October 21 couldn’t come sooner. After nearly a year of legal back-and-forth, the NASCAR lawsuit is edging toward resolution. What began as a dispute over alleged monopolistic practices has highlighted internal tensions over the charter system, with emails and texts revealing disagreements within NASCAR. But now 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports are going to make a run for it, using every trick up their sleeves to get the best deal out.

Earlier this week, NASCAR was ready to swap the gavel for a handshake. Judge Kenneth Bell scheduled a judicial settlement conference 10 days from now. While NASCAR initially sought a new mediator, the court has decided to proceed with the current mediator, Jeffrey Mishkin, who is ready to help everyone find some common ground. However, the two teams against NASCAR couldn’t help but point out the finances of the charters.

NASCAR insider Adam Stern confirmed 23XI and FRM’s filing, stating, “What NASCAR bizarrely calls a ‘massive’ increase in payments to the teams will barely keep up with inflation over the life of the 2025 Charter Agreement and is less than the average per charter payments that NASCAR offered the teams in October 2022.”

NASCAR’s recent adjustments to charter payments have sparked discussions among teams, particularly 23XI and FRM. Last month, NASCAR paid the two teams a combined total of $25,146,300 in fixed owners’ and performance payouts for the first 20 races of the 2025 season.

If the court rules against the two teams, NASCAR plans to redistribute these payments to the remaining 30 charter teams. This would result in an average additional payment of approximately $1.5 million per charter. And the NASCAR charter agreement initially stipulates an average payment of $12 per team over the season, equating to about $333,000 per race.

And the teams against NASCAR are arguing that the purported “massive” increase in payments will barely keep pace with inflation that fails to enhance the teams’ real purchasing power. Moreover, they believe that the jump isn’t massive. However, earlier in August, NASCAR announced that charter payments had increased by 62% under the latest agreement, which was introduced in September 2024. This contract is set to run through 2029 and has become the focal point of the ongoing dispute.

A year ago, after more than two years of stalled negotiations, 13 of the 15 teams chose to resign rather than gamble on a potentially worse outcome. The other two, 23XI Racing and FRM, opted for a courtroom battle instead.

For months now, the 13 teams that started the course, quietly raised concerns that the lawsuit was casting a shadow over NASCAR’s future. That silence finally ended last week as several of the biggest organizations issued public statements, urging both sides to find common ground while reaffirming their support for the charter system that keeps the business of racing running smoothly.

But as the NASCAR president dropped the hammer on why he isn’t on team ‘Trial,’ one of NASCAR’s most respected drivers is done with the entire debate that has turned ugly in the course of this year.

Dale Jr. feels that the legal dispute has been “detrimental” to NASCAR’s success

While Dale Junior has his doubts about NASCAR’s settlement statement, he expressed a clear desire for the lawsuit drama to end before reaching trials. The Hall of Famer has never been a fan of the litigation, and this week, both he and fans saw a potential light at the end of the tunnel.

On the broader impact of the lawsuit, Dale Junior believes it has cast a negative light on the sport. A year of legal wrangling without a trial has fatigued everyone involved, and the potential consequences of a trial remain a concern.

Junior said, “I think there is some concern that this is actively, as we speak, been detrimental to the success of NASCAR. It’s turned a bunch of people off; I think it’s turned a bunch of people away. It has not done NASCAR, or, it’s not done either side any favors. It’s kind of got a little ugly and personal at times. It’s not been a great look at certain times for both sides. I’m on the boat that absolutely wishes this would get settled soon. Everybody’s tired of this, and I don’t know what it would take to get both sides happy. I think everybody’s got their heels dug in and there’s some pride, some ego involved.”

It is clear that the lawsuit is wearing thin on everyone involved, and the fans. Talk of a settlement is gaining traction, and perhaps, where there is smoke, there might be fire soon.