With the clock counting down to the start of the 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup season, the sanctioning body and its teams have inched closer to implementing the sport’s new charter system, according to sources.
While both sides in early December proclaimed their optimism of getting a deal done by the season-opening Daytona 500 on Feb. 21, they are now poring over the contract and ironing out details, sources said. The contract is lengthy, sources added, and with stakeholders now viewing the fine print, a snag could still arise.
“Like most things, the devil’s in the details,” said Rob Kauffman, chairman of the Race Team Alliance. “It’s a multiyear agreement, so it’s important that details are right.”
If implemented, the charter — or medallion — system would provide team owners with a form of enterprise value for the first time in the sport’s nearly 70-year history by guaranteeing a limited number of teams entrance into race fields.
Original plans called for 36 medallions in a 40-car field, down from the current 43-car fields, though giving guaranteed spots to all 40 starting positions has been discussed, a source said.
The system also would provide teams with five years’ worth of guaranteed revenue, which may increase from its previous level by virtue of stepped-up payments from NASCAR and track operators Speedway Motorsports Inc. and International Speedway Corp.
“There’s an agreement on the basic points, but still a lot of details to iron out,” Kauffman said late last month. “We’re going back and forth with NASCAR on getting the documentation and all that correct and in place, because Daytona is only 55 days away.”
David Higdon, NASCAR vice president of integrated marketing communications, said in a statement: “NASCAR and NASCAR team owners all have a common goal to make our sport strong and competitive for decades to come, and there has been progress toward that goal. There still is work to be done so it would not be appropriate to comment further at this time.”
Key negotiators — who have included Kauffman, NASCAR Chief Operating Officer Brent Dewar and Roush Fenway Racing President Steve Newmark — worked through the holidays in order to complete the agreement, Kauffman said, including a conference call on Christmas Eve.
In recent months, sources said that among the areas needing to be worked out were how many medallions would be available, the prerequisites to earn a medallion, and whether and how much more NASCAR and track operators would contribute to teams as part of the new system.
