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Denny Hamlin on Stalled NASCAR Charter Talks: "They Don't Value Us" · Kenny Wallace Media

• 0:00
  At Playoff media day, Denny Hamlin said that charter
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  negotiations between NASCAR and the teams have stalled.
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  Speaking of money, where is the charter conversation right now?
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  Stagnant. What has what stagnant?
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  Stagnant. What has to be done from either
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  side to move it to the next level?
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  One side we'll have to wake up and be reasonable, that's all.
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  Which side? Not ours, not ours.
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  What made Curtis wear that shirt?
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  That sign on his shirt? Frustration.
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  Anything else? Did he send him?
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  Do you think his message was received?
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  I'm not sure, you know, I was certainly pretty disappointed to
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  not see anyone from NASCAR present Tyler his trophy.
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  That was a little disappointing. Do you think that was personal?
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  I I don't know, it's first I've seen do.
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  You feel like we're getting the story.
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  I, I say we, you know, we read stories that it's getting closer
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  and closer. You're, you're always saying,
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  you know, stagnant. How is how are the fans?
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  Who's telling you it's getting closer and closer?
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  Well, we ask her. Yes, thank you.
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  Of course they they want it to, but it's the truth is that they
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  keep going the wrong direction. But then you're saying stagnant
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  and you're on the other side. We're getting both, you know,
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  but you're telling the truth. And it's.
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  I, I, I believe I am from our standpoint, but it's, you know,
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  I, it's just, it's, it depends on who you ask, but certainly I
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  feel like, yeah, there's, there's probably a handful of
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  teams that are just happy to take any deal that they, they
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  can get and there's others with, you know, some business sense
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  that says this is unreasonable can.
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  You talk to them, the teams that.
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  Are yeah, of of course, and but everyone's going to do what
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  their own, you know, what they want to do that's best for their
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  team and and everyone, each one of the teams will execute an
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  agreement that they feel is fair for themselves.
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  You are the vocal team owner, but do you have people in your
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  ear or yanking on you to say, hey, can you do this for us?
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  Can you say this on your podcast?
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  Can you get this word? Out, I think not directly, no,
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  but they don't hate it either. But I, you know, I'm not, you
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  know, I don't love being the megaphone.
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  I wish some of these other owners who are griping to me
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  through, you know, text and calls would just do it publicly
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  themselves. But that, you know, I think that
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  they they fear push back, you know, but what's the?
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  Fear of push back though, yeah. Yeah, that's The thing is we're
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  all trying to improve the sport and grow the sport and we all
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  want that. We all want what's best for the
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  sport. Sport does great, we will do
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  better. So I think we all just need to
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  figure out how to lock arms and and do it together.
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  But you know, we don't have any agreement in front of us that is
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  is locking of arms. It's all one sided.
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  Are the younger owners more? Vocal because your future, you
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  know, the older owners, their futures intact.
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  I mean you have. To worry about, I mean, I guess
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  you know, people see me gripe, but you don't have to realize
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  that I, I made a good living in this as a NASCAR driver and I
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  chose to invest back in the France family in NASCAR and they
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  are yet to show me an opportunity where I'm going to
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  get that back. Denny with 10 races left, can a
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  charter deal get done? And what happens if it's not
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  done by Phoenix? If it doesn't happen, OK, Can a
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  charter deal get done? Yeah, absolutely it could, but
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  again, someone will have to wake up and have a completely
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  different mindset and I just don't know that that is going to
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  be possible. So you know what happens if the
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  season ends, then we retain all of our rights and.
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  That's clear. You retain your rights.
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  Yeah, we don't have a charter agreement.
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  We we don't, we don't owe the series anything and they don't
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  owe us anything. So it goes both ways for sure.
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  Do you have? Bargaining from racing?
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  What's that? Can they stop you from racing?
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  Without charters, I don't think so, Yeah.
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  I don't think they can stop you from racing.
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  I mean, Joe and Joe and Billy's garage can put a car together
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  and and run a race in the way our sport is formed.
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  Right now, Shirt said. I don't want my charter taken
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  away. Like, is that a threat?
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  Yeah, What's the threat? Oh well, that's if you speak
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  negatively. Say some negative.
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  Stuff, yeah. If they don't, if they don't
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  like what you say, they yeah, they're trying to reserve the
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  right. To be measured.
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  I don't know how you it's subjective.
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  How do you even who's the who's the jury, the judge and the
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  executioner? Sounds like we saw the same
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  person. It's never the same person.
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  Right. It's never been the same person,
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  but now they're proposing it is. Which is who?
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  Them. That's just.
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  Who them as a collective that's not a?
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  One whoever's in charge, OK. So you don't know still.
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  No, I don't know, I. Don't know.
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  Do you have many bargaining chips left as the owners group
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  where you know first it was ATV deal and then the whole Netflix
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  thing and NASCAR's doing their own, you know, scenario where
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  they can feature the drivers. I don't know what drivers will
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  be in it. What chips are left on the
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  table? Is it only the negative, like
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  afraid you're going to get something?
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  I don't know. Is that what's left from their
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  side is to crack down or from your side?
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  Do you have any bargaining chips left if they can't stop you from
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  racing? Yeah, I mean, I'm not really
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  sure, you know, where, where leverage lies.
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  It's it, you know, I would argue both sides feel like they they
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  have some, but I think it's more just of a frustration of the
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  lack of acknowledgement that the teams have built the sport.
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  The the Hendrick and Gibbs putting superstars on the
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  racetrack. That is what is built the sport.
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  You know, fans do not come to see cars going around in
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  circles. If they would, then we would
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  sell out ARCA races. But they don't.
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  They come to sell out on Sunday to watch Chase Elliott and Kyle
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  Larson and Kyle Busch. So who provides them the cars?
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  And that's the teams who spends the money?
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  That's the teams whose sponsors go buy a suite.
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  That's the teams whose sponsors activate in their midway.
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  The teams that's that's that's the tough part that does they
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  just they don't value us. When this negotiation all
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  started, you think we can get to the playoffs this year without a
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  deal in place? What's that?
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  When the when the talk started, did you think we get to the
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  playoffs this year with no deal in place?
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  Oh, yeah, I had, I, I had a feeling this is going to go all
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  the way to the 11th hour for sure.
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  And, you know, there's just been a lot of stall tactics that have
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  been in play, and here we are. As a as a owner driver, do you
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  think it's a distraction for you?
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  Personally, under the no, I, I mean, certainly I'm going to
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  thrive in chaos. That's my MO.
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  But, but generally speaking, I, you know, I I always prepare as
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  much as I can as a driver, do my job as an owner, do my job as a
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  podcaster. And, you know, certainly, you
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  know, are my days filled now with disgruntled people calling
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  me saying we got to do this, we got to do that?
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  Yeah, absolutely. But it doesn't change when I put
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  my helmet on. I'm always going to be locked
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  in. Your legacy in the sport, you've
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  got a Daytona 500, you don't have a championship yet, but
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  your legacy now is changing in how you are being so vocal here.
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  And the fans are taking notice, that's for sure.
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  Maybe the series doesn't need to, but do you feel like this is
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  a big important part for your legacy for the series moving?
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  Forward, I'm just trying to make it better than what it was and,
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  and still try to grow it. And, and it's unfortunate, you
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  know, I, I, I wish I had a bigger role in it, You know, I
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  tried to, but you do. Yeah, I, I, I do.
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  Certainly there's been some changes that have happened
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  around conversations that you have.
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  And I think that NASCAR for a while has been very receptive to
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  listening to advice and some things.
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  But you know, certainly we're, when it comes to dollars and
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  cents, that's where we're, we're in two different ballparks.
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  And I just as a driver, I've put in 20 years doing this and I, I
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  feel like I've tried to do my best to grow social following,
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  giving more content, things like that, trying to update the
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  times, right? I tried to start a race team to
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  build my legacy well beyond being a race car driver itself,
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  being part of the sport, investing in gym, France gym,
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  investing in NASCAR, you know, but it's, you know, I, I'm doing
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  my part. But certainly, I think probably
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  from their standpoint, they just see me as a throne on their side
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  and more likely would be better off without me.
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  Have they? Warned you.
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  Have they ever warned you? Come to you and said, you know,
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  hey, you can temper it, take it down.
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  Of course. Yeah, of.
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  Course, and so you do know who is up there telling you to not
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  do that. It's you said them.
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  Yeah, yeah. I mean, I there's a group, but
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  definitely there's, there's always a, a top to the to the
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  peak. If you buy a charter rather it
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  they're active right now, they're going to expire.
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  If you own it and you abide by all the rules and you finish
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  where you're supposed to finish, how can they take it from you?
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  I don't know, it doesn't make sense.
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  So how can they threaten that if you disparage them?
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  Like what? What legal standing do they?
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  Have I'm not sure. OK, it would have to be explored
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  for sure, but. You're right, even if it
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  expires, you still own it. The expiration is up to them.
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  If it if it's expired, it's worthless, but if he still owns
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  it and and they run their mouths about it and they try to take
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  it, I would feel there's a legal challenge there.
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  You bought it. I don't know, yeah.
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  You own it. Surely.