NASCAR Wins Big Appeal, 23XI Racing and FRM NO LONGER Treated as Chartered Teams
What’s Happening? The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit has ruled in favor of NASCAR and overturned a…
Yesterday, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled that NASCAR no longer has to recognize 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports as charter organizations. There are a lot of questions going on about what this ruling means for both teams and what it could mean for NASCAR silly season.
What’s Happening? The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit has ruled in favor of NASCAR and overturned a…
Thursday’s ruling means 23XI and FRM will no longer reap the benefits of being chartered teams in the NASCAR Cup Series. This overturned a Dec. 18 ruling that granted the two teams a preliminary injunction to compete as charter teams under the 2025 Charter Agreement throughout their ongoing antitrust lawsuit with NASCAR.
Right now, 23XI and FRM are in a 14-day window to petition for a rehearing. Should this ruling not be overturned, at the end of that 14-day window, there will be seven days until the teams are no longer treated as charter teams.
When considering the effects this could have on NASCAR’s silly season, the first thing that may come to mind is the six charters that could hit the market. However, other factors at play from earlier in this lawsuit could even affect the two teams’ driver lineups.
What’s Happening? Today, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled in favor of NASCAR, overturning a Dec….
First, looking at the charters, both teams have three charters: two they owned before the start of the lawsuit, and one each they purchased from Stewart-Haas Racing.
Entering this season, most rumors suggested that it was unlikely that we would see the same number of NASCAR charters floating around the market as last season. The three sales that happened last year were a result of the closure of SHR.
However, that doesn’t mean two-car teams aren’t interested in expansion. Right now, Legacy Motor Club and Rick Ware Race are tangled in a lawsuit involving a charter sale gone wrong; as part of this lawsuit, Legacy Motor Club would like to have a third charter by the start of next season, something that could theoretically happen now.
Of course, when you talk about teams hunting for charters, there’s always a mention of JR Motorsports, who made their NASCAR Cup Series debut this season, and Richard Childress Racing, who has their 2026 lineup set but has two drivers in the Xfinity Series that have a real chance of getting promoted in the future.
The issue with predicting who could buy a charter is that no one knows what will happen to the six charters owned by the two teams. NASCAR insider Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports recently posted that the two teams’ charters will likely not be sold until after the lawsuit.
However, past filings in this lawsuit suggest that charter sales aren’t the only thing that could result from this ruling to strip the teams of their charter status.
This is where the ruling gets interesting. During a Nov. 4 hearing for the initial preliminary injunction, 23XI and FRM lawyer Jeffrey Kessler claimed that drivers, using Tyler Reddick as a reference point, and sponsors could leave the team if they were not chartered next season.
While this does not mean that either of the team’s seven contracted drivers will leave, the thought that they could leave will likely be in the heads of their competitors this silly season.
The teams ran with this notion, even after a judge denied their initial preliminary injunction on Nov. 8. The Dec. 18 ruling that granted the teams their refilled preliminary injunction even stated on page 16:
“As described above, since the Court denied the initial motion, 23XI’s top 2024 driver Tyler Reddick has given notice that the team is in breach of his driver contract, which will allow him to leave the team if the breach is not cured in 30 days (by December 18, 2024). Drivers Riley Herbst, Noah Gragson, Bubba Wallace and Corey Heim have similar contracts and/or have expressed their need for immediate resolution of the uncertainty surrounding the approaching racing season.”
On the surface, this quote suggests that the listed drivers could leave the team if they lose their charters permanently.
But, in the opinion of NASCAR’s legal team, per a Dec. 9 filing, they claim that evidence presented by 23XI and FRM as part of their Nov. 27 re-filed injunction “presents only vague “possibilities”: drivers “can” leave, sponsors “may” withdraw, and Plaintiffs’ businesses “might” be harmed.”
It is yet to be seen if this ruling will actually affect the driver market of the NASCAR silly season. However, if the teams were to drop in performance without their Charters, we could see some movement in the market. Furthermore, keeping an open mind, this ruling could have little effect on the team’s broader ongoing lawsuit, meaning that everything is still up in the air on what this means for the future.
What’s Happening? The 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports lawsuit will continue for some time. However, many developments will occur along…
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On February 17, Ubisoft released a trailer that confirmed that NASCAR would be included in The Crew Motorfest’s next season update. Details were limited at the time, but in a press release issued today, Ubisoft revealed the full details of the update ahead of its March 4 launch.
Ubisoft says drafting will affect car speed and help save fuel, implying that drafting will be a huge factor in the game, at least with these cars. You can check out this and much more on Ubisoft’s official post linked below
Earlier this Tuesday, the official The Crew Motorfest account clarified confusion around the NASCAR bundles. The Crew Credit (CC) bundles only include cosmetic team liveries, not additional cars. The 3 base Next Gen cars (Ford Mustang Dark Horse, Toyota Camry XSE, and Chevrolet ZL1) are part of the free Season 9 update and can be purchased separately.
Mitch Rasmussen, NASCAR’s Senior Director of Interactive, said in the press release:
We’re excited to bring our iconic brand to life in The Crew Motorfest. This collaboration represents another important step in our strategy to bring NASCAR into the digital spaces and places where next generation fans spend their time, giving players new ways to interact with the culture and communities they love.
The content arrives as part of Year 3 Season 9 and is officially licensed by NASCAR. You can watch the first trailer and learn more in the article linked below
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Four road courses on the schedule, and somehow that’s enough to spark one of the biggest debates in the garage. After recent comments from Brad Keselowski questioning the business value of road racing, the conversation has picked up serious steam. Is NASCAR leaning too far into it, or is the current balance about right?
There are valid points on both sides, from sponsorship realities to fan traditions to competitive diversity. Some tracks have gained traction. Others have struggled. The question isn’t just whether road courses belong, but how many make sense within a 36-race season. It’s less about extremes and more about direction. And with future schedule changes always looming, this debate probably isn’t settled anytime soon.
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Corey Day’s run-in with Connor Zilisch at Circuit of the Americas became one of the most discussed incidents from Saturday’s race, even drawing a response from Denny Hamlin as well, who this week talked about his support for Zilisch.
During the race, Zilisch dealt with brake trouble on his No. 1 Chevrolet but worked his way forward from the rear of the field, advancing from P29 to P4 in the closing laps. With five laps remaining, he engaged in a battle with Hendrick Motorsports driver Corey Day as they exited Turn 2, holding the outside line. But as they contested the position, Day moved up behind him, contact occurred, and Zilisch spun off course to finish the race in P21.
After the contact, frustrated, Connor Zilisch initially referred to Day as an “absolute hack” on his radio, describing the clash as part of the latter’s racing pattern. But the JR Motorsports driver later tempered his comments, simply saying he expects an apology from the young Hendrick Motorsports driver.
Given that Zilisch declined to escalate the situation, on the latest episode of his Actions Detrimental podcast, Hamlin credited him for calmly managing his response after the race, saying,
“Zillich was smart about this. He in his interview, he’s like, “I looked over at him thinking, come on over here. Come apologize.” And he said he just looked at him with a stare like, I don’t know what it is with these guys. Why, Why can’t they… youth?”
However, he questioned Day’s failure to issue an immediate apology. In fact, he said he was “floored” by Corey Day’s reaction, which involved staring at a frustrated Zilisch rather than apologizing.
The No. 11 JGR driver also raised questions about how Hendrick Motorsports evaluates developing drivers. Organizations invest with the expectation of returns measured in wins and titles, but when a driver continues to make visible mistakes, fans and especially other drivers will start to scrutinize. Hamlin pointed to the balance between development and production, asking how long it would hold.
The COTA incident was not the first time Day’s racing antics were questioned. Last week, during the Atlanta race, Day was involved in a multi-car crash on lap five after attempting a three-wide move that resulted in contact with Ryan Sieg. The move triggered a chain reaction that collected several cars.
Sieg responded over team radio, questioning both the decision and Day’s presence in the series.
Hamlin argued that drivers are allowed to make mistakes as part of growth. At teams with front-running equipment and title ambitions, time frames are shorter. But he questioned whether Day faces a deadline by season’s end or whether the assessment extends into the following year.
In Day’s case, results have not offset the incidents that have drawn attention. Hamlin referenced Kyle Larson as an example, noting that aggressive driving can lead to contact as well as wins.
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