NASCAR’s quiet offseason was interrupted by a judge’s gavel over Christmas week, and now we barrel hard off Turn 4 and point to the coming new year and the ensuing countdown to the firing of engines.
(By the way, it’s coming in less than three weeks for IMSA’s sports cars and in just over a month for NASCAR and its preseason Clash.)
Get you a handful of that shifter, show that clutch who’s boss, and let’s go through the gears to recap the previous week’s news — big, small and downright embryonic.
GREAT AMERICAN READ Our book on Daytona 500 history is a keeper and, yes, a great Christmas gift
First Gear: 23XI, Michael Jordan get a win (pending appeals)
Sometimes these news items get lost in the holiday hustle, so in case you missed it during the rush, it was a decent Christmas for race teams 23XI and Front Row Motorsports. A federal district judge sided with the two teams, and they’ll retain their franchise status (“charters” is the industry term) for the coming season.
Without the official charters, the two teams and their six cars (each is adding a third car for 2025) would still be allowed to enter each race, but would do so without a guaranteed starting spot. Chartered teams also race for a bigger piece of the financial pie than “open” teams who cherry-pick races here and there on a part-time basis.
The legal architects design their system to make sure these things never end, of course, so NASCAR has decided to appeal the two teams’ previous appeal. Where? An appeals court, of course, recognizable by its revolving door out front. So stay tuned.
Second Gear: What you get for $160,000 in NASCAR
We all got a peek under the financial hood and learned what sponsors get for slapping their logos and colors on a Cup Series car for a couple of green flags.
The website Sportico, which specializes on the business side of sports-entertainment, used an open-records request to learn (and pass along) what Texas A&M University received for the $160,000 it paid to sponsor a Stewart-Haas race car in two 2024 races.
The opportunity for the Aggie colors and branding to be seen on network TV is obviously part of the deal, although those Stewart-Haas cars weren’t always easy to find in 2024. But if you’re gonna drop 160k for a pair of weekends, you need some guarantees, such as …
∎ Texas A&M received 20 complimentary VIP full-access credentials to each of the two races (can you call it “complimentary” if it’s under the umbrella of a $160,000 deal?)
∎ A race-day tour for university guests — “this is the inspection bay, over there is the Sunoco fueling station …”
∎ A meet-and-greet with A&M’s sponsored driver, which must last at least 10 minutes and include photo-ops.
∎ A minimum of four social-media posts by the race team on each of the weekend, as well as an agreement to “tag the school’s socials in all race-related posts.” Ask a youngster to explain that one.
It sounds like a ton of dough for just two race weekends, but don’t worry about Texas A&M and its coffers. According to Sportico, the school’s institutional expenses for the previous year totaled $2.3 billion.
Third Gear: RFK adds a ‘pseudo’ ride to its stable
The aforementioned Stewart-Haas team has closed shop, but that’s old news you already knew. However, co-owner Gene Haas has retained one of the team’s four charters and will operate the No. 41 Ford with driver Cole Custer, who returns to the Cup Series after two successful seasons in Xfinity.
Aaron Kramer is the new crew chief for the 41 team after serving as lead engineer for RFK Racing’s No. 17 car, piloted by Chris Buescher. On Sirius XM’s NASCAR channel, Kramer said the No. 41 Ford will — operationally — be a “pseudo fourth car” for RFK, similar to the Wood Brothers-Team Penske alliance.
Fourth Gear: A midseason delivery coming for Denny Hamlin
It’s been an eventful couple of weeks for Denny Hamlin, co-owner of the 23XI team that got a positive legal ruling last week.
Denny and longtime partner/girlfriend/fiancee (whatever term fits the modern template) Jordan Fish announced they’re expecting their third child, which is due in June.
Take a look at that June racing schedule. Not only no off-weekends, but with a race on June 1, it’s one of those rare months with five Cup races scheduled. Prepare for the announcement of an emergency backup driver once June arrives, but don’t fear, because in-season NASCAR babies are almost always born on a Tuesday.
— Email Ken Willis at ken.willis@news-jrnl.com
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: NASCAR news: Christmas brings wins for Michael Jordan, Denny Hamlin
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