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A day after hearing arguments from both sides,
U.S. District Judge Kenneth Bell of the Western District of
North Carolina said the information will “allow NASCAR to have
much of the arguably relevant substance of the requested
information, while protecting the legitimate interests" of the
12 teams. They had raised concerns that the private financial
details could end up being made public and would hurt
competitive balance.
Under the decision, the teams must provide top-line data — total
revenue, total costs, and net profits and losses — dating to
2014. The teams and NASCAR were ordered to settle on an
independent accounting firm to handle the details by Friday,
with that work paid for by NASCAR.
Earlier this week, attorneys for 12 of the 15 overall race teams
argued against disclosing their financial records to become part
of NASCAR's antitrust lawsuit. They are not parties in the
ongoing suit filed by 23XI Racing, which is owned by the NBA
Hall Jordan and three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin, and
Front Row Motorsports, owned by entrepreneur Bob Jenkins.
23XI and Front Row are the only two organizations of the 15 that
refused last September to sign take-it-or-leave offers 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. Of the 13 teams that
signed, only Kaulig Racing has submitted the financial documents
NASCAR subpoenaed as part of discovery.
Teams have long argued that NASCAR is not financially viable and
they need a greater revenue stream and a more permanent length
on the charter agreements, which presently have expiration dates
and can be revoked by NASCAR. Two years of negotiations ended
last fall with 13 teams signing on and 23IX and FRM instead
heading to court.
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