In 1972, when Bill France Jr. inherited control of NASCAR from his father, France boasted to reporters that you could easily describe the series as a “dictatorship” — albeit a benign one.
A recent lawsuit filed against NASCAR by two of its teams allege that this “dictatorship” is no longer benign, and that the series is engaging in monopoly-like behavior in running the sport. Today, we’re going to take a look at the specific examples of antitrust behavior named in the lawsuit.
A refresher on the antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR
Earlier this week, two NASCAR teams — Front Row Motorsports and 23XI Racing (the team co-owned by Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan) — filed an antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR alleging that the series is operating as a monopoly.
The lawsuit is the result of widespread displeasure regarding ongoing charter negotiations. 23XI and FRM refused to sign the charter agreement despite threats from NASCAR; the teams argue that NASCAR stopped negotiating with teams about the terms of the charter agreement back in March.
After that, NASCAR determined the rules of the new charter agreement and required teams to sign them or else face losing their charter — the very thing that guarantees teams the right to race in the NASCAR Cup Series.
Unlike many other sports, NASCAR is run by a single family; every CEO of the sport has been a member of the France family. That family has run the series with an iron fist, and the lawsuit points out several instances of such behavior in the “factual evidence” section.
We’re going to run through these today.
1950: Lee Petty races outside of NASCAR
In 1950, NASCAR was in is second year as a professional stock car racing series — in other words, it was still a burgeoning series with inconsistently awarded points and prizes.
That year, Bill France Sr. was incensed that “his” drivers would dare compete in a non-NASCAR race, and as a result, he stripped several drivers of their championship points.
Lee Petty — father of Richard Petty — was the most notable driver to have faced the points removal. The legendary driver would have easily won the championship that year, but he raced outside of NASCAR and had a whopping 809 points stripped from his season total.
1961: Teamsters try to unionize NASCAR
Back in 1961, Jimmy Hoffa — leader of the Teamsters union — and racer Curtis Turner joined forces in hopes of creating the Federation of Professional Athletes. While this union was designed to represent any athlete, it was initially set out to feature NASCR drivers.
The benefits were great and included pensions, insurance, and scholarships for the children of drivers who had been killed in action.
But Bill France was irate at the idea, telling racers that unionized drivers would be forbidden from competing in series. He allegedly told the drivers, “I’ll use a pistol to enforce it. I have a pistol and know how to use it.”
Curtis Turner and Tim Flock were both banned from competing in NASCAR for life.
Understanding the NASCAR lawsuit:
👉 NASCAR charter dispute escalates into antitrust lawsuit: What it means and what to expect
👉 Explained: IndyCar’s charter system, and what it means for the business of racing
1969: Drivers (unsuccessfully) boycott Talladega
Another unionization attempt, this time led by Richard Petty, took place in 1969. Drivers attempted to form the Professional Drivers Association ahead of the first race at Talladega Superspeedway — all with the intention of boycotting the event.
Why? Well, tires were exploding regularly during practice, launching stock cars into the wall at speeds in the 200 mile per hour range.
In a statement issued on September 18, 1969, the PDA wrote, “Our members are race drivers first and accept the risks involved. But when these life and death risks become both unreasonable and unnecessary then corrective action is essential.”
Bill France lapped the track in a Ford Torino to prove it wasn’t dangerous, but drivers still attempted to boycott the race. Around 40 top-tier drivers left the track after France told them, “If you’re scared, go home.”
Instead, he filled out the field with lower-tier drivers, and the Talladega race went on without a hitch. Humbled, the union disbanded, and the drivers were back in action the following weekend.
2001 and beyond: National broadcast contracts
NASCAR has organized live coverage of its races all the way back to the 1979 Daytona 500, but in 2001, it secured its first national broadcast contract.
Due to the nature of NASCAR’s organization, all the money from that contract went right into the pockets of the France family, per the lawsuit. When the series negotiated an $8.2 billion TV deal with both NBC and FOX, again, was great for the France family, but teams didn’t see the benefit.
Those television deals also brought in impressive investment from companies like Sprint — and that money went to NASCAR and the France family.
2019: NASCAR buys International Speedway Corporation
In 2019, NASCAR bought the International Speedway Corporation (ISC) after spending several years as a large investor. The ISC was founded by Bill France in 1953, though it merged with Penske Motorsport in 1999. Basically, this company was responsible for constructing and running NASCAR tracks.
Much of the current lawsuit against NASCAR alleges that the series’ ownership of the tracks on which it races draw funding for NASCAR. Multiple antitrust lawsuits have been filed against the ISC; it has subsequently been dissolved into NASCAR as a whole.
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