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 as charter teams in 2025 while their antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR plays out, according to a filing in the Western District Court of North Carolina.
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.
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Why are 23XI and Front Row suing NASCAR? Here’s what you need to know
The teams are seeking documents such as ones discussing the release provision, the decision to end talks with the teams’ negotiating committee and NASCAR presenting teams with what 23XI and Front Row considered a “take-it-or-leave-it” final proposal last month — which all teams except for 23XI and Front Row signed.
In back-and-forth correspondence between 23XI and NASCAR president Steve Phelps, Phelps wrote, “One party not agreeing to the other party’s proposed changes is not a failure to negotiate in good faith, it’s the process of negotiation.”
“We firmly believe that we have come to a document that is fair and balanced based on the interest of all the stakeholders in the industry,” Phelps wrote in a letter, which was entered as evidence in the case. “The Charter Agreement has been finalized and the negotiations are concluded.”
Front Row owner Bob Jenkins, responding to the suggestion 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.’”
As part of Wednesday’s filings, Jenkins wrote that NASCAR chairman and CEO Jim France told Front Row in a meeting he was not a fan of the charter system.
NASCAR has repeatedly declined comment on the lawsuit. 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.”
Filings reveal new details about Front Row, 23XI
The 157 pages of court filings on Wednesday also revealed previously unknown details about Front Row Motorsports and 23XI’s operations.
Despite being in existence for 20 years, Jenkins wrote Front Row, which currently has 80 employees, has never made a profit. He also wrote that the Daytona 500 payout represents 15 percent of the purse for the entire season. Running as an “open” car — rather than as a chartered team — pays so little from the purse that it does not cover the expenses of going to the racetrack, according to Jenkins.
Because the 2025 charter agreement allows the France family to own charters and there are Xfinity Series teams who would be willing to run in the Cup Series, 23XI and Front Row are concerned NASCAR could fill all 40 starting positions in the field with chartered teams and eliminate open cars altogether.
Regarding 23XI, co-owner Polk wrote the team will need to invest approximately $2.5 million in parts and equipment for its planned third car and hire an additional 27-32 full-time employees on top of the 100 it already has. Polk also wrote that Jordan is the majority owner of 23XI in part because Denny Hamlin, as an active driver, is not allowed to be.
23XI president Steve Lauletta wrote it was Phelps who informed him the charter system would go away altogether in 2025 if enough teams did not sign the agreement by the end of the day on Sept. 6.
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(Photo: Chris Graythen / Getty Images)
