Race teams ask NASCAR for ‘meaningful’ talks
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The fight between NASCAR and its teams over a new revenue model prompted the owners of 16 chartered organizations to send a letter to the series’ board of directors earlier this month requesting a “meaningful” dialogue regarding the franchise model system.
The letter, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press, was sent to NASCAR via email on May 1, the same day the series’ exclusive negotiating window expired with Fox Sports and NBC Sports on a new television package.
The letter essentially represents the entire Cup Series field and acknowledges that conversations with NASCAR have been productive, noting a “tentative acceptance of the economic split of a new media deal.”
But the letter makes clear the main sticking point between the teams and NASCAR remains the charter system, under which the 36 cars with a charter are guaranteed a spot in the 40-car Cup Series field each week and a slice of TV package revenue.
The charters, which are worth millions, require renewal. The teams want to make the charters permanent, but NASCAR has balked, which led to the team owners skipping a scheduled April 5 meeting because they were at a “significant impasse.”
The teams wrote in the letter that the acceptance of the “new media split” was dependent on permanent charters.
“We have seen the market for Charters rise since initially issued, but there is currently no real market due to the uncertainty surrounding the pending renewal process,” the letter states. “In order to continue to invest in our Teams and the sport as a whole, we need to build long term value in our Charter ownership that is stable, predictable, and permanent.”
NASCAR declined to comment on the letter other than noting it was received May 4.
The stock car series in late April began scheduling meetings between individual race teams and NASCAR CEO Jim France and president Steve Phelps. The first meeting was held May 2, a person with knowledge of the meetings told the AP on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the talks.
However, the Race Team Alliance, which consists of all 16 chartered teams, has made it known that its four-member negotiating committee represents all organizations in negotiations.
The charter system was introduced in 2016 to create a franchise model that protected team owners’ investment in a racing series founded by and independently owned by the France family. The charters can be held, sold and leased to other teams, and they can be revoked by NASCAR.
The current charters expire at the end of the 2024 season — the same time as NASCAR’s current television package — and the negotiating committee told the AP last month that NASCAR was unwilling to even discuss making them permanent. The committee consists of Jeff Gordon representing Hendrick Motorsports; Joe Gibbs Racing president Dave Alpern; RFK Racing president Steve Newmark; and Curtis Polk, an owner in 23XI Racing and longtime business manager for Michael Jordan.
The four went public in October to reveal that teams found NASCAR’s current economic model unfair with little to no chance of long-term stability. NASCAR, which is run by the son and granddaughter of founder Bill France Sr., vowed to work on a solution.
The letter sent this month said “substantial progress has been made on a framework to address the economic issues,” but it asked NASCAR to explain its position on permanent charters.
“We would like to directly engage in conversations in order to understand [NASCAR’s] concerns. Items that have been mentioned are general concepts about transfer restrictions, protection from bad actors and dealing with material adverse economic changes over time,” the letter says. “We have reviewed these concerns with our outside counsel and others who are well versed in such issues from other leagues, and we are optimistic that by working together we can work through these or any other specific concerns, just as we did successfully at the creation of the charter system.”
The teams said their request is no different than NASCAR’s “desire to pass along ownership of a strong and robust property to the next generation of the France/Kennedy family.”
“We seek to do the same thing with our families,” they wrote.
The letter was signed by representatives of 16 different teams, including Hall of Famers Rick Hendrick, Richard Childress, Joe Gibbs and Jack Roush.
NASCAR maintains that teams receive about 40% of industry-wide revenue, but the teams dispute the calculation.
An $8.2 billion media rights deal signed ahead of the 2015 season allots 65% to the tracks, 25% to the teams and 10% to NASCAR, according to the series. NASCAR owns the majority of the venues on the Cup Series schedule, including the crown jewel Daytona International Speedway, and the France family owns NASCAR.
The teams have said that sponsorship covers 60% to 80% of their budgets and that they need financial relief from NASCAR because they have become “full-time fundraisers.”
PHILADELPHIA — The NHL referee who was stretchered out of a game following a violent collision with Colorado defenseman Josh Manson was back home Tuesday and expected to make a full recovery.
The league said that Mitch Dunning was home following a trip to the hospital for precautionary reasons after he was accidentally knocked down by Manson in the Avalanche-Flyers game.
Manson skated alone on the ice Monday night when he slammed into Dunning near the blue line early in the first period. Dunning went down in a heap and lay prone on the ice for several minutes. Dunning appeared to be moving his feet and moved his right hand when Manson went to talk to him.
The game at the Wells Fargo Center was delayed for several minutes while trainers and medical staff tended to Dunning.
The game continued with one referee and two linespersons. Colorado beat Philadelphia 3-2.
Dunning is a former professional hockey defenseman who played parts of three seasons in the OHL. He later shifted into officiating and was promoted to full-time NHL status in 2022.
The NHL did not say when Dunning would return to work.
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Greg Wyshynski, ESPN
The Boston Bruins have fired coach Jim Montgomery after stumbling to a losing record in their first 20 games, the team announced Tuesday.
Associate coach Joe Sacco was elevated to interim head coach. The Bruins are off to an 8-9-3 start (.475 points percentage) and outside of a playoff seed in the Eastern Conference.
General manager Don Sweeney called the move “a difficult decision.”
“Jim Montgomery is a very good NHL coach and an even better person. He has made a positive impact throughout the Bruins organization, and I am both grateful and appreciative of the opportunity to work with him and learn from him,” Sweeney said in a statement.
Sacco was previously coach of the Colorado Avalanche from 2009 to 2013 and has been a part of the Boston coaching staff since 2014. The 55-year-old had a 13-year NHL playing career with five teams from 1990 to 2003.
“Our team’s inconsistency and performance in the first 20 games of the 2024-25 season has been concerning and below how the Bruins want to reward our fans. I believe Joe Sacco has the coaching experience to bring the players and the team back to focusing on the consistent effort the NHL requires to have success,” Sweeney said. “We will continue to work to make the necessary adjustments to meet the standard and performance our supportive fans expect.”
Montgomery, 55, had a 120-41-23 record (.715 points percentage) in three seasons with the Bruins, making the playoffs twice. Both trips to the postseason ended at the hands of the Florida Panthers. Boston was stunned in a seven-game, first-round upset in 2023 after having the most successful regular season in NHL history (135 points), and again earlier this year when it lost to Florida in the second round after eliminating the Maple Leafs in seven games.
Montgomery won the Jack Adams Award as NHL coach of the year in 2022-23. He previously coached the Dallas Stars for two seasons (2018-20), amassing a record of 60-43-10.
As Montgomery chronicled in his 2023 NHL Awards speech, his success in Boston came after he turned his personal life around. “Three and a half years ago, the Dallas Stars terminated my contract because of my struggles with alcohol,” he said. “And I had to change my actions and behaviors.”
Despite Sweeney saying the sides were discussing an extension during training camp, Montgomery didn’t have a contract beyond the 2024-25 season.
The Bruins have been one of the NHL’s most notable disappointments this season. They’re 31st in team offense (2.40 goals per game) and 28th in defense (3.45 goals against per game).
Previously dependable aspects of the team have malfunctioned, in particular the goaltending. The team traded former Vezina winner Linus Ullmark to the Ottawa Senators for goalie Joonas Korpisalo. The Ullmark deal broke up the best goalie tandem in the NHL with 26-year-old Jeremy Swayman, who missed training camp during a bitter negotiation before signing an eight-year contract that will pay him $66 million.
Swayman has a 5-7-2 record with an .884 save percentage and a 3.47 goals-against average. After the Bruins lost to the Columbus Blue Jackets 5-1 on Monday, Montgomery said missing training camp wasn’t advantageous.
“I don’t think missing training camp helps anyone,” Montgomery said. “That’s why you have training camps.”
Montgomery has been seen having animated discussions with captain Brad Marchand on the Boston bench multiple times this season. He also benched leading goal scorer David Pastrnak in a game earlier this month.
Montgomery’s firing is the first coaching change of the 2024-25 season. Sacco is the fourth head coach under Sweeney since the GM took over in 2015.
“I’m supportive of Don’s decision to address our current play and performance,” team president Cam Neely said in a statement. “Joe Sacco has a wealth of experience and knowledge of our roster and can help lead our team in the right direction. He has a strong understanding of our standards and expectations, and I trust he will do all he can to accomplish our organization’s goals this season.”
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