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Former Cup Series driver Kenny Wallace recently gave his take on the charter system amid the ongoing 23XI Racing dispute with NASCAR. Wallace claimed that the governing body never should have introduced the charter system and kept it the way it was.The charter system was introduced nearly a decade ago, in 2016. The system allowed the teams to have a guaranteed spot in every race. It also allowed the NASCAR teams to sell or transfer their spots, giving them partial financial security. Reflecting on that, Wallace argued that by introducing the new system, the governing body "opened a door" for the teams to demand more.The former professional race car driver emphasized that the stock car association should have kept the pre-charter system format. During that era, teams had no power or guaranteed spot in races. The governing body decided who raced and how to distribute the revenue.Recalling that, Wallace stated [01:30]:"I mean, listen, NASCAR should have never started the charter. They should have kept it a dictatorship. NASCAR should have kept in a dictatorship, and by giving them this charter. Now the team and boy, you can't; that's why all the other sports got unions. It's a sad thing to say, it's a sad thing to say, and I don't like what I'm saying, but once NASCAR opened that door up, I see what happens. Now all the teams come, all it took was one person. Michael Jordan."23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports initially refused to sign the new charter agreement last October. Following that, the teams filed a lawsuit against the governing body's CEO, Jim France. They accused him of creating a monopoly in the sport, and the lawsuit is set to go on trial on December 1, 2025.“We didn’t ask for this”: The NASCAR president expressed his 'disappointment' in the teams for filing the lawsuitIn August 2025, NASCAR president Steve O'Donnell was featured in the Out of Groove podcast with Eric Esteep on YouTube. During the episode, O'Donnell shared his perspective on the lawsuit filed against the stock car racing association.Esteep asked the governing body's president about his views on the whole situation. O'Donnell expressed his 'disappointment' in the teams and stated:"I can't get into the specifics, right, of the litigation, but, uh, it's important that, uh, I think everyone knows, you know, the teams—the team sued us, right? We didn't ask for this. Um, we're still not sure what they're even asking for. Um, candidly, in terms of an outcome, what we've seen really doesn't have anything to do with why the lawsuit was brought. So it's a little bit perplexing." [33:50 onwards]The lawsuit affected the careers of 23XI Racing drivers, including Bubba Wallace, Tyler Reddick, and Riley Herbst. Alongside the Front Row Motorsports drivers, Todd Gilliland, Noah Gragson, and Zane Smith.
