NASCAR this afternoon will officially unveil the sport's new charter system at the Charlotte Convention Center. Sources said that the deal is for five years with a four-year option. This is so the deal can run through the duration of NASCAR's TV-rights deals, which last through '24. The agreement was approved two weeks ago and signed last week, sources said. The system, which will reduce Sprint Cup fields from 43 cars to 40 and charter 36 of them, will dole out charters to cars that have run full time since '13. Owners will be able to have multiple charters -- sources say there may be a limit of three, except for teams who currently qualify for four -- and a charter will guarantee a starting spot in the grid, as well as a guaranteed amount of income over five years. That leaves some newer Sprint Cup entries for Stewart-Haas Racing (No. 41), Joe Gibbs Racing (No. 19) and Team Penske/Wood Brothers Racing (No. 21) without charters to start. Sources said teams for months have been discussing possible charter sales for once the system was implemented. RTA Chair Rob Kauffman, the principal owner of the now-shuttered Michael Waltrip Racing, will get two charters. He has told THE DAILY that he likely will sell them. He added that the most likely recipients of his two charters are JGR and SHR.
CHANGING THE BUSINESS STRUCTURE: Getting a charter will now be vital for serious business owners, sources said, because payments will be significantly less for non-chartered teams. The valuations of the charters to start is the subject of much debate in industry circles, but sources are almost unanimously pegging them as likely to go for somewhere in the $1-10M range. Theoretically, when an owner is getting out of the sport, the owner will be able to sell these charters to try to recoup (if not profit from) their investment. While the guaranteed starting spot that the charter grants has been gaining a lion's share of attention from mainstream media, sources said one element just as important is the new way payouts to teams are structured, including for things like historical importance to the sport. Sources said the system will not grant teams a massively increased amount of money from NASCAR and track operators to start, but the amount is slated to increase concurrently as the years go in conjunction with rises in revenue streams, namely TV payments. Sources added that key execs involved in making the deal happen include Kauffman, NASCAR COO Brent Dewar, Roush Fenway Racing President Steve Newmark and Hendrick Motorsports President & COO Marshall Carlson -- all with the blessing of NASCAR Chair & CEO Brian France.
