Federal judge calls on NASCAR,
teams to settle bitter antitrust battle
[June 18, 2025]
By JENNA FRYER
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — A federal judge urged NASCAR and two of its
teams, including one owned by retired NBA great Michael Jordan, to
settle their increasingly acrimonious legal fight that spilled over
into tense arguments during a hearing on Tuesday.
U.S. District Judge Kenneth Bell of the Western District of North
Carolina grilled both NASCAR and the teams — 23XI Racing, which is
owned by Jordan and three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin, and
Front Row Motorsports, owned by entrepreneur Bob Jenkins — on what
they hoped to accomplish in the antitrust battle that has loomed
over the stock car series for months.
“It's hard to picture a winner if this goes to the mat — or to the
flag — in this case,” Bell said. “It scares me to death to think
about what all this is costing.”
23XI and Front Row were the only two organizations that refused to
sign a take-it-or-leave-it offer from NASCAR last September on a new
charter agreement. Charters are NASCAR's version of a franchise
model, with each charter guaranteeing entry to the lucrative Cup
Series races and a stable revenue stream; 13 other teams signed the
agreements last fall, with some contending they had little choice.
The nearly two-hour hearing was on the teams’ request to toss out
NASCAR’s countersuit, which accuses Jordan business manager Curtis
Polk of “willfully” violating antitrust laws by orchestrating
anticompetitive collective conduct in negotiations. NASCAR said it
learned in discovery that Polk in messages among the 15 teams tried
to form a “cartel” type operation that would include threats of
boycotting races and a refusal to individually negotiate.
One of NASCAR's attorneys even cited a Benjamin Franklin quote Polk
allegedly sent to the 15 organizations that read: “We must all hang
together, or most assuredly we shall all hang separately."
Jeffrey Kessler, an attorney representing the teams, was angered by
the revelation in open court, contending it is privileged
information only revealed in discovery. Kessler also argued none of
NASCAR's claims in the countersuit prove anything illegal was done
by Polk or the Race Team Alliance during the charter negotiation
process.
“NASCAR knows it has no defense to the monopolization case so they
have come up with this claim about joint negotiations, which they
agreed to, never objected to, and now suddenly it's an antitrust
violation,” Kessler said outside court. “It makes absolutely no
sense. It's not going to help them deflect from the monopolizing
they have done in this market and the harm they have inflicted.”
He added that “the attacks” on Polk were "false, unfounded and
frankly beneath the dignity of my adversary to even make those type
of comments, which he should know better about.”
NASCAR attorneys said Polk improperly tried to pressure all 15 teams
that comprise the RTA to stand together collectively in negotiations
and encouraged boycotting qualifying races for the 2024 Daytona 500.
NASCAR, they said, took the threat seriously because the teams had
previously boycotted a scheduled meeting with series executives.
“NASCAR knew the next step was they could boycott a race, which was
a threat they had to take seriously,” attorney Lawrence Buterman
said on behalf of NASCAR.
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Bob Jenkins, owner of Front Row Motorsports, and Michael Jordan,
co-owner of 23XI Racing, pose before a NASCAR Cup Series auto race
at Talladega Superspeedway, Oct. 6, 2024, in Talladega, Ala. (AP
Photo/Butch Dill, File)
Kessler said outside court the two teams are open
to settlement talks, but noted NASCAR has said it will not
renegotiate the charters. NASCAR’s attorneys declined to comment
after the hearing.
Bell did not indicate when he’d rule, other than saying he would
decide quickly.
Preliminary injunction status
Kessler said he would file an appeal by the end of the week after a
three-judge federal appellate panel dismissed a preliminary
injunction that required NASCAR to recognize 23XI and Front Row as
chartered teams while the court fight is being resolved.
Kessler wants the issue heard by the full appellate court. The
injunction has no bearing on the merits of the case, which is
scheduled to go to trial in December. The earliest NASCAR can treat
the teams as unchartered is one week after the deadline to appeal,
provided there is no pending appeal or whenever the appeals process
has been exhausted.
There are 36 chartered cars for the 40-car field each week. If 23XI
and Front Row are not recognized as chartered, their six cars would
have to compete as “open” teams — which means they’d have to qualify
on speed each week to make the race and they would receive a
fraction of the money guaranteed for chartered teams.
Discovery issues
Some of the arguments Tuesday centered on Jonathan Marshall, the
executive director of the RTA. NASCAR has demanded text messages and
emails from Marshall and says it has received roughly 100 texts and
over 55,000 pages of emails.
NASCAR wants all texts between Marshall and 55 people from 2020
through 2024 that contain specific search terms. Attorneys for the
RTA said that covers more than 3,000 texts, some of which are
privileged, and some that have been “deleted to save storage or he
didn’t need them anymore.”
That issue is set to be heard during a hearing next Tuesday before
Bell.
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