It’s not often that the France family is strong-armed. But when Jim France, NASCAR owner and CEO, was on the verge of funding a car for a Cup Series race, the garage wasn’t having it. What followed was an immense backlash, with many accusing the sanctioning body of what looked like another high-profile case of ‘conflict of interest.’ The entry was going to be operated by Spire Motorsports, with IMSA driver Jack Aitken expected to sit behind the wheel.
Despite Denny Hamlin-co-owned 23XI Racing’s ongoing lawsuit against NASCAR, Hamlin didn’t hesitate to speak out against the France family on his podcast. The veteran racer revealed how “opposed” he was to the prospect of the NASCAR owners competing in the sport, and drew parallels with Roger Penske’s situation at IndyCar.
Denny Hamlin did all he could to thwart the France family
When news about the France family funding a Cup car leaked, many in the NASCAR garage were left flabbergasted. After all, competing against someone who owns the series is ‘problematic’ to say the least. Several team owners felt that this might just be the first step towards Jim France forming his team in NASCAR, similar to Penske owning IndyCar and its most successful team. The NASCAR owners had not competed in the Cup Series since 1972, but were keen on breaking that streak at Sonoma Raceway.
Sharing his thoughts about the ‘plot’ masterminded by Jim France, Denny Hamlin said on the Actions Detrimental podcast, “I think it was going to be a Hendrick-Spire collaboration. What I kind of understand is that, ‘Hey, we [HMS] can’t do it, but they [Spire] can, and we have a relationship with them.’” While Hamlin is aware of what went down, he reiterated that he had to be careful with his words because of 23XI Racing’s ongoing lawsuit against NASCAR. Hamlin continued, “I really can’t speak on this because obviously the lawsuit and lawyers are very, very sensitive to this stuff right now, and anything you say will be used against you in the court of law.”
However, he didn’t mince his words on what he felt about the deal going through. The #11 Joe Gibbs Racing driver added, “I can tell you as a car owner, I fought very, very hard and opposed the fact that the France family could own charters. I think that’s just wildly conflict of interest, and we saw it come to a head in IndyCar, right?”
It’s not the first time NASCAR has attempted such a move. Back in 2023, the France family partnered with Hendrick Motorsports and Chevrolet for a ‘special entry’ into the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The announcement came with hardly any notice to rival manufacturers, Toyota and Ford. A similar tactic was used for the Sonoma race, but with Rick Hendrick already having four cars, another entry was not possible. But that didn’t stop Jim France.
Aug 26, 2023; Daytona Beach, Florida, USA; NASCAR Cup cars on display for fans before the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Mike Watters-USA TODAY Sports
He circumvented the rules by bringing Spire into the picture. The team has an alliance with Hendrick Motorsports, and as Jeff Dickerson’s side only has three cars in the Cup Series, there was room for another. Jim France’s ‘unofficial’ entry would even have a Hendrick engine, a prospect that didn’t sit well with other organizations in the garage. Especially since the Action Express team has won six championships in the IMSA, which is also owned by the France family.
Teams being wary of the ‘conflict of interest’ is justified. As Denny Hamlin noted, Roger Penske-owned IndyCar recently had a big scandal, with Team Penske being found guilty of making illegal modifications to their cars for the second year in a row. While the team and series owner took prompt action by firing three top officials, Tim Cindric, Ron Ruzewski, and Kyle Moyer, and imposing heavy penalties on the team, the damage was already done. Reputation takes years to build, and a second to crumble, and Roger Penkse learned that lesson the hard way. And it’s the kind of situation NASCAR teams want to avoid.
Dickerson reveals his reasoning for teaming up with NASCAR
The agreement between the France family and Spire Motorsports was quite strange. On one hand, Jim France was set to financially support an entry for the road-course race at Sonoma. But on the flip side, Jeff Dickerson claimed that the car would not have been fielded by France’s team directly, but was a ‘Spire’ entry, which was staffed by his own personnel. Perhaps the word ‘unorthodox’ might be right to describe this ‘arrangement’ between the two parties.
Despite Jeff Dickerson claiming that Jim France didn’t get a “good guy deal”, the rest of the garage weren’t buying it. The Spire Motorsports owner said, “I didn’t really even think it was that big of a deal. I didn’t even think it was that deep.” Justifying the France family’s motives, Dickerson went on to say, “Clearly, through the negotiations for the charter, it feels like NASCAR did not believe the teams (about their financial situations). So if the only way for him and for them to believe the teams (is to run a NASCAR-owned race team), then I am all for that.”
While the backlash may have kept the France family at bay for now, it’s not beyond the realm of possibility that they could attempt to race another Cup Series event later this year. Watkins Glen and the Charlotte Roval are two other road courses that are still on the calendar, and neither of them will conflict with IMSA driver Jack Aitken’s schedule. Could NASCAR team up with Spire once again in the future? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!
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