Jim France gives slippery answer when pressed about 23XI, Front Row NASCAR lawsuit at Talladega

Spotted walking around the garage, Jim France has refused to comment on the newly released NASCAR lawsuit. 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports are suing NASCAR over antitrust claims.

The lawsuit, at its core, states that NASCAR has created a monopoly for stock car racing. This is done through provisions in the charter agreement, how NASCAR owns the Next Gen cars and all rights to them, the inability for teams to participate in races outside of NASCAR, and even pointing at the single source suppliers for the Next Gen car.

Jim France apparently does not want to talk about it. At least not right now. NASCAR has yet to officially respond to the claims.

Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports and Jeff Gluck of The Athletic both tried to get comments from France, the CEO of NASCAR. He would not take the bait.

“Excited about our championship battles and looking forward to a fantastic race today,” France said to Gluck.

NASCAR chairman and CEO Jim France declined comment on the lawsuit but said: “Excited about our championship battles and looking forward to a fantastic race today.”

— Jeff Gluck (@jeff_gluck) October 6, 2024

It makes sense for France to not comment at the moment. He is likely just doing what his lawyers are instructing him to do. No point in saying something now when you have weeks to make a formal response in court.

The NASCAR lawsuit has been all the talk this weekend, of course. Drivers and team owners are all very interested in the outcome of the lawsuit. However, no one outside of 23XI and Front Row wants to say too much about it.

This is a chance for teams not involved in the lawsuit to play both sides.

NASCAR lawsuit: Teams, drivers keeping cards close to his chest

For the teams that are not involved in the NASCAR lawsuit directly, everyone but 23XI and Front Row, this lawsuit is a chance to sit back. Don’t expect other teams to join the lawsuit. Instead, expect them to wait and see over the coming months and years.

So, why won’t teams come out in support of 23XI Racing? Does this show that the lawsuit is wrong? Well, no. It means those teams signed the charter agreement and know their situation. Keep a low profile and if NASCAR wins the lawsuit and things remain the same, you won’t have Jim France mad at you.

But we can read between the lines. Richard Childress more or less confirmed the part of the lawsuit around the charter agreement deadline from weeks ago. Teams felt threatened and felt they had to sign to keep their charters.

Jim France isn’t saying anything right now, but he will have to speak up sooner or later. This NASCAR lawsuit isn’t going anywhere any time soon.