NASCAR teams urge settlement as
trial looms for Michael Jordan's antitrust suit against series
[October 07, 2025]
By JENNA FRYER
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Michael Jordan stood on the steps outside a
federal courthouse and acknowledged he was willing to settle an
antitrust suit against NASCAR. The judge hearing the case months ago
admonished both sides to come to a resolution. The biggest names in
NASCAR — Roger Penske, Rick Hendrick, Joe Gibbs and Richard
Childress — have called for a settlement.
The likelihood of finding some sort of peace agreement seems slim,
though. Just last week, the attorney representing the two teams
suing NASCAR said he was looking forward to a December trial.
What the non-suing teams have realized is that the entire NASCAR
ecosystem is at stake. The suit filed by Jordan-owned 23XI Racing
and Front Row Motorsports has the potential to significantly impact
every team. For the first time, they have gone on record calling for
both a settlement and the protection of the charter system that is
at the heart of NASCAR's business model and the focal point of the
court fight.
U.S. District Judge Kenneth Bell warned of the dangers of going to
trial.
“Until the jury comes back and we start talking -- and only if they
find for the plaintiffs, and we start talking about equitable
remedies — nobody knows what ’26 is going to look like," Bell
cautioned at the last hearing. "Sponsors don’t know, drivers don’t
know, broadcasters don’t know. Because if plaintiffs prevail, NASCAR
is going to look very different. And that’s a lot of uncertainty for
everybody.
"If plaintiffs don’t prevail, everybody’s got certainty: You ain’t
racing with a charter. Nothing about their business is going to
change. But nobody knows that until sometime mid-December.”
The charter system
The charter system is NASCAR's version of a franchise model. A
charter guarantees owners spots in the field, a base amount of
revenue each year, and according to NASCAR, has created more than
$1.5 billion in equity value for its teams since 2016.
A year ago, 13 of the 15 teams re-signed when they believed two-plus
years of negotiations would not lead to a better deal. 23XI,
co-owned by Jordan and three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin,
and Front Row Motorsports, owned by entrepreneur Bob Jenkins, went
to court instead.
For months, the other 13 teams have privately complained that the
lawsuit is creating uncertainty over the future of NASCAR. One
session before a mediator earlier this year was not productive, and
NASCAR this week is expected to file a motion in hopes of having a
judge other than Bell hear both sides and advise on a resolution.
The latest motions
NASCAR last Friday asked Bell for summary judgement in its favor and
an Oct. 21 hearing is scheduled.
The filing in the U.S. District Court in Charlotte included
statements from several NASCAR team owners and executives supporting
the charter system and urging resolution.
Among the statements was one from Gibbs, who owns the team that
Hamlin drives for and has a technical alliance with 23XI Racing. He
made it clear he has told both sides he does not want to be a
witness in court "and I think it’s important for this to be resolved
before any real damage is done to the sport.”
The teams have always wanted the charters — which are currently
being sold on the open market for roughly $45 million — to become
permanent. They currently have expiration dates and are tied to
NASCAR's broadcast package.
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Drivers head down the front straightaway during a NASCAR Cup Series
auto race at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kan., Sunday, Sept. 28,
2025. (AP Photo/Colin E. Braley)
“I have repeatedly expressed my strong desire for
the charter system to become permanent in nature, and I continue to
hold out hope that will one day be the case," Gibbs wrote. “Doing so
would, in my view, solidify the financial health and well-being of
the Cup teams and the sport as a whole.”
Penske wrote he signed the deal “because I felt that NASCAR was not
going to move any further on their document and it was time for our
team to go forward.”
From Childress: “Without charters, the team ownership model is
unsustainable."
And from Hendrick: “Without this framework in place, I question the
long-term viability of the teams. More than anything, I hope the
matter is resolved in a way that does not put the sport at risk.”
What happens next?
Although Jordan said after the last hearing in August he was open to
settlement, the attorney representing 23XI and Front Row indicated
his clients are prepared to go to trial. Jeffrey Kessler said there
is a willingness for settlement talks, but argued the owner
declarations only support the antitrust case.
“My clients are not, and never have been, seeking to eliminate the
charter system,” Kessler said. “They have supported charters because
teams cannot survive without them. The declarations from team owners
and executives acknowledge this same economic reality. ... NASCAR’S
new motion changes nothing and we look forward to presenting our
case at trial on December 1.”
NASCAR has indicated there is a path toward resolution before trial,
though it is unwilling to renegotiate the charter agreements. NASCAR
has also not revealed what common ground it is willing to reach with
23XI and Front Row.
23XI and Front Row have said they remain committed to meaningful
change — perhaps that is permanent charters, or maybe it is by
forcing NASCAR, a private company owned by the Florida-based France
family, to divest itself from controlling essentially every aspect
of the nation's top motorsports series.
But going to trial is a dangerous proposition. If the teams lose,
23XI and Front Row could simply cease to exist in NASCAR. 23XI has
already told its employees they will be taken care of through the
2026 season. It isn't financially viable for the organizations to
compete without charters no matter how much money Jordan has.
For NASCAR, the stakes are so much higher for everyone from the
France family to the 13 teams that aren't suing. A loss could lead
to a dramatic overhaul of NASCAR's very structure, starting with the
charter system teams say they want. Bell could order the France
family to sell the series or the race tracks they own.
This lawsuit has already taken a toll on the industry and the time
for resolution is dwindling.
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