A federal judge has set a Jan. 8 hearing for NASCAR’s motion to dismiss an antitrust lawsuit filed against the stock car series’ teams backed by 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports, owned by Michael Jordan.
The two NASCAR teams are sue NASCAR over antitrust complaint and were granted a preliminary injunction Wednesday that will allow them to compete as licensed teams in 2025.
U.S. District Court Judge Kenneth D. Bell said in his ruling this week, which favored 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports, that “NASCAR fans (and members of the public who might become fans) have an interest in to see all the teams compete with their best drivers and most competitive teams.
The hearing is the latest in the legal tussle between the two Cup teams and the sanctioning body that began at the end of last season. Judge Bell is also expected to rule on other motions. He also set September 19, 2025 as the deadline for the preliminary investigation to be completed and set the trial date for December 1, 2025.
23XI, the team owned by Jordan and three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin, and Front Row refused in September to sign take-it-or-leave-it revenue-sharing offers made by NASCAR just 48 hours before the start of the series playoffs.
A charter is essentially a franchise and guarantees prize money, a spot on the field each week and other protections.
The teams filed an antitrust lawsuit alleging that NASCAR’s owners are “monopolistic tyrants” and were denied in federal court in November, a request to be recognized as “approved” teams as the trial continues.
23XI and Front Row can now sign the charter agreements and pursue legal action. They also each obtained permission to purchase additional charters from Stewart Haas Racing, which closed its four-shift store at the end of the 2024 season, and NASCAR must approve transfers to those teams.
___
AP Auto Racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
