(Adobe Stock)

Attorneys for 12 of NASCAR’s 15 race teams argued in federal court Tuesday that disclosing their financial records to the stock car series would be “catastrophic” to competitive balance and warned that making such details public would put them all in danger.

The hearing was over a discovery dispute between NASCAR and the teams that are not parties in the ongoing antitrust suit filed by 23XI Racing, which is owned by retired NBA Hall of Famer Michael Jordan and three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin, and Front Row Motorsports, owned by entrepreneur Bob Jenkins.

23XI and Front Row are the only two organizations out of the 15 that refused last September to sign take-it-or-leave offers on a new charter agreement. Charters are NASCAR’s version of a franchise model, with each charter guaranteeing entry to the lucrative Cup Series races and a stable revenue stream. Of the 13 teams that signed, only Kaulig Racing has submitted the financial documents NASCAR subpoenaed as part of discovery.

The other 12 organizations are fighting against releasing the information to NASCAR and even argued that NASCAR asking for them violates the charter agreement, which claims all disputes must go to arbitration.

U.S. District Judge Kenneth Bell of the Western District of North Carolina promised a quick ruling but, just like last week, seemed exasperated at the lengths being taken in this brawl that for now is heading toward a December trial.

“I am amazed at the effort going into burning this house down over everybody’s heads,” Bell said at the end of the nearly two-hour hearing. “But I’m the fire marshal and I will be here in December if need be.”

Attorneys for the teams say their financial records are private and there is no guarantee the information won’t be leaked; in a hearing last week, information learned in discovery was disclosed in open court.

“It would be absolutely devastating to these race teams if their competitors were able to find out sponsorships on the cars, driver salaries and all revenue streams,” attorney Adam Ross said. “It cannot make its way into the public realm.”

Ross said NASCAR has asked for 11 years of records and communications—including what Hendrick Motorsports spent on both its Garage 56 project building a car to race at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the cost of Kyle Larson running both the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 the last two seasons.

“NASCAR has gone a step too far,” Ross said.

NASCAR argued it needs the financials to understand profit margins and whether teams are actually unable to make ends meet under the charter agreement. NASCAR vowed to redact details to conceal team identities, a suggestion that was met with skepticism from team attorneys who contended it would be easy to connect the dots and, for example, figure out which contracts belong to, say, Team Penske.

Attorneys also argued that money is not often distributed equally across the board with each team. For example, Team Penske might use an engineer for a NASCAR team, an IndyCar team and a sports car team.

Bell asked NASCAR why it would not be satisfied with just “topline” numbers.

“Why is not enough to know it costs X to run a car?” Bell asked.

Attorneys for the 12 teams also noted that their clients are extremely uncomfortable to be dragged into the suit.

“This is the opposite of what they want—all the teams are torn to pieces that NASCAR wants them to disclose this information and they don’t want to upset NASCAR,” Ross said.

Teams have long argued that NASCAR is not financially viable and they needed multiple concessions, including a greater revenue stream and a more permanent length on the charter agreements. Those presently have expiration dates and can be revoked by NASCAR. Two years of negotiations ended last fall with 13 teams signing on but 23IX and FRM instead heading to court.

The hearing came one day after Bell declined to dismiss the teams’ request to toss out NASCAR’s countersuit, which accuses Jordan business manager Curtis Polk of using “cartel”-type tactics in the most recent round of charter neg

Former NASCAR car owner Larry McClure has died.

He was 81.

McClure died Wednesday morning at Johnson Memorial Hospital in Abingdon, VA, according to Sports Illustrated.

“The Family of Larry A. McClure, former co-owner of Morgan McClure Motorsports, announces with great sorrow his passing on Wednesday, June 25 at Johnson Memorial Hospital in Abingdon, Virginia,” the family also announced in a statement. “We would like to thank everyone for their prayers and support during this most difficult time.”

Sports Illustrated said that McClure partnered with his brother, Jerry McClure and Tim Morgan in 1983 to form a part-time NASCAR Cup Series team. That part-time team quickly became a full-time team and was in operation for 28 years before shuttering in 2012.

McClure remained until 2007.

Along the way, Morgan McClure Motorsports was able to win 300 Daytona 500s. The first came in 1991 with Ernie Irvan behind the wheel, and then Sterling Martin won the 500 back-to-back in 1994 and 1995.

The team competed in a whopping 703 races.

“My heart hurts finding out Larry McClure passed away,” Marlin wrote on X. He took a chance on me saying, ‘I know you’ll drive the hell out of it.’ He gave me a fast race car & back to back Daytona 500s. He was innovative, smart & a hell of a guy. Glad I got to see him last year. Gonna miss him.”

“I send my deepest condolences to the family of Larry McClure,” Hermie Sadler posted on X. “Many years ago, I went to Chicagoland with one car and one engine. My engine blew in practice. He gave me an engine to run. He said, ‘if you out qualify my car, you can race that engine for free.’ RIP.”

Kings Mountain Historical Museum is holding its inaugural Moonshine and Motorsports Car Show this weekend.

• NASCAR’s Cup Series returns to cable television on TNT after a five-week stint on Amazon Prime Video.

The NASCAR blackout has been lifted.

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Denny Hamlin drives through Turn 3 during a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Pocono Raceway, Sunday, June 22, 2025, in Long Pond, Pa. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — A federal judge on Wednesday ordered a dozen NASCAR teams to provide 11 years of financial data to the stock car series as part of an ongoing legal fight but sharply limited what they need to share.

A day after hearing arguments from both sides, U.S. District Judge Kenneth Bell of the Western District of North Carolina said the information will “allow NASCAR to have much of the arguably relevant substance of the requested information, while protecting the legitimate interests” of the 12 teams. They had raised concerns that the private financial details could end up being made public and would hurt competitive balance.

Under the decision, the teams must provide top-line data — total revenue, total costs, and net profits and losses — dating to 2014. The teams and NASCAR were ordered to settle on an independent accounting firm to handle the details by Friday, with that work paid for by NASCAR.

Earlier this week, attorneys for 12 of the 15 overall race teams argued against disclosing their financial records to become part of NASCAR’s antitrust lawsuit. They are not parties in the ongoing suit filed by 23XI Racing, which is owned by the NBA Hall Jordan and three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin, and Front Row Motorsports, owned by entrepreneur Bob Jenkins.

23XI and Front Row are the only two organizations of the 15 that refused last September to sign take-it-or-leave offers on a new charter agreement. Charters are NASCAR’s version of a franchise model, with each charter guaranteeing entry to the lucrative Cup Series races and a stable revenue stream. Of the 13 teams that signed, only Kaulig Racing has submitted the financial documents NASCAR subpoenaed as part of discovery.

Teams have long argued that NASCAR is not financially viable and they need a greater revenue stream and a more permanent length on the charter agreements, which presently have expiration dates and can be revoked by NASCAR. Two years of negotiations ended last fall with 13 teams signing on and 23IX and FRM instead heading to court.