Denny Hamlin claps back at NASCAR claiming 23XI not interested in growing the sport

Shortly after NASCAR filed a counterclaim against 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports, NASCAR attorney Chris Yates spoke with reporters and questioned if 23XI and Front Row are interested in growing the sport.

“NASCAR wants to work with teams to grow the sport,” Yates said Wednesday, via Jeff Gluck of The Athletic. “I don’t know if 23XI and Front Row truly want to grow the sport, so I don’t know what the path toward a resolution here is at the moment.”

23XI co-owner Denny Hamlin has since offered his rebuttal. Joe Gibbs Racing announced that Hamlin will appear on the NASCAR Experience stage this Saturday at Phoenix Raceway. He will also be signing autographs at the Toyota GAZOO Racing merchandise hauler on Sunday ahead of the Shriners Children’s 500. Hamlin quote tweeted the announcement with a shot back at NASCAR.

“Come see me actively promoting and growing our sport this Saturday,” Hamlin wrote on X.

NASCAR countersues 23XI and Front Row, names Michael Jordan business partner in ‘conspiracy’

Hamlin has been outspoken against NASCAR over the past calendar year and in many respects, is the face of 23XI and Front Row’s antitrust lawsuit against the stock car racing series and its CEO Jim France. Another layer was added to the legal battle when NASCAR filed its countersuit on Wednesday.

In the 30-page court filing, NASCAR claims that 23XI, Front Row and 23XI co-owner Curtis Polk “willfully violated the antitrust laws by orchestrating anticompetitive collective conduct.” NASCAR in the suit called the teams an “illegal cartel,” and alleges that they, led by Polk, “agreed to a scheme to pressure NASCAR to accept their collusive terms, including by engaging in media campaigns, interfering with NASCAR’s broadcast agreement negotiations, threatening boycotts of NASCAR events and engaging in a group boycott of a NASCAR Team Owner Council Meeting.”

“Polk played an active role in this illegal conspiracy,” NASCAR said, by “representing all teams in negotiations, coordinating their conduct, and threatening teams that considered leaving the conspiracy and interfering and negatively affecting NASCAR’s attempts to renew its media rights agreements.”

23XI, Front Row attorney Jeffrey Kessler fires back at ‘desperate’ NASCAR counterclaim

23XI and Front Row attorney Jeffrey Kessler released a statement in response, disparaging the decision from NASCAR.

“Today’s counterclaim by NASCAR is a meritless distraction and a desperate attempt to shift attention away from its own unlawful, monopolistic actions. NASCAR agreed to the joint negotiations that they now attack,” Kessler said. “When those joint negotiations failed, they used individual negotiations to impose their charter terms, which most of the teams decided they had no choice but to accept. My clients’ lawsuit has always been about transforming NASCAR into a more competitive and fair sport for the benefit of drivers, fans, sponsors and teams because of their love of the sport.

“Every major sport goes through a transition to competition when antitrust claims are asserted, and that moment has come for NASCAR. Today’s baseless filing changes nothing. We are confident in the strength of our case and look forward to presenting it at trial.”

The jury trial for the joint lawsuit filed by 23XI and Front Row against NASCAR and France is set for Dec. 1.