Kevin Harvick Exposes Losses 23XI Racing Endured Over Charter Lawsuit

The NASCAR off-season marked one of the biggest court-room dramas in the history of the sport, with the two-week long trial of the anti-trust lawsuit filed by 23XI Racing and FRM stemmed one controversy after another.  Fortunately, the case was settled outside the court with NASCAR giving the teams evergreen charters and millions in compensation to avoid making the fight uglier.

2014 Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick shared his thoughts on the settlement as the 2026 season is set to start via his Happy Hour podcast. He loved the fact that both sides stood for each other once the case was settled. The veteran then shifted his focus to the pressure that was on the teams’ employees while the trial was going on about future uncertainty.

I did like the fact that they stood up there together and gave solidarity statements. But I think there were still a lot of question marks. ‘Is this team actually still going to be here? If they lose, I don’t want to go to work there right now.’

Kevin Harvick said via Happy Hour podcast.

This uncertainty according to Kevin Harvick ended up being costly for the team, as the Toyota team owned by Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan missed out the opportunity sign some solid names to their crew. This put the team in a situation where they are behind in rebuilding phase for the 2026 season unlike other teams.

I feel like they probably missed out on the opportunity of hiring some employees along the line because of the fight that they were in. There are still things that, from a team standpoint, 23XI is going to have to build back up.

Kevin Harvick added.

Kevin Harvick wants the bas a** culture returned to NASCAR

In the same conversation, the veteran pointed out that one thing the sport as a whole is missing at the moment is bas a** culture that made it special and different from rest of the sport entertainment industry. He believes that sport should go back to that spot where they cared less about what rest of the world thought.

I just believe that the culture I was brought up in this sport — that bad a**, don’t care about what everybody else thinks, we are NASCAR racing, we are different than everybody else, we don’t need to care about everything that’s happening in the world, we need to stay in our lane and not react to every single situation that happens — I think that’s important.

Kevin Harvick said.

Furthermore, he pointed out that the initiatives to make everything fair for everyone involved and attempts to fit in in every box doesn’t suit NASCAR. What makes NASCAR special is it’s uniqueness and the leadership have to keep it alive, instead trying to change for the market.

I think that bad a** culture that we are and not trying to soften that up to make it fair for everybody like we did, we don’t need to fit in another box… We need to keep that bad a** culture that’s always been NASCAR racing and not try to fit into every box that falls along the way. Let’s stay in our lane and do the things that make us great.

Kevin Harvick added.

The comments from the champion driver are on point and is something the NASCAR leadership needs to listen to. Only a handful of NASCAR personals will talk about such bold topics and Kevin Harvick needs to continue being more vocal about the sport.

Also Read: Kevin Harvick Snubs Kyle Larson and Name Five Drivers Who Could Thrive Under New Format

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