prime Video’s on-site studio coverage, joined by analysts Carl Edwards and Corey LaJoie.

Fans in the U.S. will be able to watch NASCAR live at home or on the go, and across hundreds of compatible devices, streaming from the web, or using the Prime Video app on smartphones, tablets, set-top boxes, game consoles, and connected TVs. For a complete list of compatible devices, visit amazon.com/howtostream. If you’re not a Prime member yet, join today or start a free 30-day trial.

NASCAR on Prime Remaining Cup Series Schedule (All times ET).

• Sunday, June 8: Firekeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway — 1:30 p.m.
• Sunday, June 15: NASCAR Cup Series Race at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City — 2:00 p.m.
• Sunday, June 22: NASCAR Cup Series Race at Pocono Raceway in Pennsylvania — 1:00 p.m.

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With 24 teams in the starting line-up, the Trailers Plus Ontario Legend Car Series – presented by Kevin Ryan Automotive – came to the green flag on Saturday, May 31st in the group’s first Peterborough Speedway event of the 2025 schedule.

Youngster Keaton Pipe and Cole McFadden were on the front row for the 25-lap headliner. Pipe took the early lead, only to surrender the position to Wes Cuthbertson, who subsequently saw hometown favourite Dawson Drimmie become the race’s third different leader within the first four laps.

A yellow flag for an incident in turn three, with five laps on the scoreboard, slowed the early race pace, with Drimmie regaining control of the field on the restart. The pilot of the No. 66 machine would maintain the top spot until reigning series champion Mitch Wright used lapped traffic to take over the lead, with 18 laps complete.

Another caution, with less than a handful of laps remaining, brought the pack back together, with a multi-car wreck on the frontstretch bringing out a red flag. Several cars were finished for the night as result of the crash, but no injuries were reported.

Wright held the hot hand on the restart and claimed the victory over Wes Cuthbertson, Dawson Drimmie, Pipe and Cole McFadden. Gibson Baker, Nick Portt, Jake Spencer-Walt, Robbie Sikes and Joe Sherman completed the top-10 finishers. Matt Thompson, Chase Stievenart, John Milwain, Andrew McFadden, Nathan Killins, Mark McDonald, Rob Eggleton, Caleb Drimmie, Hailey McNicol, Mackenzie Milwain, Parker Traves, Nathan Huffman, Joshua Milwain and Mark Griffin rounded out the night’s running order.

With his eighth-place main event finish, Jake Spencer-Walt was named the JF Enterprises Rookie of the Race. Spencer-Walt, Griffin, Wright and Dawson Drimmie picked up the Ontario Legend Car Series qualifying event wins.

Next-up on the group’s 2025 schedule will be a Saturday, June 14th date at Sunset Speedway before the series returns to Peterborough for the Double Toonie/Fan Appreciation Night on Saturday, June 28th.