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23XI and Front Row Motorsports face an uncertain future with their upcoming Nov. 4 injunction hearing. This preliminary injunction would allow the two teams to compete as Chartered entries in the 2025 NASCAR season. If they aren’t granted the injunction, the two plaintiffs will have to face the uncertain future as an open team, so how would this work?
23XI and FRM knew what they were up against when they refused to sign the 2024 NASCAR charter agreement in Atlanta. The two were at risk immediately of losing their charters at the end of the prior charter agreement at year-end.
This raised many questions about the future of the two teams. Prior to the fallout of charter negotiations, FRM began planning for a 2025 expansion of three chartered cars. Furthermore, rumors throughout the season had pointed to 23XI as a prime candidate for expansion.
However, throughout this period, 23XI made it clear that they would compete even as open teams in 2024. More importantly, it still felt as if they had a plan that came to light on Oct. 2 when FRM/23XI sued NASCAR.
The two teams also announced that they would file an injunction that would allow them to compete as chartered teams in 2025 under the new terms. With that preliminary injunction filed Wednesday and a hearing date set for Nov. 4, the two will have to wait to hear their future. So, what will the two teams face if they don’t get their injunction?
If 23XI and FRM are charter-less in 2025, they would be considered “open teams.” If they were to be open teams in 2025, they would face some very clear disadvantages away from the track.
The term “open,” of course, refers to an unchartered team. Unlike some open teams, a major problem that the 23XI/FRM face is the loss of their four to six charters.
Buying these charters costs millions of dollars, and for a team like FRM, that money stacks up quickly. As far as 23XI goes, they bought their charters a few years ago as prices began to spike to new heights. The loss of these charters would mean financial losses previously unseen in NASCAR.
However, the lawsuit revealed that 23XI purchased a third charter prior to Sept. 7. Furthermore, NASCAR has yet to approve the sale of both charters. While the teams may not lose money on these transactions if NASCAR cancels them, this is still a major loss for both teams. They have already spent money on R&D and hiring for a third entry.
As far as operating the team goes, the two teams will have to deal with the loss of revenue sharing with NASCAR and its tracks. According to the lawsuit, the cost of running one car is over $10 million.
“Overall, it costs approximately $18 million per year to run one chartered team (including car costs, travel expenses, etc., but excluding driver salary) for a full season of Cup Series races.” – Page 6
Losing this revenue sharing, which was supposed to be much larger next year under the new agreement, will impact the multi-car teams. Likewise, the teams will have to qualify for races without the guarantee of entry. While these two teams have the speed in all their cars to qualify for almost any race, this will add undue stress to their race weekends.
However, in a recent statement, the two teams made it clear following the lawsuit that they are planning on racing despite charter status.
With so much on the line facing this injunction, these two teams are not stepping down. However, if they don’t get the injunction, a difficult road lies ahead.
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