23XI and Front Row File to Compete as Chartered Teams in 2025

AVONDALE, ARIZONA - NOVEMBER 04: Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 FedEx Toyota, speaks with staff member of 23XI Racing on the grid during qualifying for the NASCAR Cup Series Championship at Phoenix Raceway on November 04, 2023 in Avondale, Arizona. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)

What’s Happening?

23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports have filed their long-awaited preliminary injunction against NASCAR. This injunction would allow the two plaintiffs, 23XI and FRM, to race as Chartered teams in 2025.

  • 23XI and FRM sued NASCAR after they refused to sign the 2025 NASCAR Charter Agreement. The two were the only chartered teams out of 15 that did not agree to NASCAR’s new Charter terms. However, those who signed may not have personally agreed with the terms, as there are reports that NASCAR pressured teams to sign.
  • The suit emerged last week via a joint press release from 23XI and FRM. The two claim that NASCAR violates antitrust laws by operating an illegal monopoly over stock car racing. Claims against NASCAR include its track ownership and its ownership of its former competitor, ARCA, among other issues.
  • The two parties announced their intention to file this injunction in the lawsuit last week. According to the lawsuit, the injunction would allow the two to operate as Chartered teams next season “without being subject to any claim by Defendants that Plaintiffs have relinquished their antitrust claims against Defendants.” This means that they would be bound to the 2025 Charter Agreement. However, without worrying about NASCAR claiming that they have waived their antitrust suit.
  • Alongside this, FRM/23XI requested expedited discovery, which would allow them access to NASCAR’s in-house documents and files involving the charter negotiations and its purchase of ARCA and International Speedway Corporation. The filling today also released new information about the process, including letters from NASCAR and the two teams, which Bob Pockrass of Fox Sports has posted in an in-depth thread on X.

In the team’s joint press release, their lawyer, Jeffrey Kessler, said:

“NASCAR’s dominant control over racing is not because of its superior skill or business acumen, but rather its history of exclusionary acts and restrictive agreements that have stifled competition through its monopoly power. We believe our expedited discovery requests of NASCAR and the France family will shed light on their anticompetitive practices and support a preliminary injunction ruling that 23XI and Front Row Motorsports have a legally protected right to race next year while our antitrust case proceeds in Court,” — Jeffrey Kessler

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HAMPTON, GEORGIA - FEBRUARY 21: Sheldon Creed, driver of the #00 Road Ranger Chevrolet, takes the checkered flag to win the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series Bennett Transportation & Logistics 250 at Echo Park Speedway on February 21, 2026 in Hampton, Georgia.

O’Reilly: Sheldon Creed Breaks Through in Thriller at EchoPark Speedway

What’s Happening?

It was a busy Saturday at EchoPark Speedway (formerly Atlanta Motor Speedway). First, we had the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race. Then, the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series took center stage and they were two vastly different events. Ultimately, it was Sheldon Creed standing tall in victory lane when all was said and done. Here’s what you need to take away from tonight’s NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race at EchoPark Speedway.

  • There were a lot of drivers who had tire problems which set off massive wrecks and incidents. First, Sam Mayer had a tire go down from the race lead. Sammy Smith got bitten. Austin Green. Corey Day. Taylor Gray. The list goes on and on. Some of them were able to stay in contention while others were plagued for the rest of the race.
  • Speaking for Corey Day, he just had a bad race. First, he sparked an incident which took out several drivers, including the Sieg brothers (who weren’t shy about voicing their displeasure about the rookie) and Harrison Burton. And though the broadcasters on the CW gave him the benefit of the doubt, the later incident was less forgivable. In this incident, while he was battling the JRM duo of Carson Kvapil and Justin Allgaier for the race lead, Day got into the No. 1 Arby’s Chevy, sending all three of them into the wall. This is certainly a performance that he’ll want to forget.
  • Chevrolets swept the stages. Winning the first one was none other than Jesse Love, continuing RCR’s dominance on drafting tracks. Rajah Caruth, who had a handful all race, was able to capture his first career stage win by winning Stage 2.
  • It wasn’t the dominating race for RCR that we all thought it would be. With ill-handling cars, their qualifying attempts were underwhelming, and they got off to a lukewarm start tonight. By the end of it, though, they were in the mix. Slicing and dicing, Austin Hill had the lead as they came around to take the white flag. However, in Turn 1, he got “Chastained.” Ross Chastain plowed into the back of the No. 21, knocking him down to the apron. Hill was able to save it and rally home to a 12th place finish.
  • The big story tonight is that Sheldon Creed, finally, after far too many runner-up finishes to count, broke through to capture his first NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series win. It will certainly be a day he and his team will never forget.

Notable Incidents

Lap 5: Corey Day

Corey Day had a very sloppy, bad race in general, and it started early. First, he caused a wreck that took out Harrison Burton and a couple of others. Then, he took out the JRM duo of Carson Kvapil and Justin Allgaier. You can recap that first incident by reading the article below.

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Lap 142: Sammy Smith

Kvapil and Allgaier weren’t the only JRM cars to have issues tonight. Firstly, Rajah Caruth was out of control throughout the race, fighting a mean-handling car. He was able to brilliantly save it several times, to his credit. But perhaps the biggest incident involving the four JRM Chevys came at Lap 142 when Sammy Smith had a tire go down and spun in front of the pack. This took out several drivers, including Taylor Gray, among others. Read about that here:

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Results

Results Pending.

Points Standings (2 of 35)

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O’Reilly: Sammy Smith’s Flat Takes Out Heavy Hitters Late at EchoPark

What’s Happening?

As Ross Chastain took the lead and the pack was closing in on 20 laps to go, things a little deeper in the pack started to get a little hairy. We had yet another huge crash late in the running here tonight, this one sparked by Sammy Smith’s flat rear tire. Here’s what happened:

  • As the laps were winding down in tonight’s O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race, Sammy Smith, along with his JRM teammates, were in the thick of contention for the win. Unfortunately for him, a poorly-timed flat rear tire ended his (and several others) chance to capitalize and get that first valuable win of the season. Unable to hold onto it, the No. 8 Pilot Chevy spun around in front of a massive horde of cars.
  • Helpless to go anywhere, several heavy hitters were caught up in this incident. They include the likes of William Sawalich, Gio Ruggiero, Patrick Staropoli, Taylor Gray, Brennan Poole, Nick Leitz, and Lavar Scott.
  • It’s an unfortunate beginning of the year for a handful of these drivers. Luckily for Brennan Poole, he’s coming off a strong showing at Daytona and was in the thick of it here tonight. That shows some promise for sure.

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O’Reilly: Mid-Race Report from EchoPark Speedway

What’s Happening?

It has been a tail of two races when it comes to today’s NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series at EchoPark Speedway (formerly the Atlanta Motor Speedway). We got off to a rough start with Corey Day triggering a massive wreck that took out the likes of Harrison Burton, and the Sieg brothers. Then, the field settled in and started to churn laps. Here’s what’s gone down so far.

  • Sam Mayer led a bulk of the opening laps. Leading the first 23 laps of the race, he was forced to pit on Lap 24 due to a flat left front tire. No caution was triggered. To make matters worse, he was caught speeding on pit road, putting him down several laps and effectively taking him out of contention.
  • Jesse Love continued RCR’s dominance in the first stage. With Mayer out of the picture, he assumed the race lead, leading 31 laps to win the opening stage.
  • Austin Hill finally made it up to the race lead by Stage 2. Unfortunately for him and RCR, their win streak in the stages ended with the conclusion of Stage 2. It was Rajah Caruth in the No. 88 HendrickCars.com Chevy that captured the green and white checkered flag.
  • In a horrific accident during pit stops, Taylor Gray smashed into one of his tire carriers. It was a scary situation. Fortunately, he got up like a champ and completed the stop. He was thankfully checked and released from the in-field care center.
  • Corey Day’s woes continued as the field set in for the final stage of the evening. Drawing further criticism, Day, while battling for the race lead, made contact with leader Carson Kvapil, sending them both into the outside wall. Also collected in the incident was Kvapil’s teammate, the 2024 series champion, Justin Allgaier.

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