NASCAR Lawsuit: Michael Jordan & Co Face ‘Irreparable Harm’ as NASCAR’s 4-Month Delay Threatens 23XI’s Survival

A November 8 ruling by a federal court denied Michael Jordan and his team 23XI Racing a motion to be recognized as a chartered team going in 2025. Both 23XI and Front Row Motorsports are suing NASCAR on anti-trust grounds and were hoping the preliminary injunction could act as their fail-safe while they continue their fight with NASCAR in court.

Despite the denied request for the injunction, the teams were able to file an appeal, which they did. “We are pleased with the court’s decision to expedite discovery and fast-track the schedule in our case against NASCAR.” Jeffery Kessler, the lawyer representing the team, said after the hearing.

The basis on which the judge denied the motion of preliminary injunction in favor of the team was that Kessler failed to demonstrate how teams would face irreparable harm without the injunction. The appeal made by the team and their lawyers will now be overlooked by the US Court of Appeals. NASCAR has the luxury of playing the waiting game, but Michael Jordan and his partners are running short on time. This is why they want to get the injunction hearing settled as soon as possible.

Michael Jordan and 23XI Racing want a quick resolution to their injunction appeal

23XI Racing and FRM have put in a request that their appeal for a preliminary injunction be expedited. Also, they are proposing to have the oral arguments for the court’s scheduled session for hearing on December 10-13. But NASCAR isn’t keen on getting things quickly and satisfied with a standard briefing. “standard briefing schedule is reasonable and appropriate.” Now, if the appeal hearing isn’t expedited, the next hearing date could be set for March 18 at the earliest, according to an update by Bob Pockrass.

A move that would then force both 23XI and FRM to compete as open teams at the Clash and Daytona 500 in 2025. Trying to turn the tides in their favor, the team mentioned this in the court filings: “Irreparable harm has already begun because Appellants cannot assure sponsors, drivers, and fans that they will be able to compete as chartered teams in 2025-a condition that puts those critical relationships with sponsors, drivers, and fans at immediate risk.”

If the court hearing is pushed to March next year, both 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports would lose their status as chartered organizations. It has to be noted that they haven’t signed the new charter agreement that runs through 2031. After two years of negotiating, NASCAR gave the teams the ultimatum to sign the new deal before the start of the playoffs and all but two race teams agreed to the new deal.

NASCAR’s stance to close out the deal was somewhat controversial. But despite the constant back and forth, NASCAR seems to have heard the concerns of the teams and made necessary changes in the revenue splits.

The teams have the bigger piece of the pie from the TV revenue

One of the vital moments in this negotiation saga was NASCAR bagging a lucrative $7.7 billion TV deal for the next seven years. For a sport that is said to be in decline, this windfall certainly is a huge boost for NASCAR and the teams as well. One of the big concerns the teams had was the rising cost of racing and that the business model wasn’t sustainable for the teams in the long run. Stewart Haas Racing is one of the recent examples of just how tough it is financially to survive in NASCAR.

The teams didn’t get everything they demanded in the new charter agreement. But as far as TV splits are concerned, NASCAR states that the teams are the biggest beneficiaries from the new TV deal, which will help to grow and thrive in the sport. “I won’t go into what the money split looks like, but what I will say is that the amount of money it now puts the race teams, starting in 25, as the single largest beneficiary of our media deal. And we did that because the race teams were upside down financially.” NASCAR President Steve Phelps said in a press conference ahead of the Phoenix finale race.

Not only that, NASCAR has stated publicly that they intend to plan the 2025 season with 32 charters only. This means Michael Jordan’s team and FRM are excluded from the equation despite the ongoing legal proceedings.