Joe Gibbs Racing blamed for NASCAR – Sports News
After 13 years racing within the NASCAR Cup Series, competing in 326, successful 18, and clinching the 2017 championship courtesy of Martin Truex Jr., Furniture Row Racing closed up store for good after the 2018 season.
This dire destiny of this small workforce was one of the topics of dialogue on Tuesday during the continuing antitrust lawsuit filed by 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports towards NASCAR in October 2024, when each groups opted towards signing the new constitution settlement, believing the group to be working towards “monopolistic” behaviour.
Not solely was the workforce’s demise mentioned, however with NASCAR commissioner Steve Phelps on the stand, he positioned accountability on Joe Gibbs Racing.
In FRR’s fascinating time within the Cup Series, it went all out in 2017, fielding two charters, pushed by Truex Jr. and Erik Jones, with the previous occurring to beat Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, and Brad Keselowski to the title, with the Series champion taking the checkered flag within the season-finale at Homestead–Miami Speedway.
However, after the season, it bought Jones’ constitution to JTG Daughterty Racing for an unspecified charge, with the driving force heading to JGR.
The following season proved its final, with Truex Jr. ending second within the championship to Team Penske’s Joey Logano earlier than it bought its sole constitution to Spire Motorsports for $6 million.
Discussing the destiny of FRR, Phelps informed the court docket, through Matt Weaver, “They spent upwards of $45 million to win the championship with their car and driver. My understanding is that in 2017, they spent $3 million on a Joe Gibbs Racing technical alliance, and then after winning the championship, were charged $10 million.”
Furthermore, as per Joseph Srigley, Phelps claimed JGR upped its alliance charge to $15 million following its 2017 title victory.
This isn’t the primary time JGR has come up during the course of this courtroom battle, with FRM proprietor Bob Jenkins revealing that Joe Gibbs himself believed he had let his fellow workforce homeowners down by signing the settlement.
Jenkins claimed groups have been handed a last 112-page settlement on Friday, September 6, 2024, with a deadline of midnight by which they needed to signal it. With groups left speeding to determine whether or not or to not signal the settlement, this led to an emotional exchange between workforce homeowners.
“There was a lot of passion, a lot of emotion, especially from Joe Gibbs,” Jenkins recalled. “He felt like he had to sign it. Joe Gibbs felt like he let me down by signing. Not a single owner said, ‘I was happy to sign it. Not a single one.’”
JGR co-owner Heather Gibbs additionally testified in Charlotte, claiming that they felt they’d no alternative burn to signal the settlement, though they didn’t need to achieve this. NASCAR president Steve O’Donnell is even mentioned to have threatened JGR workforce president Dave Alpern with the loss of their charters, through Jeff Gluck.
What’s more, Joe Gibbs supposedly spoke straight with NASCAR CEO Jim France, telling him, “Don’t do this to us!” France’s response to this was seemingly chilling, saying, “If I wake up and I have 20 charters, I have 20. If I have 30, I have 30.”
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