The core subject of the NASCAR charter lawsuit is simple. Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin’s co-owned 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports have accused NASCAR of being a ‘monopoly’ owing to its control in the sport and its regulations. Another major aspect of the hearing so far has been NASCAR’s ownership of certain tracks, which seems to be helping the plaintiffs in the hearing. But one man isn’t very happy with how things are going.

This track-ownership aspect of NASCAR naturally makes them more in control of it, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. is still in support of the same. Moreover, he also criticized Hamlin and Jordan’s stance on the situation, claiming that the sport would be in a difficult position if it weren’t for NASCAR owning the tracks.

Dale Jr. warns Michael Jordan of losing NASCAR tracks to Amazon

Most of the tracks that NASCAR races on today were not built recently. They carry years of history with them. But this also highlights a potential issue in the motorsports industry today: people are not building tracks anymore. With the rising inflation and decreasing interest, building and owning a race track is a major investment, considering the land that comes with it. Plus, there would be very limited races that would be held on the tracks, making owners run losses.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. feels this is where it becomes important for NASCAR to own some of the tracks. He criticized the point that 23XI made in the allegations.

“There’s been something made about NASCAR owning the racetracks and the way they’ve sort of restricted use of those facilities has is helping the argument of 23XI. But I think it’s a ‘be careful what you wish for’ kind of thing because number one like no one’s building racetracks,” he said on the Dale Jr Download podcast.

“Building a racetrack today is not a financial success. Running a racetrack today is not a lucrative operation. No one is clamoring to go out there and build any type of racetrack rather big or small. Nobody’s going to be standing on the steps waiting for those tracks to go to the highest bidder.”

Dale Jr. further claimed that if it weren’t for NASCAR owning these tracks, the sport would soon be racing on street circuits in the future.

“And if NASCAR and Marcus doesn’t own these racetracks, right? Who does? They’re going to turn into developments. They’re going to be turned into Amazon centers. They won’t be race tracks. And what’ll happen is in 10 years we’ll be racing on a bunch of street courses and road courses,” he added.

Fans have also expressed their worry of losing some iconic tracks to Amazon; however, nothing seems to be confirmed regarding the same.

There are a number of tracks that NASCAR owns, including the likes of the Daytona International Speedway, Talladega, and Homestead-Miami.

But there is a lot more to the lawsuit than just NASCAR’s ownership of the tracks. The main issue discussed in the courtroom is related to the Charter Agreement. Steve Phelps recently delved into the negotiation.

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Steve Phelps reveals ‘frustrating’ charter negotiation

NASCAR introduced the charter system in the 2016 season. This was to provide teams with security in owning and maintaining their cars, labeling the contracts as Charters. Included in the same deal was a share of NASCAR’s broadcasting revenue. However, with the new agreement signed for this year, teams claimed that the size of the revenue share wasn’t enough, and Michael Jordan and Co. found this enough to file the lawsuit.

There were other aspects to this, too, with former negotiations made with Curtis Polk, who represented the teams. Steve Phelps, who was then the NASCAR President, recently shared some details of the negotiations.

“It was one of the most challenging and longest negotiations I’ve ever been part of,” he said. “The TNC never wavered off their four pillars. It was just the same thing, the same thing, and that was very frustrating.”

It is understood that the teams asked for $720 million in share of the broadcasting revenue. However, the sport did not favor this, mentioning that they would incur a huge loss.

While the trial still continues, Dale Jr’s statement does shed some light on the current state of owning and maintaining race tracks. However, will 23XI and Front Row Motorsports side with him, knowing that this statement would help them in the court?