23XI and Front Row Could Lose Their Charters as Soon as Dover Following Court Ruling

What’s Happening?

In a big update regarding the 23XI and Front Row Motorsports lawsuit against NASCAR, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals denied a rehearing today for the parties involved. This news was reported by NASCAR journalist Dustin Long, who retrieved the information from the court documents released this morning. Long went on to insinuate that both teams could lose their charter status as soon as the Dover race weekend.

• Since the breakdown in negotiations regarding the latest charter agreement late last year, 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports have been locked in an intense legal battle. 23XI and Front Row both wanted their charters to be made permanent, like the franchise model other sports leagues have. Considering how much both teams have spent on their charters, this came as no surprise.
• NASCAR briefly stripped both teams of their charters ahead of the 2025 season. However, a court ruling at the time stated that NASCAR did not have the legal authority to do that. It was a small (and seemingly temporary) victory for the teams in the grand scheme of things.
• If 23XI and Front Row lose their charters at Dover, this would mean less purse money flowing into the teams’ wallets. This could have a big effect on the teams’ financial situation moving forward. Case and point, 23XI was eyeing expansion in late 2024 with Riley Herbst. However, the official signing was delayed due to these tense charter negotiations.
• It is also believed that both Bubba Wallace’s and Tyler Reddick’s contracts were written with the assumption that they were guaranteed charters. This ruling could potentially lead to the release of both drivers, meaning that they could possibly be looking for new homes in 2026.
• A loss in charters also means that the teams would not have guaranteed spots in the field.

Following the release of the ruling, 23XI Racing’s lawyer, Jeffery Kessler provided the following statement.

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