Michael Jordan’s 23XI Racing team and Front Row Motorsports on Wednesday asked a federal judge to grant them a preliminary injunction that would allow them to continue racing in 2025 while their antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR plays out, the teams announced.
The injunction request centers around a release in NASCAR’s 2025 charter agreements that the teams interpret as barring them from taking antitrust action against the sanctioning body. 23XI and Front Row want that provision to be waived before their charters expire at midnight on Dec. 31 so they can sign the 2025 agreement and continue to receive their full allotment of race winnings until the case is resolved.
Holding a charter, which functions like a franchise for race teams, guarantees a starting spot in all 36 NASCAR Cup Series points races. Charter teams earn a share of the $1.1 billion per year in television money NASCAR will collect from a new TV deal starting next year.
The attorney for the two teams, Jeffrey Kessler, told The Athletic they were asking for “very modest relief” from the judge because the injunction only addressed one clause in the charter agreements.
“It doesn’t hurt NASCAR, except they can’t use the waiver as a club to keep us from competing as charter teams,” he said.
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The preliminary injunction would be heard and ruled on by a federal judge in Charlotte, N.C., before the end of the year, while Kessler estimated the case could take one to two years if it goes to a full jury trial.
In the meantime, the teams are also asking the court for an expedited discovery process, which would enable them to have access to key financial records and communications between NASCAR executives before the preliminary injunction hearing.
The teams are seeking documents such as ones discussing the release provision, the decision to end talks with the teams’ negotiating committee and presenting teams with the “take-it-or-leave-it” final proposal last month — which all teams except for 23XI and Front Row signed.
NASCAR has repeatedly declined comment on the lawsuit. NASCAR chairman and CEO Jim France, who is named in the suit, also declined comment on Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway.
“I hope that our filings today highlight for Cup teams, their drivers, employees, sponsors and fans how restrictive is the economic system that we operate under,” 23XI co-owner Curtis Polk told The Athletic. “This system is what enabled a take-it-or-leave-it offer, coupled with the threat of losing our charters, on September 6.”
Front Row owner Bob Jenkins, responding to the perception that the charter disagreement dispute was part of a typical negotiation process, told The Athletic that was not the case at all.
“We didn’t get anything we wanted,” he said. “We got a bigger percentage of the purse (than before), but NASCAR got the right to spend a lot more of that money. “… Once (the charter agreements) become public, I think the typical race fan will look at this and say, ‘Wow, this really was a very onerous deal for the owners.’”
(Photo: Chris Graythen / Getty Images)
