NASCAR Cup Series team owner says 'the sport's going to die'

It's not a secret that NASCAR and its business affairs have created some friction between the sanctioning body of the sport and the teams that compete in its series every weekend.

Team owners such as Legacy Motor Club co-owner and seven-time Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson have remained optimistic about the future of NASCAR, while 23XI Racing co-owner Denny Hamlin recently vented his frustrations about his team contributing more money than Speedway Motorsports, Inc.

Add in the charter system, a system which has created guaranteed entries into each race. Charters can also be sold at any time by a team that holds one, resulting in some fuzzy economics for the sport. The current charter agreement is up after 2024.

According to Ken Benson of the New York Times, most teams expect to lose $200 million collectively over the next five years if nothing changes when it comes to NASCAR's current business model. Benson went on to note that 11 teams have closed, merged, or gone bankrupt since 2016.

The 2016 season marked was the debut of the charter system. Now what was once the golden ticket to buy into the sport has seemingly become the catalyst of catastrophe for stock car racing.

With a murky future and a lack of revenue, another team owner has spoken up on his concerns for NASCAR.

23XI Racing co-owner and NBA Hall of Famer Michael Jordan recently shared his concerns about NASCAR and the charter system. Jordan is among those calling for a permanent charter system, as opposed to the current model. The six-time NBA champion had the following to share:

"That’s a big, big miss right there. If you don’t correct that, this sport’s going to die not because of the competition aspect, but because economically it doesn’t make sense for any businesspeople."

- Michael Jordan

It should be noted that outside of being a team owner, Jordan has been a NASCAR fan his whole life. He shared in past interviews that he and his family were fans and spectators, visiting tracks such as Charlotte Motor Speedway and Rockingham Speedway when he was a child.

In fact, he had, on multiple occasions, denied interest in joining the sport as a team owner, noting his preference to sit back and watch as a fan.

While Jordan may have finances in his mind, it's just as important to note that he may be speaking from the heart as well.

When a superfan who has a net worth of $1.8 billion from business ventures alone speaks up, it may be time for the sport to listen. If they don't, the livelihood of one of the most popular motorsport series could be on the line.