NASCAR fires back in court filing vs. Michael Jordan, Denny Hamlin-led 23XI, FRM

In a court filing Wednesday, NASCAR has fired back against Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin-led 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports (FRM). The organization called the lawsuit “meritless” amid a quest for more a more favorable contract.

“Plaintiffs have filed a meritless suit against NASCAR alleging baseless antitrust claims in order to obtain commercial agreements they previously rejected, and to attempt to extort more favorable contract terms,” the filing read, via Bob Packrass.

The lawsuit, filed earlier this month in a North Carolina federal court, accused NASCAR and CEO Jim France of “unlawful monopolization of premier stock car racing in order to enrich themselves at the expense of the premier stock car racing teams.”

In a filing Wednesday, NASCAR said it hopes for expedited discovery. The organization also noted its plan to have 32 Charters for the upcoming season amid the ongoing dispute.

“NASCAR has taken steps, consistent with its contractual obligations to other Charter Teams, to plan for a season with only 32 Charters,” the filing read. “NASCAR is working on reallocating funds that Plaintiffs would have received to increase prize money and other special awards for the 2025 season for the benefit of teams that timely executed 2025 Charters, as well as Open teams who can compete to win the increased prize money.”

Last week, Hamlin laid out the next steps for the lawsuit on his Actions Detrimental podcast. He explained what 23XI and Front Row will do next for the 2025 Cup Series season and beyond.

“We stated that we’ll be filing for an injunction. That’s the first thing that has to happen,” Hamlin said. “The injunction is basically we’re going to seek relief, and in injunctions, you typically have to show — again, I’m not a lawyer, so be careful here — you have to show irreparable harm if you don’t stop it.

“We’re trying to stop NASCAR from taking our charters. Obviously, there would be massive irreparable harm there. We’re going to go to the courts and say listen, let us operate as a chartered team while this lawsuit goes on over the next year to two years. If you lose your charters and you win the lawsuit, then what? You can’t go back. It’s going to be tough to operate that way. As 23XI, we’re prepared for any outcome. I think Michael [Jordan] has stated and I’ve stated to the team we will not let this affect our employees whatsoever in any kind of way, and any financial distress is going to have to fall directly on the owners. It will not fall on our people whatsoever. We will not allow that to happen.”