Michael Jordan releases statement on 23XI lawsuit against NASCAR

23XI Racing co-owner Michael Jordan issued a statement Wednesday after 23XI and Front Row Motorsports filed an anti-trust lawsuit against NASCAR in federal court in North Carolina accusing the sanctioning body of monopolizing “premier stock car racing in order to enrich themselves at the expense of the premier stock car racing teams.”

“Everyone knows that I have always been a fierce competitor, and that will to win is what drives me and the entire 23XI team each and every week out on the track,” Jordan said. “I love the sport of racing and the passion of our fans, but the way NASCAR is run today is unfair to teams, drivers, sponsors, and fans. Today’s action shows I’m willing to fight for a competitive market where everyone wins.”

Statement from 23XI and Front Row Motorsports ownership. Read more here https://t.co/zvseR0i7bP pic.twitter.com/2HGtyawX6k

— 23XI Racing (@23XIRacing) October 2, 2024

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 Racing, Front Row Motorsports taking NASCAR to court

Under the current model, charters are not permanent franchises like the setup in other professional sporting leagues. Teams can lose their charters due to poor performance on the racetrack or failing to field their cars week in and week out. As a result, most race teams lose money on a yearly basis.

23XI and Front Row could lose their four combined charters entirely if the legal situation does not play out in their favor, according to Jeff Gluck and Jordan Bianchi of The Athletic.

Jordan told The New York Times earlier this year that NASCAR would “die” if the sanctioning body didn’t offer permanent chargers to race teams due to the negative economic impact.

“If you had permanent charters, then you could create a revenue stream, either with new investors or different types of sponsorships that would subsidize that type of variance between ownership and the league,” Jordan said. “That’s a big, big miss right there. If you don’t correct that, this sport’s going to die not because of the competition aspect, but because economically it doesn’t make sense for any business people.”