NASCAR Escalates Legal Battle with 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports in Explosive Lawsuit Update

In a dramatic turn of events, NASCAR has intensified its legal showdown with 23XI Racing, co-owned by NBA icon Michael Jordan and driver Denny Hamlin, and Front Row Motorsports (FRM), owned by Bob Jenkins. The sanctioning body recently filed a motion on April 18, 2025, to amend its counterclaim in the ongoing antitrust lawsuit, citing what it calls “undeniable proof” of illegal collaboration between the teams. This development, centered on over 200,000 pages of emails, texts, and memoranda, has sent shockwaves through the motorsport world as both sides gear up for a December trial in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina.

The controversy erupted in October 2024 when 23XI Racing and FRM filed an antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR, accusing the organization of monopolistic practices through its charter system—a structure that guarantees race entries and financial benefits for teams. The teams refused to sign NASCAR’s “take-it-or-leave-it” 2025 charter agreement by the September 20, 2024, deadline, sparking a fierce legal battle. They argue that the charter system stifles competition, limits their revenue potential, and fails to provide a fair business model. For context, NASCAR’s latest TV rights deal, averaging $1.1 billion annually over seven years, allocates teams roughly 49% of the revenue—up from 38-40% in the previous agreement, according to NASCAR attorney Chris Yates in March 2025.

NASCAR’s counterclaim takes a bold stance, alleging that 23XI, FRM, and Curtis Polk—Jordan’s longtime business partner and 23XI co-owner—orchestrated illegal agreements with other teams. The sanctioning body claims the documents reveal coordinated efforts to manipulate team compensation, boycott NASCAR events, and disrupt media rights negotiations, with Polk as the alleged ringleader. NASCAR further accuses the teams of forming an “illegal cartel” by engaging in anti-competitive behavior, a charge that has added a personal edge to the dispute, as Jordan himself noted the lawsuit’s increasingly personal nature.

The teams, represented by prominent antitrust attorney Jeffrey Kessler, have dismissed NASCAR’s latest move as a “desperate distraction.” Kessler emphasized that their original lawsuit seeks to foster a more competitive and equitable NASCAR for drivers, fans, sponsors, and teams, arguing that the new counterclaim lacks substance and merely aims to divert attention from NASCAR’s own monopolistic practices. The teams have also sought financial data from major sports leagues like the NFL, NBA, NHL, and Formula 1 to compare revenue-sharing models, a request met with resistance from the NFL, which called the subpoenas baseless.

A significant milestone came in December 2024 when U.S. District Judge Kenneth Bell granted 23XI and FRM a preliminary injunction, allowing them to race as chartered teams in 2025 and approving their purchase of additional charters from Stewart-Haas Racing. Bell’s ruling highlighted the potential “irreparable harm” the teams would face without charter status, such as losing drivers and sponsors, and affirmed their likelihood of success in proving NASCAR’s release clause violates antitrust laws. NASCAR has appealed this decision, with a hearing set for May 9, 2025, in the U.S. Court of Appeals in Richmond.

NASCAR legend Jimmy Johnson weighed in on the saga during a Business of Sport podcast, suggesting that the sport may evolve into a league structure similar to Formula 1 or the NBA, with recent expansions like races in Mexico City and Chicago’s street circuit signaling growth. However, the core issue remains: Is NASCAR’s charter system a fair model, or does it wield monopolistic control over Cup Series racing? As the trial looms, the motorsport community watches closely—will NASCAR’s evidence hold up, or will 23XI and FRM succeed in reshaping the sport’s future? The stakes have never been higher.