CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — NASCAR Chairman Jim France had a stronger second day of testimony Wednesday as the final witness called by Michael Jordan’s team during the federal antitrust lawsuit against the racing series, explaining his late parents’ advice helped shape his stance against granting teams permanent charters in the new revenue-sharing model.
NASCAR attorney Christopher Yates opened the eighth day of the trial by asking the soft-spoken France how old he was — 81 — and whether he wore hearing aids — he did — as he traveled across France through a journey that included working for the family business in various roles since high school and after a stint in Vietnam.
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NASCAR, the largest motorsports series in the United States, was founded in 1948 by Bill France Sr. and remains privately owned by the Florida-based French family to this day. Jim France said he was raised on two fundamental principles passed down from his parents.
His mother, credited with helping her husband build NASCAR from the ground up, told her two sons to always pay their bills. Bill France Sr. advised them to “do what you say you’re going to do.”
It is these two principles that created the image of France refusal to move on permanent charters in the 2025 revenue sharing agreement.
“I’ve seen so many changes over the years and things are moving at a rapid pace and I don’t know how to put something together – I don’t know how we could come to an agreement that extends forever,” he testified.
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He later directly related it to his parents’ advice.
“I have no vision for the future and I don’t feel comfortable making a promise that I can’t keep forever,” he testified.
That thinking dovetails with testimony Tuesday from NASCAR Commissioner Steve Phelps, who gave NASCAR’s version of the chaotic Sept. 6, 2024, final deals presented to teams late that Friday afternoon with an end-of-day deadline to sign the 112-page document or relinquish their charters.
Phelps said the delay in sending final versions was because France had promised Roger Penske, owner of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, IndyCar and teams in several racing series including NASCAR, that France would speak to Penske personally before the deals were made. France attempted to call Penske several times that day and Phelps testified that Penske did not answer.
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It was only after the two men finally spoke that the charters were sent to the teams, around 5 p.m. with a deadline of midnight.
“Jim is a man of his word,” Phelps testified.
23XI Racing, which is owned by Basketball Hall of Famer Jordanthree times Denny Hamlin, winner of the Daytona 500and Jordan’s financial advisor, Curtis Polk, and Front Row Motorsports, owned by Bob Jenkinswere the only two teams out of 15 organizations to refuse to sign. Instead, they took legal action.
Several team owners described that day of the opening weekend of the 2024 playoffs as an ultimatum from NASCAR, as they found the deals to be a “take it or leave it” offer that they signed with “a gun to their head.” Hall of Fame team owner Richard Childress said Tuesday his team would have gone bankrupt if he hadn’t signed the deal.
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France was much stronger on the stand Wednesday than the day before, as plaintiffs’ attorney Jeffrey Kessler had to repeat many questions and France said on many topics that she was unable to remember, didn’t remember or wasn’t sure – even in response to evidence presented that the France Family Trust received $400 million in distributions from 2021 to 2024 and that NASCAR is valued at 5 billion dollars.
He wasn’t sure what title his niece, Lesa France Kennedy, holds with NASCAR, or the ownership percentages between the two. Evidence showed that Jim France owns 54% of NASCAR, while France Kennedy, the vice president, owns 36%. France also said he estimated he was paid “in the $3.5 million range” as president.
Although the extension offer presented in September 2024 effectively increased the annual revenue promised to teams, it did not meet the team’s $720 million demand – a sum Phelps said would have bankrupted NASCAR.
He also did not meet the four “pillars” required by the teams. The teams ended up receiving $431 million a year in increased revenue, but were not granted permanent charters, had no say in governance or the terms they sought on new business flows.
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France said Wednesday it believed the teams had received many of their requests.
He was the last witness called while the plaintiffs rested and NASCAR began to present its defense.
So far, evidence has been presented showing that NASCAR’s major team owners have all written personal letters pleading for France to make the renewable charters permanent. The plaintiffs also presented several documents detailing communication between NASCAR executives that showed France was stubbornly opposed to permanent charters throughout two years of bitter negotiations.
France’s position never changed, even though it received calls from Hall of Fame team owners Joe Gibbs, Rick Hendrick, Jack Roush and Penske. All four are close personal friends, France said on the stand.
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Yates hopes to wrap up his defense by Friday.
The nine-person jury will have to decide whether NASCAR violated antitrust laws and, if so, what damage was done to 23XI and Front Row. An economist once said that NASCAR owes $364.7 million in damages to 23XI and Front Rowand that NASCAR shortchanged 36 licensed teams for $1.06 billion from 2021 to 2024.
If NASCAR loses the case, it will be up to U.S. District Judge Kenneth Bell to dismantle the monopoly, and he can make whatever decisions he wants. Among them, forcing the France family to sell NASCAR, the racetracks it owns, and even to dismantle or modify the charter system.
A win for 23XI and Front Row does not guarantee that the teams will receive a total of six NASCAR charters. They both said they would go bankrupt if they didn’t form licensed teams.
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