With the season counting down to its annual climactic finish, two NASCAR teams, including one co-owned by the legendary basketball Hall of Famer Michael Jordan sued motorsport series and its CEO Jim France, calling them “tyrants”.
Jordanian company 23XI Racing, co-owned by three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin and Front Row Motorsports, claims that NASCAR used “anti-competitive practices to prevent fair competition in the sport.”
“We share a passion for racing, the thrill of competition and winning. Off the track, we share the belief that change is necessary for the sport we love.
“Together, we brought this antitrust case so that racing can thrive and become a more competitive and fairer sport in a way that will benefit teams, drivers, sponsors and, most importantly, fans,” they said. 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports in a joint statement. statement.
“No other major professional sport in North America is run by a single family that enriches itself through these kinds of uncontrolled monopolistic practices,” the statement added.
In the federal antitrust lawsuit, filed Wednesday and obtained by CNN, the two teams said: “The France family and NASCAR are monopolistic tyrants.
“And bullies will continue to impose their will to hurt others until their targets stand up and refuse to be victims. »
CNN has contacted NASCAR for comment.
Jordan said he wants to establish a fair system for all teams and an environment where everyone has a chance to succeed.
“I love the sport of racing and the passion of our fans, but the way NASCAR is run today is unfair to the teams, drivers, sponsors and fans,” the five-time NBA MVP said in his press release. “Today’s action shows that I am ready to fight for a competitive marketplace where everyone wins. »
Bob Jenkins, owner of Front Row Motorsports, expressed a similar sentiment.
“I have been a part of this racing community for 20 years and I could not be more proud of the Front Row Motorsports team and our success. But the time has come for change,” Jenkins said.
“We need a more competitive and fair system in which teams, drivers and sponsors can be rewarded for their collective investment in creating long-term corporate value, just like in any other successful professional sports league .”
The lawsuit comes after more than two years of negotiations between NASCAR and racing teams. The motorsport governing body wanted to update its charter which includes the revenue sharing model.
“Founded in 1948, NASCAR’s business model is based on the principle that independent stock car racing teams invest their own money and time for the opportunity to compete in premier stock car events on tracks owned largely by NASCAR’s ruling family, the Frances,” the lawsuit reads.
“Everything the teams put in,” NASCAR argued, “would be rewarded with the glory of race victories and championships. However, even some of the most successful racing teams in NASCAR history left the sport with little to show for it, at least not in their wallets, while the France family profited handsomely.
Jenkins said he has never made a profit since joining NASCAR in 2005, according to the Associated Press.
While 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports said they were hesitant to sign the new deals, the lawsuit alleges that some teams felt they had no choice but to sign.
“Faced with a take-it-or-leave-it offer and no competing opportunity for premier stock car racing in the United States, most teams concluded they had to sign. One team described his signing as “coerced” and another said it was “under duress.” A third team said NASCAR “put a gun to our heads” and we “had to sign,” the lawsuit adds.
NASCAR’s Cup Series is currently in the round of 16 of the playoffs. On Sunday, teams will race at Talladega Superspeedway for the YellaWood 500 in Alabama.
Currently, 23XI Racing’s No. 45 and No. 23 cars occupy 9th and 19th place, respectively, in the owners’ standings.
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