Report: 23XI Racing, Front Row Motorsports to appeal injunction denial in federal court

23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports have filed a notice to the US District Court that it will appeal the denial of a preliminary injunction in their case against NASCAR, per Bob Pockrass of Fox Sports. This comes after the judge denied their request ahead of the NASCAR Cup Series Championship race at Phoenix.

23XI and Front Row filed the notice to the U.S. Court of Appeals. The move by the teams is not a big surprise considering their attorney, Jeffrey Kessler, told reporters that they would appeal the judge’s decision.

“We are pleased with the court’s decision to expedite discovery and fast track the schedule in our case against NASCAR,” Kessler said of the lawsuit. “Although we are disappointed that the preliminary injunction was denied without prejudice and as premature which we intend to appeal, this denial has no bearing on the merits of our case. My clients will move forward to race in 2025 and continue to fight for a more fair and equitable system in NASCAR that complies with antitrust law.”

During the hearing that took place last Monday, the judge said 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports
“have not met their burden as required for a preliminary injunction. Should circumstances change, Plaintiffs may file a renewed motion for preliminary injunction. Therefore, the Court denies Plaintiffs’ motion without prejudice.”

What happens to 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports in 2025?

23XI and Front Row filed a lawsuit against NASCAR on Oct. 2 claiming the sanctioning body’s actions violate antitrust laws. A week later, the teams filed a motion for a preliminary injunction to allow them to compete in 2025 as chartered teams. They did not sign the charter agreement, which was signed by 13 other Cup Series organizations on September 6.

23XI is co-owned by Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan. This past weekend, Hamlin spoke to reporters about the lawsuit.

“So, anyway it had been a while [since I’d been to court] but my adrenaline was pumping, right?” Hamlin said. “Because I’m like obviously, you hear the arguments and whatnot. Of course, we feel very adamant on our side of things.

“There’s certainly, you know, when you wake up one Friday morning you know something’s coming, you’re nervous. Because obviously, you know, I’ve poured a lot into the sport in multiple ways and certainly financially over the last four years I’ve put back a lot of the money that I got out of it back into it. And that certainly all can be wiped away pretty quickly. So, certainly, it’s a nervous time for me and we hope this thing gets resolved in a peaceful manner or a correct manner to fix it.”