NASCAR Sues 23XI & FRM Claiming Teams “Embarked on a Strategy to Threaten, Coerce, and Extort”
What’s Happening? Though the ongoing lawsuit between Michael Jordan’s 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports lawsuit with NASCAR is awaiting its…
Several storylines have devolved from the ongoing lawsuit between NASCAR and two of its teams, 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports. However, following Wednesday’s countersuit, some fans are now asking what it could mean for teams if NASCAR ended its Charter System outright.
What’s Happening? Though the ongoing lawsuit between Michael Jordan’s 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports lawsuit with NASCAR is awaiting its…
Wednesday, NASCAR counter-sued 23XI, FRM, and 23XI co-owner Curtis Polk, claiming that during their efforts to negotiate a new Charter Agreement with NASCAR, the teams and Polk committed “anticompetitive collective conduct.”
We have covered Wednesday’s filing in-depth alongside the entirety of this lawsuit via our timeline linked below. However, after this filing and a subsequent conference call with NASCAR lawyer Chris Yates, one topic of conversation, the potential elimination of the Charter System, began to work its way into the public forum.
As part of those conference calls, Yates suggested that the teams’ lawsuit is making a case for the elimination of the Charter System as a whole.
This is not the first time the potential end of the system has been reported. A Feb. 13 report from Jenna Fryer of AP Sports stated, “Should 23XI and Front Row prevail, it is believed NASCAR will eliminate the charter system outright.”
Furthermore, a central narrative of the 2024 Charter Negotiations was that teams wanted the system made permanent, something NASCAR opposed. Nonetheless, reports during this time stated that NASCAR was willing to eliminate the system if teams did not sign NASCAR’s final offer.
So, what exactly would it mean if NASCAR eliminated this system?
What’s Happening? The 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports lawsuit will continue for some time. However, many developments will occur along…
It is unknown how NASCAR would go about revoking the Charter System. However, if they did so, the loss of these Charters would affect almost every team on the Cup Series grid.
For fans, the most prevalent aspect of this decision would be the loss of automatic entry into Cup Series points races. Teams losing this benefit would result in any team going to the track without a guarantee they would race.
It seems unlikely that a top team would fail to make a 40-car field in this scenario. But the implications of such action in an unpredictable sport like racing mean that if any team has one weekend of bad luck or even a small hiccup in qualifying, they will be sent packing. Most fans don’t mind this aspect of Charters, yet some traditionalists would likely be happy with its revocation.
The second factor at risk for the teams is the valuable revenue shared by NASCAR vis the Charter Agreement. Under the 2025 NASCAR Charter Agreement, teams receive roughly 49% of revenue from the new NASCAR media rights deal. For some teams, this money is crucial for keeping their operations “green.”
Apart from surface-level factors, other scenarios could result from such a dramatic decision.
For example, teams have recently spent millions to get just one Charter. They did so potentially under the impression they could resell for the same price or even more. This begs the question of whether they will be compensated for the value of their lost Charter.
Furthermore, fans learned during this lawsuit that some sponsors and drivers have clauses in their contracts that require teams to have a Charter. During a Nov. 4. hearing, 23XI and FRM lawyer Jeffery Kessler claimed that Tyler Reddick could leave the team if it lost its Charter. Should NASCAR revoke the Charter System, could fans see a mass exodus of sponsors and a wild wave of free agency?
While some of these questions are valid, one thing stands in the way of answers. NASCAR must first make the very bold and industry-shifting decision to revoke this system.
What’s Happening Monday Night NASCAR Filed a response to 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsport’s re-filed preliminary injunction motion. The two…
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