NASCAR’s Future Direction At Stake As Anti-Trust Trial Begins Monday

The 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports versus NASCAR antitrust lawsuit trial begins Monday, December 1, 2025 at the Federal Courthouse in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

One of the most important moments in NASCAR history will be settled in a Federal Courthouse, not on a race track.

The highly contentious anti-trust lawsuit filed by 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports against NASCAR will go to trial on Monday, December 1 in Federal Court in Charlotte, North Carolina. The trial is officially known as “23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports v. NASCAR.” Jury selection is expected to begin on Monday and could advance to opening statements in front of Judge Kenneth D. Bell.

The two NASCAR teams filed a lawsuit against NASCAR on October 2 in federal court in Charlotte claiming NASCAR’s actions violate antitrust laws.

The plaintiffs include 23XI Racing, a team co-owned by one of the greatest athletes in American history, former NBA and University of North Carolina legend Michael Jordan and NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin, and Front Row Motorsports, owned by Bob Jenkins. The suit accuses NASCAR of anticompetitive practices as defined in Sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Antitrust Act.

This came after two years of negotiations between NASCAR and race teams for a new charter agreement that began in 2025.

Bitter acrimony between the plaintiffs and NASCAR have continued to the point where Judge Bell urged both sides to a settlement instead of going to trial. Both sides agreed to proceed with the trial in what could have a “scorched Earth” outcome.

“I’ll let you come up with your own opinion, but I think one of us is on a suicide mission,” Hamlin said on October 25 at Martinsville Speedway.

Three days after Hamlin made that prophetic statement, Judge Bell dismissed NASCAR’s counterclaim against 23XI and FRM as he granted the teams’ motion for summary judgment. NASCAR had alleged that 23XI, FRM and 23XI co-owner Curtis Polk illegally colluded with other race teams to obtain better terms in the 2025-31 charter agreement.

NASCAR’s Defense

On October 31, NASCAR Commissioner Steve Phelps, in the annual NASCAR State of the Sport news conference, stressed that he hoped it could be settled before the trial began.

“NASCAR is fully aligned with our race-team partners who have submitted declarations hoping to end this litigation,” Phelps said. “We are trying our hardest. I am trying my hardest both as a fan as well as the commissioner of this sport that I’ve loved since I was 5 years old.

“While two of the 15 teams may not share that view and seem set on an unfortunate court battle, I hope that we can all agree that our racing is as good as it has ever been and we care about how we serve our fans.”

NASCAR wants the charter system to continue, Phelps said. And even though the teams don’t ask for it to be eliminated, NASCAR continues to warn that it could be the result of any remedies if NASCAR loses the lawsuit.

“The charter system is a critical part of the sport, something we created with and for the teams,” Phelps said. “We’ll continue to defend and preserve it. Make no mistake, the lawsuit puts this at risk.”

What The Judge Has Ruled So Far

On November 4, Judge Bell granted the plaintiff’s motion to define the market as “premier stock-car racing” and ruled that NASCAR has power over that market, rendering NASCAR’s argument that the teams have options to compete in other racing series as moot. The issue at trial will be whether NASCAR has illegally used its power to keep there from being competition for premier stock-car racing.

On November 11, Judge Bell ruled that powerful NASCAR team owners Rick Hendrick and Roger Penske must make themselves available for depositions without any limitations to the topics.

According to FOXSports.com’s Bob Pockrass, NASCAR put Hendrick and Penske on its witness list, triggering 23XI and FRM to request the depositions before trial.

In response, Hendrick and Penske filed a brief to limit the deposition topics.

“Hendrick and Penske, in view of their decades-long relationship with Jim France, agreed to give limited testimony regarding non-confidential matters at the trial of this case, but in a way that did not force them to ‘take sides’ in the lawsuit – something which both men have made clear that they cannot and will not do,” their brief states.

But 23XI and FRM argued that their depositions should not be limited in scope, that because NASCAR brought the owners into the lawsuit, that they can be asked questions about the team finances. Hendrick has won 15 of the last 30 Cup titles while Penske not only has won three of the last four Cup titles but also owns IndyCar and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

NASCAR’s filing arguing for the limited scope of the depositions said: “NASCAR’s questioning will not seek information regarding the teams’ income, expenses, profitability, employee salaries, or payments to drivers.”

But the judge sided with 23XI and FRM in his order: “The trial of this matter will be publicly and fairly contested under the relevant rules and law, without regard to the notoriety of the companies and individuals involved. No company or individual will be accorded special treatment.”

Fiery Text Exchanges Released On November 22

On November 22, as part of the unsealing of several exhibits to motions in the case, text messages revealed NASCAR executives’ concerns over the SRX Series and harsh comments about longtime veteran car owner Richard Childress after critical comments Childress made about NASCAR.

The text messages were from 2022 and 2023, a pivotal time for NASCAR, as it was negotiating a new media rights deal, signed in November 2023 for the 2025-31 seasons.

SRX was a stock-car series (the series built all the cars) that ran from 2021-23 at short tracks. It originally ran on Saturday nights but moved to Thursday nights to attract NASCAR drivers, including Denny Hamlin, Chase Elliott, Ryan Blaney and Brad Keselowski in select events.

As the trial date nears, Hamlin engaged in some biting comments directed at a story published in ESPN.com believing it should have been co-authored by a high-ranking member of NASCAR’s public relations department.

Diving Into The Details

According to Dickenson Media, a news outlet that covers Southwestern Virginia, the aggregate value of charters has grown to $1.5 billion over the past 10 years, with individual charters selling for as much as $45 million. When NASCAR signed a new media rights deal with FOX, NBC, Turner, and Prime in 2023 for nearly $8 billion, all new revenue over the previous deal was directed to race teams under the 2025 charters. An additional $50 million in funds was contributed directly from NASCAR and the tracks.

In a recent filing that included declarations from team owners who signed the agreement, Rick Hendrick, owner of Hendrick Motorsports, supported the deal. He stated: “The Charter agreement is critical to the stability of the NASCAR ecosystem… Undoing what we have collectively negotiated will not only result in immeasurable damage to our sport… it will, most importantly, hurt the people and families that depend on us for their livelihoods.”

NASCAR issued a statement citing declarations from team owners, including Hendrick, Roger Penske, Joe Gibbs, Richard Childress, and Brad Keselowski: “This lawsuit is not about antitrust; it is merely an attempt to renegotiate an agreement that was signed and is being honored by all other race teams.”

Hendrick and Penske are both on NASCAR’s witness list for the trial, while Jordan is expected to testify for the plaintiffs.

Inside The Pre-Trial Rulings

The case comes to trial following several significant pre-trial rulings:

Injunction Vacated: In December 2024, Judge Bell granted a preliminary injunction that would have allowed 23XI and Front Row to race as chartered teams during the lawsuit. However, the Fourth District Court of Appeals vacated the injunction in June 2025. Consequently, 23XI and Front Row raced as unchartered or ‘open’ teams when the 2025 season concluded on Nov. 2 at Phoenix Raceway.

Counterclaim Dismissed: Two days after the season finale, Bell dismissed NASCAR’s counterclaim alleging 23XI and Front Row had colluded to form an “illegal cartel” to manipulate charter negotiations.

Market Definition Limited: Bell also granted a motion for partial summary judgment, limiting the relevant market definition for the lawsuit to “premier stock car racing.” NASCAR had sought a broader definition that included other racing series.

“While we respect the Court’s decision, we believe it is legally flawed and we will address it at trial and in the Fourth Circuit, if necessary,” NASCAR stated following the market definition ruling.

There is a tremendous amount at stake in this trial for the future of NASCAR and the team’s involved, but harkening back to Hamlin’s earlier statement from October 26, “One of us is on a suicide mission.”