No deal has been signed, but the sides are “close,” an unidentified source who was attended the latest meeting on Friday told NASCARTalk.com.
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The system was likely to be unveiled within two weeks — during Speedweeks at Daytona, Sports Business Journal report. Teams arrive Feb. 11 to prepare for the Sprint Unlimited exhibition race and Feb. 21’s season-opening Daytona 500.
Since June, NASCAR officials and team owners have been trying to complete a plan that would guarantee certain teams starting spots for all races this season and possibly reduce the weekly fields to 40 cars from the current 43.
TEAMS: Gibbs | Hendrick | Stewart-Haas | Penske | Childress | Ganassi | Furniture Row
According to multiple reports, the plan calls for 36 charters, or car franchises, that would be guaranteed a spot in every race. Charters can be sold if an owner wanted to get out of the sport or reduce the number of full-time cars it fields.
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The charter system would also give team owners more economic security with a minimum threshold of winnings earned in a season and supposedly give team owners a greater say in proposed rule changes, something the union-like Race Team Alliance pushed in 2015.
