Outspoken Veteran Exposes NASCAR’s Motive Behind Shutting Out Michael Jordan & Co in 2025

NASCAR and its charter system have been making waves in the motorsports community, but not for the best reasons. Not only did 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports get together to skip the deadline on the charter deals, but they also filed an anti-trust lawsuit against NASCAR for their charter agreement. In response to that, NASCAR put out a statement claiming that the allegations from 23XI Racing and FRM are “meritless.”

With the lawsuit in motion, NASCAR recently revealed that it plans to reduce the number of charters it runs in 2025. An official statement was made by NASCAR, saying that it plans to reduce the number of charters next year from 36 cars on the grid to 32. This could be a part of NASCAR’s plans to say goodbye to 23XI Racing, but only time will tell their true motives behind the motives. When former NASCAR driver Kenny Wallace heard the news, he started to discuss the pros and cons of the situation, and it’s fair to say that most of it came under the cons section.

Kenny Wallace weighs in on NASCAR’s idea for reduced charters

“Plaintiffs have filed a meritless suit against NASCAR alleging baseless antitrust claims to obtain commercial agreements they previously rejected and to attempt to extort more favorable contract terms,” said NASCAR in their statement in the filing. In the filings, NASCAR also mentioned their plans of reducing 4 charters from the grid so teams can “compete to win the increased prize money and other special awards.”

Upon listening to these statements, Kenny Wallace was not a big fan of the idea. Wallace brought this up in his latest YouTube video, saying, “It says, and is reported by Bob Pockrass, that NASCAR is going to reduce to 32 charters. What’s that all about? Is this a position? Are they moving? Look, you’re in the sun; you’re out of the sun. You’re in the sun; you’re out of the sun. Is that what NASCAR is doing right now?”

It’s clear that Kenny Wallace is not happy with the number of abrupt changes that NASCAR is trying to implement after being sued by the two teams. But instead of sharing his opinions on it, Wallace started to ask a few questions: “If they go to 32, what does that do for NASCAR?” As of now, there are speculations that NASCAR is reducing the charters so that they can get rid of the teams that didn’t sign the agreement on time. However, if 23XI Racing and FRM win the lawsuit, they will have no choice but to run all the cars on the grid, as none of the teams would like to drop a car out.

Wallace shared his two cents on the situation, saying, “I really believe that NASCAR is reducing the charter in the starting field to make it more difficult. There, I said it. Remember, say what you mean and mean what you say. Why else would they reduce the starting field? Maybe the starting field’s going to be the same, but they’re just going to only have 32 charters.” With this, Wallace explains the possibility of NASCAR entertaining non-charter cars to participate in the race.

But then Kenny Wallace’s question stands, “Why is NASCAR reducing from 36 to 32 charters?” If NASCAR wants to continue racing with 36 cars on the grid, why reduce 4 charters? Having more charters will only benefit the governing body, as that means more charters deal money into the sport. It’s still unclear as to why NASCAR has made this decision. However, from how Wallace has described the situation, he doesn’t seem to be a huge fan of the idea.

Updates on the NASCAR anti-trust lawsuit

The antitrust lawsuit between 23XI Racing, Front Row Motorsports, and NASCAR is heating up, with new details coming out in recent filings. Things escalated when NASCAR pushed back against the teams’ request for expedited discovery, which would let them peek into NASCAR’s financial records before a judge rules on their motion for a preliminary injunction. The goal for the teams is to keep racing as chartered entries while the lawsuit is sorted out.

NASCAR’s biggest issue with the request is how much the teams are asking for. 23XI and Front Row want nearly nine years’ worth of documents from top NASCAR executives and contracts with speedways—and they want it all within five business days! NASCAR thinks that’s over the top and not necessary for the current stage of the lawsuit. On top of that, NASCAR reminded everyone that it had extended the deadline for both teams to sign the 2025 Charter Agreement, but neither team did.

The lawsuit had its hearing set to be on October 16, 2024; however, due to Hurricane Milton, the preliminary injunction hearing has been postponed to November 4, 2024. Now all that we can do is wait to see what will happen as NASCAR and the two teams go head-to-head in one of the most controversial legal battles the sport has seen. Considering all of this, which side do you think will win the lawsuit? Is it 23XI Racing and FRM? or will NASCAR pull some strings and dismiss the case altogether? Share your thoughts in the comments below.