NASCAR blasts 23XI, Front Row for the teams' 'damaging and distracting' lawsuit

Alex Zietlow, The Charlotte Observer on Jul 16, 2025

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The two NASCAR Cup Series teams that are suing the governing body of NASCAR made another move Monday.

And NASCAR immediately fired back.

23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports filed a preliminary injunction to maintain their charter status and to allow them to continue competing as Cup teams while litigation continues. This comes after the Fourth Circuit in Richmond, Va., ruled that the teams could not be included in the charter agreement and also reap the benefits of said charter agreement.

The teams have filed Monday’s new injunction request with the following explanation, according to court documents: “While the Fourth Circuit has vacated the prior preliminary injunction, and the mandate is scheduled to be issued on July 16, the Fourth Circuit’s decision was based on the narrow holding that NASCAR’s release in the 2025 Charter Agreement is not, standing alone, exclusionary conduct in violation of Section 2 of the Sherman Act. The Fourth Circuit expressly did not consider NASCAR’s other exclusionary acts that … clearly establish that (the race teams) are likely to prevail at trial.”

NASCAR responded swiftly, calling this motion “unnecessary and inappropriate.”

“It is unfortunate that instead of respecting the clear rulings of the Fourth Circuit, 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports are now burdening the District Court with a third motion for another unnecessary and inappropriate preliminary injunction,” NASCAR wrote in a statement. “As both the Fourth Circuit and the District Court suggested, NASCAR has made multiple requests to 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports to present a proposal to resolve this litigation. We have yet to receive a proposal from 23XI or Front Row, as they have instead preferred to continue their damaging and distracting lawsuit.

“We will defend NASCAR’s integrity from this baseless lawsuit forced upon the sport that threatens to divide the stakeholders committed to serving race fans everywhere. We remain focused on collaborating with the 13 race teams that signed the 2025 charter agreements and share our mutual goal of delivering the best racing in the world each week, including this weekend in Dover.”

Catching up on the NASCAR lawsuit

23XI Racing, co-owned by athletic icon Michael Jordan and Cup racer Denny Hamlin, and Front Row Motorsports initially sued NASCAR for being a monopolistic entity in a Charlotte court in October.

The two teams did so after not signing the new charter agreement NASCAR put forth to all teams in September — 13 of the 15 Cup Series teams signed the charter deal. Having a Cup Series charter guarantees entry into every Cup race and thus a certain amount of each race’s purse. The first charter deal was brokered in 2016; it was updated this past September.

23XI and Front Row argued that NASCAR operates without transparency, among many other claims, in the October lawsuit. NASCAR has contended that the lawsuit was a negotiation tactic.

The two race teams have been competing in the Cup Series and have been receiving the benefits of being a chartered program even though they never signed onto the new deal thanks to previously filed injunctions. The teams stated again in their filing Monday that keeping charter status is critical in order to maintain status quo as a race team until after the litigation is complete.

“Today we filed a motion in the district court for a renewed preliminary injunction and temporary restraining order to protect the teams’ ability to race chartered for the remainder of the 2025 Cup Series season and prevent irreparable business harm to 23XI and Front Row Motorsports until we can present our case at trial in December,” Jeffrey Kessler, lead attorney for both teams, wrote in a statement Monday.

“New information surfaced through the discovery process that overwhelmingly supports our position that a preliminary injunction is legally warranted and necessary. The teams’ love of stock car racing and belief in a better future for the sport for all parties — teams, drivers, employees, sponsors, and fans — continues to motivate their efforts to pursue this antitrust case.”