NASCAR Set To Formally Unveil Sport's New Charter System

NASCAR will formally unveil its new charter system today at the Charlotte Convention Center. Sources indicated that the deal, which will attempt to give owners a form of long-term enterprise value for the first time in the sport's history with a system analogous to franchising, is for five years plus a four-year option. This is so the deal can run through the duration of NASCAR's TV-rights agreements, which last through '24. The deal was approved two weeks ago and signed last week, sources said.

The new system will reduce fields from 43 cars to 40 and charter 36 of them, doling out charters to cars that have run full-time since '13. Owners will be able to have multiple charters, and a charter will guarantee a starting spot in the grid plus a guaranteed amount of income over five years.