The battle is finally underway! After suing NASCAR last week, Michael Jordan, Bob Jenkins, and Denny Hamlin are ready to don their best courtroom suits for the high-stakes showdown ahead with Jeffrey Kessler and his team. The NASCAR lawsuit has become a hot topic in the sport, centering on allegations of monopolistic and exclusionary practices by the sanctioning body that have tightly bound teams to the series, its tracks, and its suppliers for 76 years, dating back to the first stock car hitting the racetrack in 1949.
As 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports—two teams determined to challenge the status quo—gear up for this critical fight, the pressure is on, NASCAR brings Chris Yates. The stakes couldn’t be higher: if the teams lose, they risk losing their charters and the chance to compete next year. With so much on the line, they must bring their A-game for this pivotal date next week!
The first episode of the NASCAR lawsuit
Armed with a well-renowned legal representative, Jeffrey Kessler, Michael Jordan, and Co. are ready to occupy battle stations. Kessler has won two cases recently: the NCAA Name and Image Likeness case and the Equal Pay Rights case in women’s soccer. Now this sports lawyer has launched his first attack against NASCAR in their filing in the Western District Court of North Carolina.
- The two teams asked the court for a preliminary injunction on Wednesday to continue racing.
- In response, the court judge ordered NASCAR to file this motion on Monday. They also ordered the sanctioning body to respond to the motion for expedited discovery by Friday.
“Very modest relief..It doesn’t hurt NASCAR, except they can’t use the waiver as a club to keep us from competing as charter teams,” is what Kessler told The Athletic when asked about the demands of 23XI and FRM, as the injunction only addresses a clause in the charter agreements.
Additionally, a major step forward was taken—the judge fixed the date for the first hearing of the NASCAR lawsuit case. NASCAR journalist Bob Pockrass updated the exhibit of the filing as well as the situation on X, as he wrote, “The hearing on the preliminary injunction is set for Oct. 16 (next Wednesday) in federal court in Charlotte. The judge has ordered NASCAR must respond by Monday (and must respond by this Friday on 23XI/FRM request for expedited discovery).” So now we know when Michael Jordan and Co. will get answers to all their questions.
The hearing on the preliminary injunction is set for Oct. 16 (next Wednesday) in federal court in Charlotte. The judge has ordered NASCAR must respond by Monday (and must respond by this Friday on 23XI/FRM request for expedited discovery).
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) October 9, 2024
Some of these as included in the filed injunction demand evidence about crucial documents. For instance, files about the mandatory release of the 2025 charter deal, the divide-and-rule tactics of negotiation while shunning the Team Negotiating Committee, and also the take-it-or-leave-it final proposal of the charter deal.
Per the reports, even the racetrack ownership documents have to be presented; “NASCAR’s exclusive or restrictive contracts with independently owned racetracks that have hosted Cup Series races since 2016, NASCAR’s acquisitions of the International Speedway Corporation (ISC) and Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA), and the charter agreement provisions that restrict teams from competing in non-NASCAR events and from using Next Gen parts and cars in non-NASCAR events.”
Michael Jordan and his faction are delving deeper than this. Charter agreement provisions that prevent teams from competing in non-NASCAR events or using Next-Gen parts elsewhere are also slated to be rooted out. This process could drag on for years if it ends up in a trial. But already, we know what desperate straits 23XI Racing was put in that eventually drove them toward this icky courtroom drama.
NASCAR’s draconian stance is now out in public
What further unfolded on Wednesday was the release of a mountain of letters between 23XI Racing and NASCAR last month. After NASCAR handed out its charter agreement with a 6-hour deadline on September 6th, the team cried foul about the short timeline.
However, the sanctioning body was in battle mode, as it fired back on the 11th.
- “The decision to buy a NASCAR team was a unilateral choice made by you as experienced businessmen,” the curt response to MJ from NASCAR included. This axed Michael Jordan’s faith further, as his team lamented about NASCAR’s coercive stance and how it is refusing to talk to the team in good faith.
- After that, NASCAR’s last letter may have sealed any hope for a cordial settlement of the dilemma. It declared that 7 out of 8 points raised by the team “may have been resolved” and failing to do that is not a failure of good faith.
- The last part of the official letter, signed by NASCAR president Steve Phelps, carried a particularly ominous tone. “Obviously if you decide not to execute your Charter Agreement(s) then you are welcome to race in the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series as an open team and we will be happy to forward you documentation. Whether you renew or not, NASCAR looks forward to working with you in 2025 and beyond.”
This ‘take-it-or-leave-it’ draconian attitude may have pushed Michael Jordan and Co. to the courtroom. That is how we now find ourselves waiting eagerly to see what arguments shoot back and forth on October 16th.
