In response to the appeals court decision this week, 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports are making another move in the NASCAR lawsuit. The teams intend to file a motion for a temporary restraining order and a new preliminary injunction in order to save their charter status. However, they have asked the courts to keep certain documents confidential.

The U.S. Court of Appeals vacated the preliminary injunctions from last December. That puts 23XI and Front Row at risk of losing their charters for all six of their Cup Series teams.

This NASCAR lawsuit has continued to be a back-and-forth between the two sides. Losing charters for the rest of the season would be a major hit to 23XI and FRM monetarily.

In today’s filing, the teams are asking the District Court to “file certain materials under seal.” The teams are submitting more evidence to support their case that they require charter status for this season in order to avoid “irreparable harm.”

As part of the filing, certain documents will be redacted from the public’s view. However, a redacted version of the motion for the restraining order and preliminary injunction will be made available for the public. The redacted documents include business information, confidential communications, as well as “documents relating to sponsors, drivers, and other partners and contracts…”

Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports reports that he believes this injunction will be to keep their charters. The U.S. Court of Appeals denied 23XI and FRM’s motion for a hearing in front of the full seven-judge panel. So, it appears they have gone back to the drawing board with a tight deadline to do so. The charters will be taken away the week of the Dover race. That is, without further intervention.

NASCAR lawsuit: Teams attempting to keep charter status

When Judge Niemeyer of the U.S. Court of Appeals struck down the District Court’s injunctions from December, he called into question the claim that 23XI and FRM had made in order to receive the injunctions. In other words, he felt they lacked evidence for what they were claiming.

In early June, Niemeyer ruled: “In entering a preliminary injunctionin this case, the district court held that the plaintiffs were likely to succeed on the merits of their antitrust action against the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR), and it’s CEO, James France, because NASCAR, as an alleged monopolist, required the plaintiffs, as a condition of doing business with them, to enter into a release for past conduct. Because that theory of antitrust law is not supported by any case of which we are aware, we conclude that it was not a likely basis for success on the merits and vacate the injunction.”

23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports have had their fair share of wins in this lawsuit against NASCAR. However, losing charter status would be a big loss. Both sides seem intent on going to trial in December. So, we will be along for the ride until then.

The results of this lawsuit could change the sport. Whatever that looks like remains to be seen. And there are a lot of people not involved in the lawsuit who will be impacted.

The 48th Annual Cornwell Tools Night Under Fire will dazzle and delight fans of all ages, Aug. 1-2, 2025, at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio.

The substantial signature event known as The Greatest Show in Drag Racing® will feature more than 82 performers, which is the most in the history of the event, and they will be ready to put on an outstanding show.

“We have been thinking about and dreaming about this event for the past year, and we have a striking show planned that will appeal to all senses,” said Bill Bader, Summit Motorsports Park president. “We urge you to get your tickets now as we are expecting a sell-out.”

NHRA Funny Car standouts Ron Capps, Daniel Wilkerson, Cruz Pedregon and Dave Richards will soar side-by-side, and talented Top Fuel racers Antron Brown, Justin Ashley, Clay Millican and Josh Hart will rocket down the racetrack.

Powerful NHRA Pro Stock drivers Greg Anderson, Dallas Glenn, Erica Enders and Jeg Coughlin Jr. will add to the adrenaline, as will twelve Top Alcohol Funny Cars, twelve Top Alcohol Dragsters and twelve Pro Mods.

Hayden Proffitt will bump into the beams and blast off with afterburners all aglow in his Hot Streak II jet engine-powered truck, and Ernie Bogue, Scott Holdridge, Dawn Perdue and Neil Esposito will gun for a North American Jet Car Championship in their 300-mph vehicles.

R&R Auto Body Top Sportsman, Factory Stock, Pro Outlaw Drag Sleds and ScottRods Gassers will also be in action.

There will be a fantastic flyover by the Hooligans Flight Team featuring historic military airplanes, as well as skydivers. The Bader Family Signature $150,000 Fireworks Show presented by R&R Auto Body will be shot from multiple locations over the park.

The Edelbrock Super Series Elite presented by Red Line Oil and Rocko Machine will feature the top 16 racers in Summit Motorsports Park’s Edelbrock Super Pro, Edelbrock Pro, Wiseco/CycleTech Super Bike and Edelbrock Sportsman Delivered on Time by TFC Transportation programs as of Aug. 1, and they will race for a share of $64,400 on Aug. 2.

Additionally, the Summit Racing Equipment Junior Dragster Shootout will put the spotlight on the top eight racers in Summit Motorsports Park’s Bear Motorsports Advanced, Intermediate and Novice Junior Dragster presented by Wiseco programs as of June 1, and they will race for cash, trophies and gift cards on Aug. 2.

As always, the Bader Family Guarantee, which promises the best show possible at the best price possible, is in place and offers an unconditional money-back guarantee.

Fans who want to elevate their experience even more can join the John Force Winner’s Circle, which offers VIP parking, premium starting line seating, patio viewing, pit area access, souvenir goody bag, chalet access, catered meals, complementary soft drinks and bottled water, two alcohol beverages for those 21 and older, cash bar, snacks, private restrooms and more.

Tickets are selling quickly. For tickets or more information, visit summitmotorsportspark.com or call 419-668-5555. Summit Motorsports Park is at 1300 State Route 18, Norwalk, Ohio.

This story was originally published on July 11, 2025.

Entering the race weekend at the Chicago Street Course, there was no guarantee that Austin Hill would even get to compete in the Grant Park 165 NASCAR Cup Series race.

For the first time since the race at Texas Motor Speedway in November 2018, there were more cars on the entry list for a non-Daytona 500 race than spots available in the 40-car field, and with Hill set to drive one of the five non-chartered (open) entries, he was not locked in.

He had to battle it out in qualifying with Kaulig Racing’s Will Brown, Garage 66’s Josh Bilicki, 23XI Racing’s Corey Heim, and Live Fast Motorsports’ Katherine Legge.

Many fans predicted that the DNQ battle would come down to Bilicki and Legge, since Kaulig Racing, 23XI Racing, and Richard Childress Racing are all full-time teams with multiple cars. However, it was one of those teams that ended up being the odd team out, with Heim making contact with the wall during qualifying and failing to get into the race.

Hill, however, comfortably made it into the field, and his success did not stop there.

The driver of the No. 33 Chevrolet placed ninth in Sunday’s race, marking his first career top 10 finish in 12 Cup Series starts. It was his first top 20 finish since he placed 14th at Daytona International Speedway in August 2023 for Beard Motorsports.

Impressively, it was the best finish for Richard Childress Racing’s No. 33 car since that car still ran full-time in 2011, with Clint Bowyer behind the wheel for a season-ending sixth place finish at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

The car did not run from 2016 to 2021, but it did run part-time from 2012 to 2015 before returning in 2022 and running select races each year since. In all the years it ran post-2011, its best finish prior to Hill’s effort on Sunday was 11th place, a result recorded by Austin Dillon at Michigan International Speedway in 2013.

The No. 33 Chevrolet is indeed set to return later this year, but not this weekend at Sonoma Raceway. The only open car on the entry list for Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 is Legge’s No. 78 Live Fast Motorsports entry.

As of now, Richmond Raceway is set to mark the next appearance of the No. 33 Chevrolet, albeit with Jesse Love behind the wheel instead of Hill. Love has made two starts in the car so far this season, the more recent of which coming at Kansas Speedway in May. The Richmond race is scheduled to take place on Saturday, August 16.

Sonoma Raceway will play host to its 36th Cup Series race Sunday — but it’s first in July.

This is the latest in the calendar that NASCAR has visited the 11-turn, 1.99-mile road course of San Francisco. The previous 35 races were primarily held in June (from 1993-97, the race was run in May).

Kyle Larson is the race’s defending winner, leading 19 of 110 laps for his second victory at Sonoma. The previous five winners at Sonoma also led the most laps.

Larson, Kyle Busch and Daniel Suarez are the only active winners at Sonoma in the 37-driver field.

After starting first and winning at Mexico City and Chicago, Shane van Gisbergen will try to join Jeff Gordon as the only drivers to win three consecutive road or street course races from the pole position.

Sonoma will mark the third round of the In-Season Challenge, the five-race elimination tournament that will pay $1 million to the winner.

The matchups at Sonoma are: Alex Bowman vs. Ty Dillon; John Hunter Nemechek vs. Erik Jones; Ryan Preece vs. Tyler Reddick and Ty Gibbs vs. Zane Smith.

RFK Racing’s Chris Buescher has scored three consecutive top-five finishes at Sonoma Raceway.

Details for Saturday’s Xfinity race at Sonoma

(All times Eastern)

START: The command to start engines will be given at 3:38 p.m. … The green flag is scheduled to wave at 3:50 p.m.

PRERACE: The Cup garage will open at 12:30 p.m. … Driver introductions are at 3 p.m. … The national anthem will be performed at 3:31 p.m.

DISTANCE: The race is 110 laps (218.9 miles) on the 11-turn, 1.99-mile road course in Sonoma, California.

STAGES: Stage 1 ends at Lap 25. Stage 2 ends at Lap 55.

ENTRY LIST: Click here for the 37 cars entered at Sonoma Raceway.

TV/RADIO: TNT will broadcast the race starting at 3 p.m. … Performance Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio will have radio coverage.

FORECAST: WeatherUnderground — Partly cloudy with a high of 83 degrees and winds from the southwest at 10 to 15 mph. It’s expected to be 80 degrees with a 0% chance of rain at the start of the Cup race.

LAST TIME: Kyle Larson led the final nine laps and finished 4.258 seconds ahead of Michael McDowell for the victory on June 8, 2024.

Just eight drivers remain eligible to take home the $1 million NASCAR In-Season Tournament prize after a wild opening two rounds of action at EchoPark Speedway and the Chicago Street Course led to a lot of overwhelming favorites being bounced from the bracket.

Ty Dillon, who came into the tournament as the 32nd and final seed, will look to continue his improbable yet incredible run through the bracket as he will face off head-to-head against Alex Bowman, the No. 8 seed in the bracket, in Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway.

While Dillon has ultimately moved through the opening two rounds of the tournament due to his opening two round competitors — Denny Hamlin and Brad Keselowski — getting knocked out due to early-race crashes at Atlanta and Chicago, Dillon has put in some solid efforts in both races, which may have moved him on had the others not found trouble.

The driver of the No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet nabbed his best finish of the season, an eighth-place result, in the Quaker State 400 at EchoPark Speedway two races ago, and last week, he overcame a late-race flat tire to finish a respectable 20th in the Grant Park 165.

But the question is, can he mount enough of a challenge this weekend to get past Bowman?

If you look at the career stats for both drivers at Sonoma Raceway, your intuition would tell you no.

In five career NASCAR Cup Series starts at the 1.99-mile road course in Wine Country, Dillon has a career-best finish of 23rd, and his average finish is a paltry 26.8 at Sonoma. Meanwhile, Bowman has finished outside the top-20 at Sonoma just twice in his eight career starts at the track, and both of those results came while driving for BK Racing in 2014 and Tommy Baldwin Racing in 2015. Since moving to Hendrick Motorsports in 2018, Bowman has not finished worse than 16th at Sonoma Raceway.

But the In-Season Tournament has been decided upon much more than career stat sheets, as we’ve seen.

While Dillon heads into the third round of the tournament with two of his better runs of the season under his belt, and has gotten there with very little noise, Bowman comes into this weekend’s event at Sonoma Raceway following the latest dust-up of his long-standing feud with Bubba Wallace. Last weekend at Chicago, Wallace and Bowman were matched up in the In-Season Tournament bracket, and what resulted was a knock-out drag-out fight for several laps, which eventually resulted in Wallace being spun out.

Both drivers said all of the right things after cooling off following last Sunday’s race, but you kind of wonder if the feud will spark up again at Sonoma if Bowman and Wallace find themselves near one another on Sunday. If it does, there is a realistic shot that Dillon could advance to the fourth round of the In-Season Tournament.

NASCAR In-Season Tournament Round 3 Matchups (Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma)

• No. 32 Ty Dillon vs No. 8 Alex Bowman
• No. 12 John Hunter Nemechek vs No. 20 Erik Jones
• No. 15 Ryan Preece vs No. 23 Tyler Reddick
• No. 6 Ty Gibbs vs No. 14 Zane Smith