Michael Jordan’s 23XI vs NASCAR: The Complete Timeline
What’s Happening? The 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports lawsuit will continue for some time. However, many developments will occur along…
NASCAR has taken a crucial yet expected step in appealing the Dec. 18 ruling that granted 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports their Preliminary Injunction and new Charters. Wednesday, the sport’s legal team submitted a 68-page brief highlighting what they believe to be their case for the Court of Appeals to overturn this decision.
NASCAR claims several times throughout the brief that the District Judge, Kenneth Bell, who took over the case on Dec. 11, was wrong to grant the team’s injunction. On Page 25, the brief directly claims the court’s Dec. 18 decision “was fraught with errors, both legally and factually.”
Among several other claims, NASCAR Argued in this brief that the court altered the status quo by making NASCAR grant the teams Charters, though the teams did not agree to “many of the Charter’s material terms.”
The sport’s legal team also claims the court was wrong in its ruling on the Charter Agreement’s standard release provision.
As part of the Charter Agreement, the standard release provision essentially waives Chartered team’s rights to file antitrust claims against NASCAR. This release was a major topic of the lawsuit and the injunction. In Wednesday’s filing, NASCAR states, “The district court erred in concluding that the Charter’s release violates the antitrust laws.” This is a reference to the Dec. 18 decision, which asked:
“Can a monopolist require that a party agree to release the monopolist from all claims that it is violating the antitrust laws as a condition of doing business? The answer is no.”
In Wednesday’s brief, NASCAR claims on page 42, “No court of appeals ever has concluded that a release provision constitutes anticompetitive conduct under the antitrust laws.”
This lawsuit began on Oct. 2, when 23XI and FRM, the two teams who held out on signing the 2025 NASCAR Charter Agreement, filed an antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR and subsequently filed a preliminary injunction to compete as Chartered teams in 2025.
The team’s preliminary injunction was initially denied on Nov. 8. However, upon refiling under “new circumstances,” the teams were granted a Charter Agreement. Furthermore, in that Dec. 18 judgment, the court ruled that NASCAR must approve the transfer of two charters, one per team, that each had agreed to purchase from Stewart-Haas Racing.
We have covered this lawsuit extensively via the article below.
What’s Happening? The 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports lawsuit will continue for some time. However, many developments will occur along…
What do you think about this? Let us know your opinion on Discord or X, and don’t forget that you can also follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.
