Tensions exploded in a Charlotte, North Carolina, courtroom on Tuesday, June 24, as NASCAR’s bitter charter battle with Michael Jordan’s 23XI Racing reached a boiling point. Twelve NASCAR Cup Series teams fought desperately to shield financial records from the sanctioning body, calling disclosure “catastrophic” for competitive survival.

The hearing exposed raw nerves in NASCAR’s franchise model war. U.S. District Judge Kenneth Bell’s closing remarks cut through the legal sparring.

Judge Kenneth Bell Blasts Legal ‘Arsonists’ in Fiery Courtroom 23XI vs. NASCAR Battle

After nearly two hours of arguments over financial secrecy, Bell’s frustration erupted. “I am amazed at the effort going into burning this house down over everybody’s heads,” Judge Bell declared. “But I’m the fire marshal and I will be here in December if need be.”

The “house” refers to NASCAR itself. Teams fear revealing driver salaries, sponsorship deals, and manufacturer payments would cripple their operations. Attorney Adam Ross argued NASCAR’s demand for 11 years of records crossed a red line.

“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,” Ross said. “It cannot make its way into the public realm. … NASCAR has gone a step too far.”

Judge overseeing NASCAR-23XI case reportedly admonished the sides again for not settling yet: “I am amazed at the effort going into burning this house down over everybody’s heads. But I’m the fire marshal and I will be here in December if need be.” – @AP https://t.co/aZdOFT8aO9

— Adam Stern (@A_S12) June 24, 2025

NASCAR claims it needs the data to counter 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports’ antitrust lawsuit alleging economic unfairness. Yet Bell questioned the scope, asking NASCAR’s attorney, “Why is not enough to know it costs X to run a car?”

Anonymized Compromise Fails to Douse Flames of Distrust Within NASCAR Teams

In a partial victory for NASCAR teams, Bell ordered limited disclosure through a neutral accountant. Organizations must provide anonymized per-car averages for revenue, costs, and profits since 2014, far narrower than NASCAR’s original subpoena. The data will hide team identities, accessible only to attorneys and experts.

But trust remains filled with tension. Ross emphasized teams feel “torn to pieces” by NASCAR’s request, noting they compete directly for sponsors. He warned redactions wouldn’t prevent identification, and said, “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.”

The hearing followed Bell’s refusal to dismiss NASCAR’s explosive counterclaim, labeling the teams (23XI and FRM) as an “illegal cartel” aiming at Jordan’s business manager, Curtis Polk, during charter negotiations.

NASCAR cited Polk’s alleged boycott threats and cited a quote from Benjamin Franklin to teams: “We must all hang together, or most assuredly we shall all hang separately.”

“NASCAR knows it has no defense to the monopolization case so they have come up with this claim about joint negotiations, which they agreed to, never objected to, and now suddenly it’s an antitrust violation,” Jeffrey Kessler, an attorney representing the teams, said.

With a December trial date looming, teams face agonizing calculations. Protecting secrets risks judicial wrath. Disclosure could arm competitors, including NASCAR itself, which now owns teams.

HAMPTON, Ga. (WSPA) – It’s one of the most thrilling stops on the NASCAR schedule for both Xfinity and Cup Series drivers.

Atlanta is home to some of the tightest finishes in NASCAR history, massive wrecks, and unpredictable outcomes.

The newly named EchoPark Speedway, formerly Atlanta Motor Speedway, is known for its unpredictability. Here are four things to look for this weekend.

Historical Home Track Success

One driver has historically had great success at the track. Look for Xfinity Series driver, and Georgia native, Austin Hill to maintain his home track dominance.

Hill claimed victory in the February race at Atlanta, marking his third straight win and fifth overall at the track. Some other drivers said the 21 car is the one to beat.

“We have a pretty good idea of what we’re going to bring to the track and, you know, shout out to Joe Gibbs Racing’s motor department. They’ve helped us here these last couple of weeks making our motor program a little bit better to get closer to battle that 21 car. He’s always the one that we see that’s fast at this style of race tracks,” said Brandon Jones, NASCAR Xfinity Series driver.

The Drafting Dynamics

Wins in Atlanta don’t come easy, which leads us to our second focus of the weekend: the drafting dynamics.

Since its track reconfiguration in 2022, Atlanta features 28-degree banks and narrow superspeedway-style racing. It’s setting up what’s expected to be a weekend of action under the lights.

Recent NASCAR Cup Series races at Atlanta have delivered dramatic finishes, which include Daniel Suarez’s 0.003-second win in 2024 and Christopher Bell’s last-lap overtime pass in 2025.

As the sun goes down, the conditions are expected to change, including the temperature on track, which makes execution and pit stops elements that can make or break a race.
Three-time Cup Series Champion Joey Logano will look to lock up another win at the track.

“We continue wanting to bring more to the record books and to our fans, our race team, our sponsors, and all that,” said Logano.

That factors into the importance of Cup qualifying, the first thing to look for.

Competitive Qualifying Session

Expect a fiercely competitive qualifying session Friday afternoon that will determine critical track positioning that will be needed to stay up front and avoid wrecks.

Cup Series driver Ryan Blaney won the spring pole in Atlanta at 170 mph.

Debut of Cup Series In-Season Challenge

Saturday marks the debut of the first-ever Cup Series in-season tournament.

It’s a NASCAR-style spin-off of March Madness. The first bracket round kicks off at EchoPark Speedway with 32 drivers battling for a $1 million prize over the next five races.

The field of drivers was set based on points through the Pocono race last week, and drivers were seeded based on performances at Michigan, Mexico City, and Pocono, according to NASCAR.

The race carries dual significance: traditional season points and knock-out tournament elimination. One bad day could eliminate even the top drivers from the million-dollar chase.

The green flag will drop for the Xfinity Series Focused Health 250 on Friday night at 7:30 p.m. EST on CW and the Cup Series Quaker State 400 will follow Saturday night at 7 p.m. Eastern.

Spencer Boyd announced today that My Auto Store has signed on to be a sponsor for the remainder of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season. Their marketing campaign will be highlighted with a primary paint scheme at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park in addition to associate races in the Northeast.

My Auto Store is one of the largest OEM auto parts recyclers in the USA. With over 200,000 parts, My Auto Store has a variety of high-quality drivetrain, auto body panel and interior parts. Headquartered in Camden, NJ, My Auto Store offers FREE shipping in the US and a standard 6-month part only warranty.

Spencer Boyd, Driver and Co-Owner of the No. 76 Truck commented on the addition to the sponsor lineup, “Auto Parts and NASCAR is always a great match. The way My Auto Store does business is all about quality and fast & free shipping so as to deliver what you need. Every used part they have is thoroughly inspected and their engines and transmissions are cleaned with dry ice. I can support that approach!”

My Auto Store – Order OEM Replacement Auto Parts online including used axles, transfer cases, AC compressors, used engines, and used transmissions. The My Auto Store online inventory has thousands of used auto parts ready to be shipped right to your door for free. No matter what you are looking for all of our parts pass a 4-step quality control process before they are listed on our website – myautostore.com.

As this announcement comes out just prior to the Lime Rock Park race with Freedom Warranty as the primary sponsor, it is timely to note that My Auto Store is a preferred vendor in Freedom Warranty’s system as they provide repairs for warranty claims.

The team at My Auto Store wanted Indianapolis as their primary race because of the motorsports history that is ingrained in the city. “I love the beating and banging of short track racing at IRP,” added Spencer Boyd. “I’m looking forward to the race after the upcoming summer break in the schedule!”

The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Race at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park is scheduled for Friday, July 25, 2025 at 7:00pm CT. Catch the action in person with tickets still available or on TV live on FS1.

Spencer Boyd PR

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A federal judge has 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.

U.S. District Judge Kenneth Bell says the information will allow NASCAR to have “much of the arguably relevant substance of the requested information” while still protecting private details.

The teams will provide only top-line data — total revenue, total costs, and net profits and losses — dating to 2014.

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 Michael Jordan and three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin, and Front Row Motorsports, owned by entrepreneur Bob Jenkins.

Elsewhere in sports:

n The Trump administration says California must change its policies allowing transgender girls to compete on sports teams consistent with their gender identity. The U.S. Education Department says the policies violate a federal law banning sex discrimination in education. U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon says California could lose federal funding if it does not comply. But the state says all students should have the opportunity to play. The issue garnered renewed attention in California after a trans athlete recently participated in the state high school track and field championship. The sports governing body running the meet allowed more girls to participate and medal in events in which the trans athlete was competing.

The Associated Press