Denny Hamlin responded to statements made by Landon Cassill on “The Money Lap” podcast, in which the veteran NASCAR driver questioned Hamlin’s claim that it costs $18 million for 23XI Racing to put a vehicle on the track every week. Cassill initiated the conversation by stating that NASCAR could easily adopt the position of not forcing Hamlin and 23XI to spend $18 million on operating expenses. “NASCAR is not requiring you to hire 100 engineers,” Cassill explained. “NASCAR is not requiring you to rent private jets. NASCAR is not requiring you to spend $250,000 on a pit box.”
Hamlin posted on X that the $18 million he mentioned while chatting with Kenny Wallace on “Kenny Conversation” is only for fielding a racecar and does not include the expense of hiring a driver or anything else, such as team members. Denny Hamlin responds back to Landon Cassill. “Well. “A lot of thoughts,” Hamlin wrote on Tuesday. “First, 18 million is merely for the car on the track to put on this performance every week (no driver). You seem to believe it’s excessive. So we (the teams) presented our accounts to NASCAR to show what that money was spent on and that it was not exorbitant. (The Nas executives concurred). You indicated that everything we make in excess of 18 million is “profit”.
“As someone who established a team from scratch and kept it as small as possible, I know that a race team requires MANY other departments to function. Business, marketing, sponsorship, social media—the list goes on. All of this adds up to a hefty expense that exceeds the figures listed above. That money is spent not only to support our team, but also to help grow the sport through on- and off-track activation. Hopefully, this is useful when discussing this topic.” Denny Hamlin expresses anger with NASCAR regarding charter discussions. Hamlin has been the most open about his dissatisfaction with the way discussions, or lack thereof, have progressed. Hamlin informed Wallace that every suggestion NASCAR
According to Hamlin, teams have asked NASCAR to reimburse their running costs. To this date, NASCAR has not budged. “We’re trying to simplify things by going to NASCAR and saying, ‘Let’s lock arms.'” Let’s do it together. We’ll grant you the right to shop for us. That way, when you obtain an official sponsor, it benefits all of us.’ MLB, like the NBA and NFL, does this,” Hamlin stated. “When they go acquire a league sponsor, each club gets a piece of it, and the league gets a bit as well. It is not like [in NASCAR]. We compete for the same sponsors as NASCAR does. We have our own sponsors, and NASCAR will send them.
And it’s as if we need them the most due to our company approach. It costs us $18 million every year to put a car on the racecourse. We have requested NASCAR to only cover our expenses. Nothing more, just fund our expenses in putting on this concert for you. The response has repeatedly been no. You will get what we give you and enjoy it. And so, if you don’t, don’t take part in this.”
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