Fourth Circuit Grills Michael Jordan Team on NASCAR Injunction

The Fourth Circuit grilled lawyers Friday for two racing teams, including one owned by NBA Hall of Famer Michael Jordan, over an injunction that allows them to compete as chartered teams in the 2025 NASCAR season.

A three-judge panel at the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit said during oral argument that a chartered team agreement excluding certain standard releases, which a district court ordered in December 2024, seemed to contradict appellate court precedent.

The releases would bar antitrust claims against NASCAR.

The pair of teams, Front Row Motorsports and Jordan’s 23XI, asked to be included in NASCAR while also requesting relief from the releases, which may create a problem under a Fourth Circuit decision, Omega World Travel Inc v. Trans World Airlines, Judge Paul V. Niemeyer said.

The 1997 Omega decision reversed a preliminary injunction, saying the state law and federal antitrust claims didn’t support it. The racing teams seem to be facing a similar problem against NASCAR, the panel said.

“You can’t have your cake and eat it too,” Niemeyer said. “You want in the league, but you don’t want to sign the releases.”

No court has ruled on whether standard release provisions violate antitrust laws, in particular Section 2 of the Sherman Act, which is at the heart of this case. Judge G. Steven Agee noted that the teams had “a big hill to climb” since there wasn’t any case to support their arguments.

NASCAR and its attorneys want the injunction overturned.

“Every day that this injunction stays in place, NASCAR and the other teams” suffer injury because the other teams would otherwise receive more money and NASCAR doesn’t want to be in a forced agreement that it doesn’t benefit from, attorney Christopher Yates of Latham & Watkins LLP said.

The teams said if they had signed the agreement, they wouldn’t be able to bring their antitrust claims against NASCAR monopolizing the stock car racing market.

‘Too Little’

Jeffrey Kessler of Winston & Strawn LLP, an attorney for the racing teams, used an apple analogy to explain the situation, saying if apple farmers were prevented from selling at certain markets and prices were raised, they would be harmed similarly to the teams in this case.

“The injury is that you’re getting too little,” Kessler said. If the injunction is reversed, teams that Front Row acquired from Stewart–Haas Racing may be affected as well, he noted.

Front Row may have to unwind two purchases from Stewart-Haas charters, which would create further harm to the racing team and to Stewart-Haas because it no longer has drivers, pit crews, or any other necessary staff to manage a team, Kessler said.

NASCAR didn’t want to approve the sale but was enjoined from refusing to do so, according to court records.

Front Row and 23XI may also lose drivers and sponsors, Kessler added.

Timing

The judges questioned whether a December trial would be complete by the start of the 2026 season. Yates noted that it should be.

Agee noted that the parties needed to “seriously consider” mediation and work to come to an agreement that benefited both sides.

Yates said mediation is being discussed in the US District Court for the Western District of North Carolina but that NASCAR wouldn’t change its contract.

“If you don’t like the contract, you don’t sign it,” Yates said.

Teams who don’t sign on to become chartered can still compete in races if open slots are available. Some races fill up, but others don’t, Yates said. Front Row Motorsports and 23XI would likely qualify to take an open slot, he noted.

Judge Stephanie D. Thacker also sat on the panel.

Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick LLP also represents NASCAR.

The case is 2311 Racing LLC v. NASCAR, 4th Cir., No. 24-2245, oral argument 5/9/25.