23XI Racing, Front Row Motorsports lawsuit takes another big step after injunction decision

A federal district court judge on Thursday approved an agreement between NASCAR and 23XI racing involving a charter from Stewart Haas Racing, according to FOX Sports’ Bob Pockrass. The approval from the courts for what is effectively injunctive relief allows the legal process to move to appeals on various injunctions granted.

NASCAR and 23XI independently agreed to the move and presented it to the court after previous rulings from the judge indicated further injunctive relief would be provided to 23XI in the form of the SHR charter, anyways. Rather than going through a legal back and forth with multiple filings, the two parties effectively did an end-around on the process.

Earlier in the week, NASCAR had filed an emergency motion seeking to delay transfer of charters from SHR to 23XI and Front Row Motorsports. Any such delays now seem likely to be by the wayside as the case appears destined for the appeals process.

The move from NASCAR and 23XI also likely circumvents a decision by Judge Kenneth D. Bell to once again rule against the racing series. His earlier decision this week specifically regarded to transfer of a charter from SHR to Front Row.

“Judge ruling: No delay in enforcing requirement that NASCAR approve a charter transfer to Front Row,” Pockrass posted on X. “But as far as SHR transfer to 23XI, team has to ask for that again because preliminary injunction request was for FRM (I believe b/c 23XI had not yet formally asked for transfer).”

Pockrass also relayed some other tidbits from Bell: “NASCAR’s ‘release to race’ requirement simply doesn’t pass muster and is likely to be found to violate antitrust law,” regarding the charter release of claims clause, and if 23XI asks for SHR charter transfer, “The Court will promptly consider that motion on its own merits.”

The legal proceedings also took a bit of a bitter turn this week, with lawyers for Frontrow and 23XI not mincing words in a recent filing about NASCAR’s pushback.

The opening line of their brief opposing NASCAR’s emergency motion that would delay transfer of their charters from Stewart-Haas Racing featured some venom, as Pockrass shared to X. 

“When a litigant does not have either the law or the facts on its side, it will pound the table,” the opening line read. “But Defendants’ pounding has become tired, familiar, and shrill.”