23XI, Front Row lawsuit vs. NASCAR: New details emerge

More details are beginning to trickle out of 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports’ anti-trust lawsuit against NASCAR filed in federal court in North Carolina on Wednesday.

The lawsuit, in which 23XI and Front Row accused NASCAR and its CEO Jim France of “unlawful monopolization of premier stock car racing in order to enrich themselves at the expense of the premier stock car racing teams,” also explains why teams’ revenue is less than what they could get in a competitive market, per Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports.

“Lawsuit claims teams’ revenue is less than what they could get in a competitive market b/c NASCAR owns majority of tracks, prohibits similar stock-car races at any Cup track, NASCAR requires teams to buy parts/pieces from specific vendors and wants control of team IP rights,” Pockrass wrote on X.

The lawsuit stems from 23XI and Front Row opting not to sign NASCAR’s final charter proposal at Atlanta Motor Speedway last month. Teams have been negotiating an extension of the original 2016 charter agreement for the last two years ahead of its expiration on Dec. 31. Teams made demands such as making charters permanent, which NASCAR refused to include in its proposals.

The final proposal came in at 6 p.m. ET on Friday, Sept. 6. NASCAR gave teams a six-hour deadline to sign, threatening to “eliminate the charter system altogether for 2025 and beyond” if they did not. 23XI and Front Row were the two holdouts among the 15 Cup Series teams.

23XI, Front Row lawyer Jeffrey Kessler rips ‘egregiously anti-competitive’ NASCAR in lawsuit comments

“The take-it-or-leave-it offer from NASCAR included numerous one-sided, monopolistic economic terms that were far less than the teams would receive in a competitive market,” the lawsuit states. “It did not provide a fair split of revenues so that the teams would have a chance to earn a reasonable return on their investment. It seized control over team intellectual property rights, to be used for NASCAR’s benefit.

“Did not provide permanent charters so that the teams could realize value through permanent charter appreciation. It did not give teams the ability to resist unilateral NASCAR rules that increased team costs. And it did not give the teams any meaningful role in governance of the sport. It also imposed terms that would undermine the relationship between teams and drivers.”

Jeffrey Kessler, the attorney formally retained by 23XI and Front Row, further explained why 23XI and Front Row took a stand and decided not to sign the proposal.

“In every antitrust case, the victims are taking what they can get,” Kessler said. “… A lot of the victims will continue to be victims until this wrong is righted.” 

He added: “We filed this case, and we expect to win this case. One way or another, stock car racing is going to change in this country for the better.”