The two race teams suing NASCAR over antitrust allegations filed for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction Monday to be recognized as chartered organizations for the remainder of 2025.

23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports are locked in a lengthy legal battle over the charter system, which is the equivalent of the franchise model in other sports. 23XI, owned by retired NBA great Michael Jordan and three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin, and Front Row, owned by entrepreneur Bob Jenkins, last September rejected NASCAR’s final proposal on extensions and instead filed an antitrust suit.

The case is winding its way through the court system but now with urgency: the teams were set to lose their charters Wednesday and in the latest filing, they allege NASCAR has indicated it will immediately begin the process of selling the six tags that guarantee entry into every race as well as monetary rewards and other benefits.

After the filing NASCAR was ordered to respond by 5 p.m. Wednesday — which means there would be no ruling on if the charters will be revoked likely until Thursday, at the earliest.

“Today we filed a motion in the district court for a renewed preliminary injunction and temporary restraining order to protect the teams’ ability to race chartered for the remainder of the 2025 Cup Series season and prevent irreparable business harm to 23XI and Front Row Motorsports until we can present our case at trial in December,” said Jeffery Kessler, attorney for the teams.

“New information surfaced through the discovery process that overwhelmingly supports our position that a preliminary injunction is legally warranted and necessary. The teams’ love of stock car racing and belief in a better future for the sport for all parties – teams, drivers, employees, sponsors, and fans – continues to motivate their efforts to pursue this antitrust case.”

There were large portions of the filing redacted because the arguments are based on information learned through discovery, making it confidential, for now. But, the urgency is likely tied to NASCAR indicating it plans to immediately begin selling the charters if they are revoked.

Should the teams have their six combined charters revoked, the drivers would have to qualify on speed to make each week’s race and would receive a smaller percentage of the purse. They may also have to refund money paid out through the first 20 races of the year.

NASCAR accused 23XI and Front Row of filing “a third motion for another unnecessary and inappropriate preliminary injunction” and noted it has made multiple requests to the teams “to present a proposal to resolve this litigation.”

“We have yet to receive a proposal from 23XI or Front Row, as they have instead preferred to continue their damaging and distracting lawsuit,” NASCAR said in a statement. “We will defend NASCAR’s integrity from this baseless lawsuit forced upon the sport that threatens to divide the stakeholders committed to serving race fans everywhere.

“We remain focused on collaborating with the 13 race teams that signed the 2025 charter agreements and share our mutual goal of delivering the best racing in the world each week, including this weekend in Dover.”

Also on Monday, Rick Ware Racing and Legacy Motor Club had a short virtual hearing in a North Carolina court over their fight for a charter.

Legacy, owned by seven-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson, contends it had an agreement with RWR to lease one of its two charters in 2026. RWR contends the agreement was for 2027 and it already has a contract with RFK Racing to lease that team a charter next season.

Legacy on Monday asked for and was granted the right to depose RWR over the recent revelation that T.J. Puchyr, one of the founders of Spire Motorsports, plans to purchase the race team. Legacy contends if Ware is selling the team, then one of the charters should be transferred to its organization.

Legacy also argued that Ware did not disclose he was entering into a sales agreement with a third party — Puchyr, who is now a consultant and brokered the initial lease deal between RWR and Legacy — in an April hearing. The judge in that case warned that RWR could be in contempt of court if it misrepresented its intentions in the first hearing.

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AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

• #93 MMG Honda of Karl Wittmer and LP Montour claims victory on home soil
• MMG only 110 points back in the TCR class championship following back-to-back wins

Honda returned to victory lane for the second-consecutive time, as the #93 MMG Honda Civic Type R TCR of Karl Wittmer and LP Montour took the win at their home track in the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park 120. Things took a dramatic turn in the sixth round of the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge season, but MMG executed cleanly amidst the chaos, taking the checkered flag first and bolstering their position in the championship fight.

After qualifying in second position the day prior, just a mere 0.040 seconds off the pole position time, LP Montour rolled off as the race went green, carrying forward the team’s strong momentum throughout his stint. He moved up into the lead by the fifth lap over the polesitter, but found himself overtaken by another competitor four laps later.

The team had to complete a pit stop earlier than originally anticipated, as they suffered an unexpected left front tire delamination. Montour managed to dive into pit lane to address the sudden issue, and thus put Karl Wittmer on a major fuel-saving strategy as he took over driving duties.

During Wittmer’s stint, a drive-through penalty for a pit lane speed violation was handed to the then-leading car in the TCR field, promoting MMG to first place, although Wittmer still had a big task ahead of him to save enough fuel to the end

With 40 minutes remaining in the two-hour event, an incident involving multiple vehicles in Turn 7 brought out a lengthy full course caution. The second and third-place runners were involved, taking them out of contention. The caution allowed Wittmer to save additional fuel. The green flag running resumed with 20 minutes to go, and Wittmer went on to cross the finish line with a 2.149 second buffer between him and the car behind, securing his fifth and Montour’s second career series wins.

Following their top form at both Watkins Glen International and Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, the Honda outfit currently sits third in the TCR championship standings, just 110 points out of the lead.

The #5 KMW Motorsports with TMR Engineering Honda Civic Type R TCR of William Tally and Tim Lewis recovered from a spin on lap 2, battling a subsequent rear-alignment issue for the remainder of the race, to cross the line in 10th.  

Canadian Tire Motorsport Park 120 Honda Race Results

• Finished 1st – #93 MMG Honda Civic Type R TCR, Karl Wittmer, LP Montour
• Finished 10th – #5 KMW Motorsports with TMR Engineering Honda Civic Type R TCR, William Tally, Tim Lewis

Quotes
LP Montour (#93 MMG Honda Civic Type R TCR) Finished first: “Happy to have won the race with Karl. It’s a whole Canadian team here on Canadian soil. It means a lot for the whole team to be able to secure back-to-back wins; it’s very good for the points in the championship. Can’t be happier than that for my friends and family; Honda and MMG did everything right and it paid off.”

Karl Wittmer (#93 MMG Honda Civic Type R TCR) Finished first: “Honda gave us a great car. Everyone at MMG and HRC is working so hard to make this program happen for us and the results are showing it. Proud to be Canadian, proud to be part of HRC and MMG, and we will probably throw the biggest party in our hometowns to celebrate!”

Next
Honda will return for the seventh round of the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge season, the two-hour Road America 120, on Saturday, August 2nd at 2 PM CT / 3 PM ET.

Acura and HRC US social media content and video links can be found on:

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CONCORD, N.C. – Even in its illustrious history at race tracks across the United States, there’s a case to be made for Dover Motor Speedway being the best for Hendrick Motorsports. 

Even among the current crop of drivers, the numbers are eye popping. Chase Elliott has a pair of wins at the Monster Mile with Kyle Larson and Alex Bowman each registering one. Bowman’s, which came in May of 2021, came as part of a 1-2-3-4 sweep, only the fourth such occurrence in the history of the NASCAR Cup Series. 

Elliott has finished in the top five 10 times in his career at the 1-mile, high-banked oval, the most of any race track on his ledger. Larson’s 938 laps led are second among active drivers behind only Kyle Busch. His career average finish of 8.2 at Dover is tops with Elliott right behind in second at 9.5. 

William Byron has three fourth-place finishes in his last five Dover starts. 

All told, Hendrick Motorsports is the all-time leader at Dover in wins (22), top fives (81), top 10s (127) and laps led (7,624). 

Here’s a look at each driver’s history at the track as well as a brush up on Hendrick Motorsports history: 

RELATED: Every Hendrick Motorsports win at Dover Motor Speedway

Shane van Gisbergen is on a hot streak, having won the last three road courses and with the previous two coming on back-to-back weeks from the pole at Chicago and Sonoma, respectively.

He still has a lot to prove on the ovals, though, as the series has ovals the next three weeks at Dover, Indianapolis and Iowa before another road course at Watkins Glen.

The drivers second and third Sunday at Sonoma — Chase Briscoe and Chase Elliott — both moved up in these power rankings heading into Dover:

Dropped out: Chris Buescher (LW: 10)                                                             

On the verge: Buescher, Kyle Busch, Ross Chastain, Ty Gibbs, Joey Logano, van Gisbergen

10. Alex Bowman (Last Week: 7)

Bowman was going to finish 17th but a tap from Ty Dillon — who was paired against Bowman as part of the in-season tournament quarterfinals — relegated the Hendrick driver to 19th. Either way, it wasn’t the result Bowman wanted as he continues to be on the bubble to make the playoffs.

9. Ryan Preece (Last Week: 6) 

Preece finished a respectable 12th at Sonoma for his sixth consecutive finish of 15th or better and his sixth top-12 finish in his last nine races.

8. Chase Briscoe (Last Week: Not Ranked)

A second-place finish was impressive for Briscoe at Sonoma as he got back on track after two finishes outside the top-20. The finish was Briscoe’s seventh top-5 of the season in his first year at Joe Gibbs Racing.

7. Ryan Blaney (Last Week: 4)

Blaney had a frustrating day at Sonoma, finding himself sent off-course a few times in his battles with other drivers. The Penske driver’s day ended four laps short of the finish in 36th.

6. Tyler Reddick (Last Week: 8)

Reddick placed sixth at Sonoma as he now has finishes of fourth, third and sixth in his last three races. The 23XI Racing driver had just three top-four finishes in the first 17 events of the year.

5. Christopher Bell (Last Week: 9)

Bell’s last good finish was nearly a month ago when he placed second at Mexico City before he drove his way to fifth at Sonoma. The JGR driver needs better finishes to have any momentum going into the playoffs.

4. Kyle Larson (Last Week: 2)

Larson was involved in a couple of incidents, and he limped his wrecked car home in 35th. It’s hard to believe the Hendrick driver’s last top-5 was in early June at Michigan.

3. William Byron (Last Week: 5) 

The series points leader placed eighth at Sonoma as he also earned points in both stages as he tries to hang on for the regular-season title. He’s now up on his Hendrick teammate Chase Elliott by just 14 points.

2. Denny Hamlin (Last Week: 1)

A speeding penalty and a spin didn’t help Hamlin at Sonoma as he left wine country in 20th and nothing to taunt the crowd about. But Dover’s up next and that is a great track for the JGR driver.

1. Chase Elliott (Last Week: 3) 

Elliott had fresh tires at the end, but one little hiccup cost him any shot of possibly challenging van Gisbergen for the win. But it was still quite the run for Elliott, who has four top-5s in his last five starts.

Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR and INDYCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass.