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NASCAR Antitrust Lawsuit Timeline: 23XI, Front Row Can Race As Charter Teams

Pabio December 20, 2024

THE NASCAR The antitrust lawsuit filed by Michael Jordan’s 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports saw its biggest development yet on Wednesday, as the judge ruled. decided that teams would be allowed to race as charter teams in 2025 as part of a preliminary injunction decision.

As the case now heads into the discovery phase, during which NASCAR and the teams would open their books and reveal communications between key personnel, the question is whether there will be a settlement before the start of the trial sometime before the 2026 season.

If you haven’t been able to keep up with all the latest news, don’t worry: Below is a timeline of all notable developments in the lawsuit since its initial filing on October 2.

October 2: After more than two years of contentious negotiations over NASCAR’s franchise-style charter system, the two holdout teams that refused to sign a final offer in September filed antitrust lawsuit against stock car sanctioning body and its CEO Jim France. The teams, led by famed attorney Jeffrey Kessler, accused NASCAR of being a monopoly that prevented fair competition.

“We can’t give you a definite answer: ‘That will be enough.’ There must be a significant change. Kessler said. “Nobody is fighting this type of fight, this type of trial, to go from (a) D deal to (a) D deal. It’s not going to happen.

“If the problem is going to be resolved before (a trial), it will have to be because there is a real, meaningful change that gives these teams a fair chance to compete, to make a profit, to invest in the sport and develop it.”

NASCAR CEO Jim France, left, with team owner Rick Hendrick in June 2023 at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. (Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

November 4: In the first (and so far only) time the parties faced off in a courtroom, NASCAR and the teams argued in front of Judge Frank Whitney over whether to grant a preliminary injunction. At the heart of the problem was a clause in the charter agreements that did not allow the signatories to bring an antitrust action against NASCAR; the teams wanted Whitney to waive the clause so they could sign the new deal and run in 2025 with the guaranteed money the charters bring in.

“We literally cannot practice our profession without signing this waiver,” Kessler said.

But NASCAR said the charter offer was no longer on the table for 23XI and Front Row after it filed a lawsuit, according to attorney Chris Yates.

“They have given NASCAR a series of names that undermine the brand and goodwill of NASCAR,” Yates said. “NASCAR only wishes to enter into charter agreements with teams who wish to work collectively to grow the sport.”

Meanwhile, Kessler said the suggestion that teams could just go race elsewhere if they didn’t like NASCAR’s conditions would be like asking a football player to become a baseball player.

November 8: Judge Whitney denied teams’ request for preliminary injunctionbut in somewhat narrow terms. While Whitney didn’t disagree with the premise, he said it was too early for the teams to meet the irreparable harm standard that would justify granting a preliminary injunction — essentially telegraphing them to file at the request again when there would be real harm.

“Although plaintiffs claim they are on the brink of irreparable harm, the 2025 racing season is months away – the stock cars remain in the garage,” Whitney wrote. “…At this point, teams are no closer to irreparable harm than they are to the command, “Drivers, start your engines,” in the first race of the 2025 season.”

November 26: The teams refiled the request for a preliminary injunction. Although much of the new petition was filed under seal, evidence reportedly includes emails from a driver and a sponsor to 23XI. After a Dec. 18 ruling, we now know that included matching 23XI driver Tyler Reddick, who could have become a free agent without the guarantee of a leased car, and Monster Energy, which was rethinking its relationship with 23XI after the team’s future seemed uncertain. without a charter. Other drivers (Riley Herbst, Noah Gragson, Bubba Wallace and Corey Heim) also sent similar emails, as did Front Row sponsor Love’s Travel Stops.

The issue of pending charter transfers was also raised; 23XI and Front Row had each agreed to purchase a charter from Stewart-Haas Racing, which would soon close its doors, and were in the process of upgrading to a third car for the 2025 season.

Regular season champion Tyler Reddick could have become a free agent and left 23XI Racing without the guarantee of a leased car. (Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

December 2: NASCAR countered with a motion to dismiss the lawsuit entirely. A central argument of NASCAR was that while the teams may not have been happy with the terms of the lease agreement, it did not make NASCAR a monopoly.

“This is not a bona fide antitrust case,” NASCAR said in its filing. “…After two years of Charter negotiations, Plaintiffs now seek to use this Court and the antitrust laws to renegotiate both terms of NASCAR’s now-expired Final Charter Offer, with which they are dissatisfied. “

NASCAR reiterated its view that the judge should not force the sanctioning body to re-offer these terms to the teams because NASCAR no longer wants to do business with them due to the lawsuit.

“NASCAR has not refused to deal with plaintiffs,” NASCAR wrote in its response. “To the contrary, NASCAR proposed contract terms that plaintiffs rejected and are no longer available.”

December 11: Judge Whitney was replaced by a new judge, Kenneth Bell, who was assigned to the case. No explanation was given for this decision.

December 12: The teams said NASCAR Chairman Steve Phelps told Front Row that the charter purchased from Stewart-Haas would be approved, but then “about-faced” and told Front Row he would not allow not the transaction unless the lawsuit is dropped. The latest documents included an email exchange between Phelps and Front Row general manager Jerry Freeze, in which Freeze sought to clarify that the charter transfer had already been approved pending a $50,000 transfer fee.

“You’re right, Jerry,” Phelps responded in his email. “The transfer would be for $50,000, assuming they sell it to you before the end of the year.”

In an affidavit, Freeze also said that Phelps, in a Sept. 11 phone call, “indicated that Front Row had already been approved for SHR charter transfer and that all they needed to do was submit the usual transfer paperwork “.

But on Dec. 8, according to Freeze, NASCAR “informed us that they would not approve the transfer unless we agreed to drop our current antitrust suit against them,” Freeze said. The teams argued that they were currently being prejudiced because the Daytona 500 is less than seven weeks away and preparations for the season (and team expansion) were already well underway.

Additionally, Stewart-Haas Chairman Joe Custer had his own affidavit and said that NASCAR officials “expressed to me on more than one occasion” that the charters would be approved. The organization, which will close its doors by December 31, has already taken “numerous significant and irrevocable steps to terminate its operations” and would be harmed if NASCAR did not allow the charter transactions to be finalized, he declared.

Meanwhile, NASCAR argued that teams filing a request to “clarify” what they hoped to achieve with a preliminary injunction should be considered an entirely new motion because they were “seeking new relief not requested.” nowhere” in previous repositories. Specifically, this would amount to asking the court to approve the transfer of the SHR charters while waiving the release clause of the existing charters already signed by SHR.

December 13: The teams responded to NASCAR’s motion by stating that they “had no reason to suspect that NASCAR would abruptly change course and reject the transfer on December 5.”

December 16: The teams called NASCAR’s motion to dismiss the suit a “fantasy” based on a misinterpretation of several facts. At the same time, they also filed a response to NASCAR Chairman and CEO Jim France’s motion to dismiss, which was filed at the same time as NASCAR’s own motion.

“The unity of financial interest between NASCAR and France is established by the allegations that he is not only the president of NASCAR, but also its owner and that he directed and controlled the behavior illegal in question for the economic benefit of his family,” indicates the teams’ response.

Also on Dec. 16, in a joint filing required by court rules, both sides gave their proposed deadlines and a preview of how long this case could take to play out before a trial. The parties agreed on a January 10 deadline for the first revelations in the case, but nothing else. The teams requested that discovery be completed by July 18 while NASCAR requested October 17; both sides have set dates of 2026 as final deadlines for various filings before a trial actually begins.

December 18: In a significant victory for the teams, Justice Bell granted their request for a preliminary injunction – which will allow them to race as charter teams in 2025. Bell also ordered NASCAR to complete the transfer of the Stewart-Haas charters to 23XI and Front Row.

He cited the possible departure of drivers, particularly Reddick, as clear and immediate justification for granting the teams’ motion.

“Plaintiffs have demonstrated that in the absence of guaranteed participation in all races as a licensed team, they will likely suffer irreparable harm due to the loss of contractual control over their top drivers and the inability resulting in fielding their best racing team,” Bell wrote.

Perhaps most concerning for NASCAR, the court found that NASCAR possessed monopoly power – which does not bode well for the sanctioning body in a trial.

“NASCAR’s Cup Series is the only premier stock car racing series in the United States, and premier stock car racing is a distinct form of auto racing with unique cars and highly competitive racing teams. “Therefore, NASCAR has complete control over which racing teams can compete at the highest level of racing. stock car – in In fact, it has a market share of 100 (percent).