A historic moment unfolded in NASCAR on 11th December. It was a sight many thought was unfathomable just a few years ago, as 23XI Racing co-owner Denny Hamlin exchanged hugs with NASCAR CEO Jim France. But on the sidelines, the level of happiness was way more than visible. Hamlin and his partner and co-owner, Michael Jordan, put their team and assets at stake to revolutionize the sport. They did it – and a whole lot more.

What teams owe Denny Hamlin

“Does Hendrick, Roush, Penske – do they tip him [Denny Hamlin] out for that?” Landon Cassill asked Parker Kligerman in a recent episode of Racing America about what Cup Series team owners owe Denny Hamlin. Kligerman replied, “They’d at least buy him a drink.” Then, Cassill agreed. “I’d think a pretty nice bottle of champagne.”

The Cup Series team owners are expected to treat their benefactors in some way. From the big three, Roger Penske, Rick Hendrick, and Joe Gibbs, to the newer owners like Justin Marks and Brad Keselowski, everybody turned rich overnight due to Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan’s sustained fight against NASCAR.

“Technically, he made every team owner a lot of money. If you own a charter right now. And the value creation in that moment, whenever you wanna consider an evaluation of these, is in the hundreds of millions, if not billions. Overnight, in one fell swoop. It needs to be basically permanent charters,” Parker Kligerman said in a recent episode of Racing America.

Indeed, the terms of the NASCAR lawsuit settlement endeared teams to Denny Hamlin. Even though 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports held out of the charter deal in September 2024, the 13 teams that signed ended up falling out of NASCAR in just over a year. The terms included a form of permanent or evergreen charters, a share of NASCAR’s international revenue, and a third of revenue from intellectual property rights. Now, teams are worth way more than they used to be.

The reverse outcome would not have been pretty. US District Court Judge Kenneth Bell made it clear to NASCAR, 23XI, and FRM that they were “burning down the house from the inside.” He constantly pressed them to settle. Bell warned that if it went to the jury and the plaintiffs won, it could dismantle the charter system and force NASCAR to sell tracks that it owned.

Now that the crisis has been averted, however, Denny Hamlin is still out for revenge.

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Demanding a slice of humble pie

Barely two months ago, Denny Hamlin suffered a painful heartbreak. He could not deliver a championship that he has been chasing for 19 seasons to his ailing father. His failure stung him terribly and probably permanently scarred him, yet Hamlin remained focused on the lawsuit. And when he and Michael Jordan won over the sport’s executives, Hamlin was not done yet. Recently, he asked whether SiriusXM NASCAR Radio would apologize for previous comments made by hosts on the channel.

Larry McReynolds had criticized the suing teams and said that they would ‘regret’ it.

In response, Denny Hamlin said, “Good morning. Now that the case is settled and the evidence is out, will you or anyone on channel 90 be issuing an apology for what you all said about 23XI/FRM when the lawsuit was filed?”

He added, “I believe it was ‘how dare them for trying to come in and change the sport. 23XI hasn’t been around long enough, and FRM wasn’t good enough’. Also, how about ‘I don’t know what their problem is, 13 other teams signed it’. Just to name a few examples.”

Clearly, Denny Hamlin is on a fiery win streak in 2025, despite his championship loss. As 2026 peeks around the corner, let’s see what unfolds.