Insider assesses the panic meter for 23XI in lawsuit vs. NASCAR

With 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports in danger of losing their charter status ahead of this Sunday’s race at Dover Motor Speedway, is it time for the teams to panic? Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports says not yet.

Pockrass, appearing on “Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour” podcast, talked about the latest to come out from 23XI and FRM’s antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR. The NASCAR insider said that while things are “rocky,” it’s still too early to gauge which way the case will ultimately go.

“Right now, I would say things are a little rocky. But I don’t think it’s time to hit the panic button yet,” Pockrass said. “Both sides are still taking depositions, they’re getting all of their discovery done and I think it will be another couple months before you really get a feel of which way this case will go. If I’m a 23XI or Front Row fan, I’m just kind of crossing my fingers to get through the rest of this year with not too much drama and then see what happens in the offseason.”

Monday, 23XI and FRM filed another restraining order against NASCAR and a new preliminary injunction in order to save their charter status for the remainder of the 2025 season. The teams filed the restraining order and new preliminary injunction after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit denied the teams’ request to rehear their case after a three-judge panel overturned the preliminary injunction, which granted charter status to the teams throughout the duration of their lawsuit against NASCAR.

23XI and FRM could lose their chartered status on Wednesday. The teams wanted NASCAR to file a response by Tuesday afternoon. The judge gave NASCAR until 5 p.m. ET Wednesday to respond. 

23XI, FRM have a lot to lose in lawsuit vs. NASCAR

Maintaining charter status is very important for the two teams, who refused to sign the Charter Agreement last September. Chartered teams have a guaranteed spot on the grid each week. Open teams must qualify on speed. Whereas chartered teams receive a portion of the revenue from NASCAR’s multi-billion-dollar media rights deal, open teams do not. Open teams earn far less money, and loss of charter status would compromise and void contracts with sponsors and drivers.

Some would argue that 23XI and FRM don’t have their charters now because they didn’t sign the agreement. Both teams acquired a charter from Stewart-Haas Racing — Pockrass questions what will happen to those as the legal battle continues.

“Some would say, ‘Do they have them at all,’ because they didn’t sign the agreement,” Pockrass said. “So, you could theorize that 23XI and Front Row don’t have charters anymore because they never signed the agreement for this season. I think the big question will be what happens with the charters that they each bought from Stewart-Haas. Do they get to keep those?

“I think right now, the feeling is when it comes to Dover, that both 23XI and Front Row will have three open cars apiece. What happens with that Stewart-Haas charter that each bought will kind of get determined by the courts down the road.”