Winston & Strawn has filed an antitrust lawsuit accusing NASCAR of maintaining an unlawful monopoly over premier stock car racing in the United States.
“Stock car racing teams can only compete at the top-tier level in the United States if they agree to NASCAR’s anticompetitive terms,” according to the allegations in the complaint. “NASCAR has foreclosed any potential competitor from accessing the high-quality tracks or teams needed to develop a competing circuit.”
The complaint, filed Wednesday in North Carolina federal court, was surfaced by Law.com Radar.
NASCAR requires stock car race teams to sign “one-sided contracts” preventing them from competing elsewhere, according to the complaint submitted by Winston partner Danielle T. Williams on behalf of two teams with recent victories in the NASCAR Cup Series.
Front Row Motorsports Inc. and 23XI Racing allege NASCAR through its CEO Jim France has continued an alleged family practice of restraining competition in the U.S. stock car racing market in violation of the Sherman Act.
“The France family and NASCAR are monopolistic bullies,” the complaint alleges. “And bullies will continue to impose their will to hurt others until their targets stand up and refuse to be victims. That moment has now arrived.”
The France family has owned and controlled NASCAR since its founding in 1948, according to the complaint.
“NASCAR has used its monopoly power and exclusionary conduct to impose terms upon the racing teams that ensure that a majority of the revenues generated by stock car racing in the United States will go to NASCAR and the France family, at the expense of the teams and their drivers, who are most responsible for generating those revenues,” the complaint alleges.
A large chunk of NASCAR’s revenue comes from broadcast deals with TV networks worth $23.1 billion since 2001, according to the complaint.
NASCAR acquired International Speedway Corp. for $2 billion in 2019 and has “full control” over 13 premier racetracks in the United States, including Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway, according to the complaint.
Most teams competing in the NASCAR Cup Series are “forced” to sign contracts or charter agreements that include “one-sided economic terms favoring NASCAR and the France family,” the complaint alleges.
The plaintiffs in this litigation—Front Row and 23XI—are the only two racing teams who refused to sign the 2025 NASCAR charter agreement, according to their complaint.
One of the provisions in the 2025 charter requires the signing team to release any antitrust claims and hold NASCAR harmless of any other claims, the plaintiffs allege.
Both plaintiffs have earned major accolades in American stock car racing. Front Row has two full-time cars competing in the NASCAR Cup Series, including one driven by the 2021 Daytona 500 winner Michael McDowell, while 23XI driver Bubba Wallace in 2022 became the first Black driver to win multiple Cup Series races, according to their lawsuit.
The plaintiffs seek trebled monetary damages and a permanent injunction to end NASCAR’s alleged exclusionary practices. NBA Hall of Famer Michael Jordan is a 23XI co-owner who previously gave media interviews criticizing the NASCAR business model.
NASCAR did not respond to a request for comment on this article.
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