“No four-car teams”: NASCAR insider advocates for greater parity to break Rick Hendrick and Joe Gibbs’ stronghold 

Jordan Bianchi of The Athletic has argued to limit NASCAR teams to a maximum of three cars. He also advocated for tight limits on technical alliances and said the change would make races less predictable and give mid-sized teams a real shot at wins.

Rick Hendrick and Joe Gibbs' NASCAR Cup teams run four full-time entries and dominate in speed and resources each weekend. Since smaller organizations face an uphill battle to match their technical resources, data collection, driver pipeline, and sponsorship, Bianchi suggested that the cap be implemented to make the field more level and give mid-sized teams a real shot, rather than being overshadowed week to week by the big four-car houses.

During the latest episode of The Teardown podcast, Bianchi spelled out his proposal, saying (10:00 onwards):

"I want to limit teams to three cars and three cars only. No four car teams. Ideally, I would love to go even further and go to two car teams. But I just don't know that that might be a bridge too far."

"Joe Gibbs Racing and Hendrickk Motorsports dominate to an excessive degree. Throw Team Pensky in there obviously with the championships and the playoff success, but on a week to week basis, it's a lot about Hendrick. It's a lot about Joe Gibbs Racing. I want to see teams like Trackhouse and Ross Chastain almost win the championship. That was a cool moment."

Bianchi borrowed Formula 1's two-car team rule and its tight technical rules. F1 added a budget cap in 2021 to limit spending, which in NASCAR has been known to reach about $20 million per car annually.

"I also want to severely limit technical alliances. I want to stand these teams alone," Bianchi added.

Bianchi also mentioned Trackhouse Racing as a recent example of a successful mid-sized team. It debuted in the Cup Series in 2021 and secured major sponsorships with Red Bull this season.

Rookie star Shane van Gisbergen and veteran driver Ross Chastain collected six wins for the team this season. Trackhouse will also launch this year's Xfinity prodigy, Connor Zilisch, in the Cup Series next season.

NASCAR's 2025 charter agreement limits teams to three cars with two exceptions

The renewed NASCAR charter agreement, accepted by every team except 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports under its new revenue-sharing deal, has limited Cup teams to three charters starting this season as reported by Bob Pockrass (via Jayski's Silly Season Site). But Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing remained grandfathered and can still run four charters.

The rule applied to teams that did not run four charters before 2025. Now, other teams can only field a fourth car as an "open" entry, which lacks the guaranteed race spot and full perks of a charter.