23XI Racing, Front Row Motorsports file anti-trust lawsuit against NASCAR

23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports have filed an anti-trust lawsuit against NASCAR in federal court in North Carolina, the two teams announced in a joint statement Wednesday.

The two teams 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.”

“The France family and NASCAR are monopolistic bullies,” the lawsuit states, via Jeff Gluck of The Athletic. “And bullies will continue to impose their will to hurt others until their targets stand up and refuse to be victims. That moment has now arrived.”

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.

Under the current model, charters are not permanent franchises like the setup in other professional sporting leagues. Teams can lose their charters due to poor performance on the racetrack or failing to field their cars week in and week out. As a result, most race teams lose money on a yearly basis.

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.

Front Row Motorsports, 23XI Racing taking stand against NASCAR

23XI co-owner said Denny Hamlin said the threat prompted them to “react seriously.”

“They made a very serious threat to us, so we had to react seriously,” Hamlin told The Athletic.

23XI and Front Row could lose their four combined charters entirely if the legal situation does not play out in their favor, Gluck and Jordan Bianchi wrote.

“I don’t know what it’s going to cost me if I lose two charters in my race team, but it’s a lot of money,” Front Row owner Bob Jenkins said. “But it’s the right thing to do. It’s the right thing for the sport.”

As part of the lawsuit, 23XI and Front Row have asked for preliminary injunction that will allow them to compete as chartered teams in 2025 while still proceeding with the lawsuit, Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports reported.

Attorney Jeffrey Kessler is representing 23XI and Front Row in litigation. Kessler has previously scored court victories which have led to the creation of NFL free agency, implementation of name, image and likeness (NIL) in collegiate athletics and equal pay for the United States women’s national soccer team.

23XI co-owner Michael Jordan said in a statement that he’s “willing to fight for a competitive market where everyone wins,” describing the way the France family runs NASCAR as “unfair to teams, drivers, sponsors, and fans.”

“Everyone knows that I have always been a fierce competitor, and that will to win is what drives me and the entire 23XI team each and every week out on the track,” Jordan said. “I love the sport of racing and the passion of our fans, but the way NASCAR is run today is unfair to teams, drivers, sponsors, and fans. Today’s action shows I’m willing to fight for a competitive market where everyone wins.”