23XI Turns NASCAR’s Own Playbook Against It in Shocking Courtroom Twist

Jeffrey Kessler is known as one of the top antitrust attorneys in the U.S., and on Wednesday, he lived up to that title. He took NASCAR’s own witnesses and used their testimony to tear apart the defense.

It was a masterclass. Like peak-era Michael Jordan, Kessler didn’t just win exchanges; he controlled every move. He set traps, and NASCAR’s witnesses stepped right into them.

How 23XI Used NASCAR’s Own Witnesses to Make Its Case

NASCAR has leaned on one argument again and again: losing this case could destroy the sport financially. They’ve tried to make NASCAR seem fragile, saying big changes or large damages could threaten its survival.

It’s a classic corporate defense strategy. Make the jury scared of what their verdict might do to thousands of jobs, to a beloved American sport, to the France family legacy. But Kessler saw through it. And more importantly, he had the receipts to prove it was nonsense.

As Adam Stern noted on X, Kessler has been subtly weaving a brilliant counter-narrative throughout his cross-examinations.

“A theme that Jeffrey Kessler has subtly tried to get NASCAR’s own witnesses to testify to is how Covid showed it could adjust. Kessler is signaling to the jury that NASCAR’s own actions show it would adjust if it had to pay damages or change its model, not go out of business,” the Sports Business Journal reporter wrote.

NASCAR didn’t break during the pandemic years. Like any other sporting discipline, NASCAR experienced a significant decline in revenues at the time. But the organization weathered the storm.

It rewrote schedules, built safety systems from scratch, and found smart ways to keep racing on track. All this proves that NASCAR is stable enough to survive large financial shocks. And now Kessler is using that very resilience as part of his attack.

The reason Kessler’s strategy hits so hard is that it cuts straight into NASCAR’s main defense. Monopolies and dominant companies always fall back on the same claim: antitrust action will hurt them. It’s a familiar script.

Kessler is making it clear that NASCAR isn’t looking for protection because the sport is weak. They’re really asking the jury to let them hold onto their monopoly, even though they’ve proved over and over that they can adjust when needed.

The COVID example works because it’s recent and undeniable. Everyone saw sports leagues rebuild themselves in 2020, and NASCAR was one of the ones that made it work.

So when they now say they can’t adjust their business model or handle possible damages without falling apart, it doesn’t sound believable. The jury has seen evidence, from NASCAR’s own witnesses, that they can.