Just days after 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports concluded the antitrust lawsuit with favorable results, they are in for more good news. The catch is: It’s an update that’s going to leave NASCAR executives very happy as well.

“Several NASCAR team investors and industry executives feel charter values have gone up overnight with the establishment of evergreen provisions, with the most bullish of them predicting a near doubling of value right away,” journalist Adam Stern wrote on X.

According to Sports Business Journal, some industry executives predicted the prices to reach $50 million. For context, the year charters were introduced in 2016, Michael Waltrip Racing sold two of theirs for $1.25 million to $3.25 million, per court documents. However, by 2021, the sale price increased to $7 million when FRM sold its charter to Rick Ware Racing. The very next year, when the latter sold its charter to Spire Motorsports, it sold for 20% more for $15 million. That’s not all.

By 2024, that price went up to a staggering $40 million when Live Fast Motorsports sold its charter to Spire Motorsports. No wonder many executives, including NASCAR SVP and Chief Strategy Officer Scott Prime, are also estimating future charter prices to reach $90-100 million as per SBJ. But it’s not just teams who will benefit from these high prices.

As per the new permanent charter framework, NASCAR will be entitled to receive 2 percent to 10 percent from all charter sales. This means, if a sale really happens for $100 million, the organization will automatically pocket somewhere between $2 million to $10 million.

Former Richard Petty Motorsports owner, Andrew Murstein, also theorized the same.

“As I had been saying for years and always believed when I owned Richard Petty Motorsports, this outcome was inevitable and a no-brainer, to be honest,” he said. “A rising tide lifts all boats. This settlement is a clear example of that philosophy… NASCAR is ensuring long-term value for everyone involved. It’s truly a win-win scenario.

“And when franchise values rise, which they naturally will because of this permanence, it benefits not just the teams but NASCAR itself.”

Clearly, the lawsuit’s prospects are already looking solid. But what was the final tipping factor in ensuring this future?

Probably a scathing letter

Over the course of the past two weeks, a lot of jaw-dropping evidence has been made public. Bob Jenkins revealed how he lost about $100 million due to NASCAR’s monopoly. Then Rick Hendrick divulged his $20 million loss over the last 5 years despite winning two championships. But what truly appeared as the nail in the coffin was a scathing letter written by Bass Pro Shops owner Johnny Morris. NASCAR’s long-time sponsor had partnered with Dale Earnhardt Sr. in the past.

“I believe the owner of Bass Pro Shop, Johnny Morris, is asking for Steve Phelps to be fired by NASCAR because at the end of the letter, he said if a commissioner of baseball were to act like Steve Phelps is, it wouldn’t be long, and he would be gone,” opined Xfinity Series veteran Kenny Wallace recently.

Morris bashed the controversial comments posted about Richard Childress. The comments were by Steve Phelps, NASCAR commissioner, who already faced fire from fans. He called Childress a ‘stupid redneck,’ a ‘dinosaur.’ He also called him somebody who needs ‘to be taken out back and flogged.’ And Morris clearly said that leadership, which includes Phelps, needs to be handled sternly.

This may have turned the tide entirely in the teams’ favor. Nevertheless, now the NASCAR Cup Series can look forward to a bright, happening future ahead.