In some ways, the recently concluded antitrust lawsuit between NASCAR and 23XI Racing has transformed many facets of the teams. NASCAR’s decision to accommodate required team demands and permanently grant charters to NASCAR teams, negotiate profit-sharing percentages, while potentially sparing both organizations, 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports, from deportation had they lost the case, among countless other ramifications. However, Tyler Reddick recently said the lawsuit settlement didn’t change anything inside the garage, specifically.
When the lawsuit was filed in 2024, just before the start of the playoffs, Dennis Hamlin seemed visibly tense, and to some extent this anxiety showed in his performance as well. Apparently, he has made it a point not to carry this mindset into his Airspeed garage, so that the performance of his drivers and crews is not affected.
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Which is why, when Reddick appeared for a video call interview discussing the atmosphere in the 23XI Racing garage after the antitrust lawsuit was settled, he remarked: “It sounds a little cliché, but a lot of people here have been cooped up during this time. I’m sure you want me to say, ‘Oh, man, like people are jumping for joy. And it’s just a totally different environment now.'”
“I think it shows how closeted the men and women here at Airspeed are. Certainly, it’s nice that it’s all behind us now. But yeah. I wish I could say, ‘Oh yeah, it’s totally different. It’s going to make a huge difference for us.’ This is not the case. Everyone seems just as locked in. So, it’s good that it’s behind us, but from that point of view. It’s done and it’s in the past.
Meanwhile, the lawsuit undeniably saved the careers of Reddick and his teammate, Bubba Wallace. If 23XI Racing had lost its antitrust battle against NASCAR, both Reddickand Wallace likely would have lost his guaranteed starting position in races and faced possible contract terminations.
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Without charters, the organization’s No. 23 and No. 45 cars would have become open entries, meaning they would have been forced to qualify for each race on merit. If more than 40 cars attempted to qualify for a race, one or more of the 23XI cars could miss the event entirely.
As open teams, they would have raised significantly less purse money and a smaller share of other revenue than approved teams, which would have impacted their overall compensation and the team’s financial viability.
And on a higher level, if the team had lost the lawsuit, team owner Michael Jordan could have shut down the operation, as he was prepared to leave the sport if the fight for permanent charters proved unsuccessful. This would have left both drivers without a team, their futures uncertain and their prospects bleak.
So while the No. 45 driver and crew can argue that the lawsuit did not necessarily affect the organization’s internal operations, a considerable weight was lifted from their shoulders when NASCAR agreed to the settlement.
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The position Tyler Reddick pulls back the curtain on how the NASCAR charter lawsuit didn’t change anything at 23XI Racing appeared first on The rush to sport.
