IndyCar on Monday finalized a charter system for 25 entrants that, while it pales in comparison to the contentious deal reached between NASCAR and its teams over their revenue sharing model, it does give 10 open wheel organizations some guarantees.

The initial agreement runs through the 2031 season and ensures the 25 chartered cars a starting spot in all IndyCar races except the Indianapolis 500. Teams will still have to qualify on speed for the Indy 500’s 33-car field, and that was one of the biggest elements of negotiations as opinions were divided among traditionalists and those seeking greater value for their teams.

Chartered entries are also the only cars eligible for the Leaders Circle program, which is a monetary bonus awarded by IndyCar to the top 22 finishers at the end of each season. That bonus money covers significant portions of some teams’ annual budgets.

“This is an important development that demonstrates an aligned and optimistic vision for the future of our sport,” said Mark Miles, president and CEO of Penske Entertainment Corp. “We’re pleased to have a system in place that provides greater value for our ownership and the entries they field.”

Charters were extended to team owners based on full time entries over the previous two seasons and capped at three per team. The cap most affected Chip Ganassi Racing, which fielded five cars this year.

But Ganassi has created an alliance with Meyer Shank Racing, and Marcus Armstrong will move to MSR after two seasons with Ganassi. It’s not clear what will happen to the fourth car at Ganassi, who also fielded entries for six-time champion Scott Dixon, three-time champ Alex Palou, and rookies Linus Lundqvist and Kyffin Simpson.

Lundqvist had indicated at last week’s season finale that he would be the odd man out with no plans for 2025.

Andretti Global, Arrow McLaren, Ganassi, Rahal Letterman Lanigan and Team Penske all received three charters. AJ Foyt Enterprises, Dale Coyne Racing, Ed Carpenter Racing, Juncos Hollinger Racing and MSR received two charters each.

Prema Racing, which is entering IndyCar next year with two cars, didn’t receive any charters. The team announced last week Callum Ilott as the first of its two drivers.

Most teams were pleased with the system, which is essentially a franchise tag that gives team owners something of value beyond cars, parts and pieces.

“It is incredibly challenging to get a large group of owners to agree on something, and certainly there was some give and take but, in the end, I believe this is a path that is beneficial for all of the owners and for IndyCar, while also maintaining the availability for open competition,” said Larry Foyt, president of A.J. Foyt Enterprises.

But the system does little to move the needle for Arrow McLaren Racing chief executive officer Zak Brown, who wasn’t sure what the team actually gained in the charter agreement.

“I have found that there’s nothing material in there that drives for us any substantial incremental value. So if the hype was this is going to be a big thing and be great for the foundation of an IndyCar team, I haven’t seen those benefits,” Brown said.

“It’s not bad. I think it’s good that it’s a first step. But there’s no revenue sharing model. Indy, I don’t have a guaranteed spot.

“It really only helps, from my perspective, helps in an event if a race is oversubscribed. If we had a (crash) in qualifying ... and couldn’t qualify, I’m protected to make the race.

“From what I can see, that’s what I’m getting.”