The 23XI and Front Row Motorsports antitrust lawsuit has shocked the NASCAR world. The two teams claim that NASCAR is operating an illegal monopoly on stock car racing. Of course, the industry players on social media have a lot to say about the potential court battle.
First, 23XI and FRM released a joint statement about the lawsuit. It quickly yet effectively stated the facts of the case. Notably, the statements from both the team and 23XI co-owner Michael Jordan make it clear that they are factoring the fans into their decision.
FRM’s owner, Bob Jenkins, focused on the business side in his statement. Jenkins, a long-time businessman, wants to make sure that NASCAR has a fair playing field.
Adam Stern of Sports Business Journal asked the team’s lawyer, antitrust legend Jeffrey Kessler, what the end goal is for the teams; Kessler said this much.
Claire B Lang, a long-time NASCAR insider, suggested that NASCAR may not want to take this to court. NASCAR does have an interesting history of settling out-of-court.
Alan Cavanna says 23XI/FRM would take a settlement under very specific circumstances.
As far as other owners go, Jordan Bianchi of the Athletic got a few to comment anonymously. Of course, these reflected a tone of shock and seemingly respect for the guts of the many owners of the two teams that had to sue NASCAR.
Kenny Wallace has seen this film before and knows the ending well. He is concerned about those pesky pit road speeding penalties, even citing Hamlin’s former teammate, Tony Stewart, on the matter.
MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio personality Dave Moody is worried about how this affects 23XI co-owner Denny Hamlin’s on-track mentality. Hamlin is in a tough stretch in the playoffs and is clearly not in that championship mentality four races in.
Prior to this, Moody had interviewed the plaintiff’s lawyer, Kessler, on NASCAR Radio. Kessler spoke bluntly about the situation, perhaps leading NASCAR Radio to edit and remove the interview, which many insiders noticed, including Denny Hamlin.
Taylor Kitchen of Racing America and TobyChristie.com was shocked to see this. Of course, this was a weird time for all of us in the NASCAR media.
Kessler wasn’t the only one who spoke bluntly on NASCAR Radio. NASCAR’s legendary Crew Chief, analyst, and NASCAR Radio host Larry McReynolds made controversial comments on how the young team, 23XI, and the “not competitive” team, FRM, are trying to throw their weight around.
Of course, fans shot back at the elder statesman with the usual high-quality content.
Dale Tanhardt, rather than his usual comedic approach, was short and to the point with his opinion. He was throwing his hat into the ring for the plaintiffs.
Nascarman, as always, reminded us of the sport’s history, bringing up the Ferko Lawsuit, which was NASCAR’s last major antitrust suit and resulted in the sale of Rockingham to SMI.
Of course, IndyCar content creator David Land brought IndyCar into the conversation, joking that NASCAR should sell Michigan back to IndyCar owner Roger Penske. At the same time, nascarman joked that IndyCar should hop in as well.
Chase Holden of the Speed Street Podcast reminded everybody that 23XI was not only bringing fun paint schemes back into style but also assisting in making major court cases popular again.
Ryan McGee, a longtime NASCAR contributor for ESPN, had things to say about this suit as well. However, his take garnered not only backlash but a community note from X.
McGee made the point that during recovery from Hurricane Helene in North Carolina, something NASCAR and its teams have been on the frontlines of, 23XI and FRM should have at least waited. However, as the teams are filing an injunction for Charters in 2025, they had to do so as soon as possible.
McGee, an NC native, was very passionate about this stance. However, fans and industry members didn’t agree.
Denny Hamlin was just as shocked as the rest of the NASCAR community.
Meanwhile, Freddie Kraft of Door Bumper Clear and 23XI expressed his pride in his team despite what McGee posted.
Fans, in fact, reminded McGee that 23XI is proudly on the front lines working to get supplies to those affected.
Of course, the article’s “whataboutism” sparked controversy. In a world in which so many bad things are happening, how do we focus on other things?
Of course, McGee’s point is that the hurricane’s disaster is right in the backyards of the two teams. This is, of course, a confusing time for both NASCAR fans and, more importantly, residents of Western North Carolina.
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