23XI Racing, Front Row Motorsports attorney Jeffrey Kessler speaks out after first court hearing
23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports had their first court hearing against NASCAR on Monday, and their attorney was pleased with how the preliminary injunction went. Jeffrey Kessler spoke to reporters after the hearing and is confident his clients will come out on top.
“We will eventually prevail in this case,” Kessler said, per Dustin Long of NBC Sports. “This is the first step, but I’ve litigated a very long time. I don’t make predictions about outcomes of cases since I’ve been surprised in the past. But I felt very good, which is all I can do. We made our case that we’re right on the facts, we’re right on the law and hopefully the judge will agree.”
23XI Racing is co-owned by NBA legend Michael Jordan and three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin. Both attended the hearing along with Front Row Motorsports owner Bob Jenkins as they claim that NASCAR has an unfair business model. They filed a lawsuit against NASCAR and chairman Jim France after months of negotiations over NASCAR’s charter system.
More on 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports battle with NASCAR
The two teams claim NASCAR gave the Cup Series teams a last-minute, take-it-or-leave-it offer in September. 23XI and Front Row did not sign the new charter agreement. The Monday hearing was an injunction so the teams can still compete while pursuing the lawsuit. The judge said a decision could come by Friday.
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The hearing comes as 23XI prepares for a big weekend as Tyler Reddick is one of the four drivers competing in the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Phoenix. “No, I’ve been in situations of disparity,” Jordan said after the hearing, via Jeff Gluck of The Athletic. “I think the race team’s going to focus on what they have to do this weekend, which I expect them to. I think Jeffrey did an unbelievable job today, and I think, hey I put all my cards on the table, I think we did a good job of that. I’m looking forward to winning a championship this weekend, though.”
23XI and Front Row can still compete in 2025 but as open teams. Each team currently has two charters that they did not sign, and both have deals with Stewart-Haass Racing to buy one charter each. Per the Associated Press NASCAR is allegedly honoring only the 32 charter agreements that were signed in September.