What’s Happening?

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 on the Line?

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.

The Charters

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.

Would think any charters in limbo wouldn’t be sold until lawsuit ends as it would be a slippery slope slope. Could they be leased though by race? Just don’t know. Currently not even clear what happens to charters FRM/23XI bought from SHR. https://t.co/5MaqUVEsZy

— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) June 6, 2025

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.

The Drivers

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.

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