Kyle Larson Exposes NASCAR’s Greed Eating Into “Athlete Salaries” Despite Walking Down the Same Road

With matters growing more tense between NASCAR and the two teams, opinions are rolling out. After 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports took a stand on September 6th, the sport faced a major turning point. That revolutionary moment snowballed rapidly as NASCAR now has a lawsuit in its hands. That is compelling some of the brightest of the sport, including Kyle Larson, to expose its flaws.

His own team owner, Rick Hendrick, was among the signees of the new charter deal. But Larson could not help but point out NASCAR’s financial misery. Comparing it with other sports as 23XI and FRM are doing, Kyle Larson revealed a dismal side of the sport—yet acting like it in his own series.

Owning High Limit Racing with multi-time World of Outlaws champion Brad Sweet, Kyle Larson needs to ditch the firesuit for an executive suit sometimes. The Hendrick Motorsports star also intends to follow in NASCAR’s footsteps, as his sprint car series will soon adopt a charter system. Its charter plans started at the end of last season, with 10 charters being awarded over 2024 and 2025. But as the same system is at the heart of the NASCAR lawsuit, Larson spilled over his honest opinions about the Cup Series’ dwindling paychecks.

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In a pre-race presser in Talladega, Kyle Larson talked about High Limit’s charter system, which is a work in progress. He made sure to compare it with NASCAR, learning from the court case. “We’re currently looking at charter agreements and stuff in our series. Yeah, I think there’s stuff that could be learned from it all…for Brad and myself like we are drivers…I’ve been gradually close to Kasey Kahne. So yeah, we want it fair for everybody, so we’re trying. Obviously, it’s on a way smaller scale. Obviously, it’s not an easy charter…so yeah, we’re trying to figure this out.”

“We want it fair for everybody” @KyleLarsonRacin says that the High Limit Sprint Car Series is looking into adopting a charter agreement, albeit on a smaller scale than NASCAR.

Larson also says that NASCAR is one of the only sports where athlete salaries have gone down in the… pic.twitter.com/YFLveswdij

— Frontstretch (@Frontstretch) October 5, 2024

The Double Racer also pointed out the spiraling trend in salaries wrought by the charters themselves, ironically. Cup drivers no longer mint double digits in millions as they used to back in the day, as Kyle Larson said. “Yeah, I hadn’t really thought about much until all of this…I mean, I think probably one of the only sports where athlete salaries have gone down in the last couple of decades…not just athletes, but (also) coaches, staff members – everybody, of course. Obviously, we would love to see a trend upward, instead of the opposite which has been…But to do that, the teams would probably need to make a lot of money to make it viable to pay the people.”

Like Kyle Larson, many team owners and racers are gaining the courage to share honest takes on the situation. But all of this is not enough to shake off drivers’ focus from their racing goals—not even Denny Hamlin.

The target is solid this year

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Brainstorming solutions to protect his team’s future and simultaneously striving for a championship—Denny Hamlin sure knows how to handle stress. And the 23XI Racing co-owner may be doing a fabulous job. While battling NASCAR’s executives in the courtroom for revolutionizing the sport, Hamlin has not forgotten his goals. 2024 marks his 19th year in the Cup Series, and also the 19th where he seeks an elusive title.

Maybe Hamlin will strike gold this time, fueled by his tireless passion. Even as the higher-ups threaten his team’s future in the sport, Hamlin is undeterred.

In fact, he is more motivated than ever; Hamlin currently ranks fifth and goes into Talladega with two wins. “Make no mistake, the competitor in me, you don’t think I don’t want to come out here and win this weekend more than any?” Hamlin bristled on Saturday. “That’s what I fuel myself on, making the 18-footer on hole 18 to win the match. Like, I live for those moments. Anyone that knows me personally will tell you that these moments, you’ll typically get more out of Denny, because I hate to lose and certainly will not justify any excuses to losing.”

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So apparently, the lawsuit is not deterring drivers from their goals. Be it Denny Hamlin in his quest for the championship or Kyle Larson in a charter deal in his dirt racing series. Let us wait and see how this fiasco turns out in the end.

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