The ongoing legal battle over NASCAR’s Charter System has created a tense, uncertain landscape for unchartered teams and drivers. The antitrust lawsuit filed by Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan, co-owners of 23XI Racing, along with Front Row Motorsports, has challenged NASCAR’s monopolistic control over the system, arguing it limits competition and suppresses team value. While a preliminary injunction, which would have granted chartered status to these teams for the full 2025 season, was denied, the legal limbo has forced NASCAR to restrict ‘open’ entries to 40 cars.

This newfound rigidity in the Cup Series entry list has had an immediate, detrimental impact on drivers like Jeb Burton, whose entire 2025 season in the NASCAR Xfinity Series for Jordan Anderson Racing was supplemented by plans for part-time Cup racing. His Xfinity team, JAR, is a small, unchartered operation that relies heavily on its own funding and manufacturer support from Chevrolet, meaning every potential Cup start is a crucial funding mechanism for the entire organization.

The devastating personal consequence of the charter saga was laid bare when Burton revealed the cancellation of a confirmed Cup start, as he lamented on X, “I was supposed to be in this race today had it all signed and done but this lawsuit situation made it very difficult for us to be able to go and make the race so we backed off. Hopefully next year!” The Talladega race would have required a team to enter as an ‘open’ 41st car, which has now been curtailed by NASCAR’s new provisional rules that restrict it.

Burton is not the only driver whose career trajectory has been jeopardized by the scarcity of Cup opportunities created by the lawsuit’s ripple effects. Other talented drivers who lack full-time Cup charters, such as Xfinity Series race winners Austin Hill and Justin Allgaier, along with rising stars like Connor Zilisch and Jesse Love, have seen potential Cup Series part-time scheduled reduced to only a handful of races for teams like Richard Childress Racing, Kaulig Racing, and Trackhouse Racing’s Project 91 entry.

Even seasoned veterans and champions like Jimmie Johnson and Martin Truex Jr., who plan limited schedules with Legacy Motor Club and Tricon Garage, respectively, are forced to vie for one of the limited open spots in events like the Daytona 500. Fans, too, are now growing increasingly wary of the charter trouble for teams.

Fans point fingers at NASCAR’s structure

One fan said, “Wonder if 23XI or FRM had something lined up? Although that’s a different manufacturer than JAR. Maybe RCR? And they replaced him with Hill?” While Burton’s Xfinity team, JAR, runs a Chevy, the logical partners for a one-off Cup ride would be larger Chevrolet operations like RCR or Kaulig, both of which maintain part-time “open” cars for Xfinity talent.

For instance, RCR already fields its No. 33 Chevy on a part-time basis for Xfinity star Austin Hill, and the potential for the No. 33 to have been the car Burton was slated for is a direct, plausible consequence. Another fan wrote, “Nascar just ensured those teams would be guaranteed a spot in the field until the lawsuit about the charters was finalized since those teams aren’t charted at the moment. A 41st entry to a race meant one of those teams could miss the race so Nascar basically banned extra entries.” 

To prevent massive public relations and legal disaster, specifically, to avoid the “irreparable harm” argument that could have been used by teams in court if one of their high-profile cars, particularly those of 23XI, failed to qualify for a points race, NASCAR quickly revised the Cup Series Rule Book in July 2025. This revision granted NASCAR the “sole discretion” to limit the number of entries to 40, and that 6 open spots would be awarded to the highest-ranked open teams in the owner standings. Some fans expressed frustration that legal disputes and corporate maneuvering are sidelining drivers rather than letting the best talent compete.

One fan speculated, “I’m thinking it could have been a third Kaulig car?” In the past, for example, Kaulig entered the No.13 for Supercars star Will Brown in the 2025 Chicago Street Race, and previously used it for drivers like A. J. Allmendinger and Chandler Smith in select events. This makes it a plausible suggestion because the team has a documented history of running a part-time, non-chartered entry to give Xfinity drivers or road course specialists seat time.

Another added to that suggestion, saying, “It was a fourth Spire car. The 07, originally going to be also ran by Jack Aitken at Sonoma. The entry for that race would’ve been owned by Jim France, but I doubt this one would’ve been.” Reports from May 2025 revealed that NASCAR CEO and co-owner Jim France was close to funding an open, unchartered car through Spire, intending to put road-course specialist Jack Aitken behind the wheel. Aitken currently drives for France’s Action Express Racing team in the IMSA sports car series, which heightened the potential conflict of interest concerns.

This situation has left a growing sense of defeat that makes fans feel that talent is being punished for circumstances outside its control.