NASCAR has instituted “a drastic overhaul of its business model,” shifting from an independent contractor arrangement to a “franchise-like system,”
the
New York
Times
reported.
The move “is intended to provide value and financial stability to team owners after decades of heavy reliance on sponsors,” the
Times
article said.
The independent contractor model had been used since NASCAR's founding in 1948, the
Times
article said.
Under the new system, there are 36 “charters,” which guarantee revenues and a position in a 40-car Sprint Cup field. The field has been reduced from 43 cars, the article said. Every organization is allowed a maximum of four charters. To be eligible for a charter, a car must have attempted every race since 2013.
NASCAR must vet potential new team orders before a new charter can be sold. Each team owner can set his own selling price for a charter; NASCAR will collect an administrative fee, the
Times
article said.
NASCAR chairman Brian France told the
Times
, “This is a very complicated agreement to sort out, with 60 years of history doing business in a certain way. To restructure things in the manner that we did was a very tall order.” (Source:
New York Times
, Feb. 9, 2016.)
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