TALLADEGA, Ala.-- It's most fitting that NASCAR this weekend races at Talladega Superspeedway, sight of one of the first major disputes between drivers and the top stock car series in the United States.
It was at the Alabama track's 1969 debut race when the NASCAR-despised Professional Driver Association led by Richard Petty deemed the track too dangerous and not ready for competition.The PDA wanted to postpone the race, NASCAR founder Bill France said no and things quickly turned contentious.
So 36 of NASCAR's regulars boycotted the event, but France made sure the show went on without them.And now here we are, 55 years later, back at Talladega with the France family again under challenge.
This time from only two teams — the Michael Jordan-owned 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports — who this week filed an antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR over its charter system.The two organizations are the only ones among 15 that refused to sign the take-it-or-leave-it agreement NASCAR dropped on the owners 48 hours before last month's playoff opener.
They filed suit Wednesday against NASCAR, which is in the thick of the playoffs with six races remaining starting Sunday at Talladega.“It's obviously the biggest story in the sport currently, and probably one of the biggest stories in a long time,” Hendrick Motorsports driver Kyle Larson said.
And so instead of the focus being on Sunday's middle race of the round of 12, where drivers need to secure their spot in the standings ahead of next week's elimination race at Charlotte, the talk is centered on the brewing legal battle.Denny Hamlin, the three-time Daytona 500 winner who co-owns 23XI Racing with Jordan, said the lawsuit won't distract him from trying to win his first Cup Series championship.
In fact, he's more motivated than ever.Hamlin is ranked fifth in the standings and a two-time Talladega winner.
"Make no mistake, the competitor in me, you don’t think I don’t want to come out here and win this weekend mo...