Larry McReynolds rips 23XI, Front Row for disrupting NASCAR status quo with lawsuit

Larry McReynolds is unimpressed by 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports’ anti-trust lawsuit against NASCAR accusing the sanctioning body of “unlawful monopolization of premier stock car racing in order to enrich themselves at the expense of the premier stock car racing teams.”

McReynolds, the former NASCAR crew chief and current FOX Sports analyst, called out 23XI and Front Row Wednesday on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio for attempting to disrupt “the way [NASCAR] has done business for 76 and a half years.”

“We’ve got an organization that’s been here not even four years that all of a sudden is saying, ‘We gotta change the way NASCAR’s run.’ I’m all about change. Change is what makes you better,” McReynolds said, via Brett Winningham of Speedway Digest. “But you know what? When I see Richard Childress, Jake Roush, Rick Hendrick, and Joe Gibbs that’s been here longer than some of these guys have been pooping yellow… and they signed off and said this is good… we’re okay.

“There’s things we don’t like about it but we’re going to do what’s best for the sport and best for our business. And they signed off on it and these people that have been either not competitive or only been here for four and a half years have been saying the way we’ve done business for 76 and a half years is wrong.”

Larry McReynolds calls out Michael Jordan over ‘hideous statement’

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.

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.

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.”

McReynolds called Jordan’s statement “hideous.”

“It’s a hideous statement in my book”, McReynolds said. “He used the word unfair… what do you mean unfair? Could you clarify a little bit on unfair?”

McReynolds believes NASCAR has conducted fair business for all parties over the last decade, citing the number of drivers who have gone to Victory Lane this season.

“Things that NASCAR has done over the last decade is about as fair as fair could be to all parties involved. Including our fans,” McReynolds said. “Competitive. We’ve had 18 different flippin’ winners this year. Come on. Come on with the competitive.”