23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports filed for a new preliminary injunction Monday and a restraining order in an effort to retain their charters.

The two teams are scheduled to lose their charters on Wednesday. This came after a three-judge panel from the Fourth Circuit of Appeals vacated the preliminary injunction in June that was granted to them for the 2025 season. A request from the teams for a rehearing on the matter was denied earlier this month.

In the new filing, 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports stated that NASCAR “has signaled its intention to immediately move to sell or issue Plaintiffs’ charters to other entities – putting Plaintiffs in irreparable jeopardy of never getting their charters back and going out of business.”

23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports were the only two teams who did not sign the new charter agreement. A joint antitrust lawsuit was filed against NASCAR on Oct. 2. NASCAR has since filed a counterclaim against the teams.

A trial date is set for December.

The loss of a charter would remove guaranteed entry into NASCAR Cup Series events. Open teams also earn less of the prize money.

“It is unfortunate that instead of respecting the clear rulings of the Fourth Circuit, 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports are now burdening the District Court with a third motion for another unnecessary and inappropriate preliminary injunction,” NASCAR said in a statement. “As both the Fourth Circuit and the District Court suggested, NASCAR has made multiple requests to 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports 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.

“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.”

In 2024, Finch claimed the Show Me the Money Series championship at Montgomery Motor Speedway, piloting the famed No. 18 for Ronnie Sanders Racing. He has also won the last two runnings of the Baby Rattler 125 at South Alabama Speedway.

Finch is the son of James Finch, the owner of Phoenix Racing which formerly competed in the NASCAR Cup Series. In 2009, Brad Keselowski earned the team’s lone Cup Series victory at Talladega.

SONOMA, Calif. — NASCAR said the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 54 team did no wrong after an incident during Sunday’s Cup Series race in which driver Ty Gibbs passed through the RFK Racing No. 6 team’s pit box during a stop and clipped a tire being held by the team’s tire carrier.

The pit crews for Gibbs and Brad Keselowski, driver of the No. 6 car, then had a minor altercation — which included pushing and shoving — following a sequence of pit stops on Lap 52 of the race at Sonoma Raceway.

The disagreement stemmed from how Gibbs pulled into his stall, which was one spot beyond Keselowski’s. As Gibbs is allowed to do under NASCAR rules, he partially drove through Keselowski’s stall to get into his own, but as he did, he made contact with the tire in the hands of Keselowski team member Telvin McClurkin, who was over the pit wall preparing to service Keselowski’s car.

You be the judge pic.twitter.com/JYiUYvRp9e

— RFK Racing (@RFKracing) July 13, 2025

“I pull in my (pit) box, and by the rules, the first-place car that’s going in, it’s my right of way,” Gibbs told The Athletic. “And that’s the thing with pit crew guys who like to be out there, that’s on them. It’s my right of way. They had an incident that slowed their stop down, so that sucks for them.”

Although McClurkin never lost control of the tire, he did twist his wrist. After completing the pit stop, he walked down to Gibbs’ stall and confronted members of the No. 54 team, setting off a brief skirmish between the two teams. NASCAR officials quickly broke up the scrum.

McClurkin declined comment about the incident after the race but did say his wrist was “doing fine.”

“I talked to NASCAR and, obviously, no rules were broken,” RFK competition director Josh Sell said. “Would we have liked to have seen it play out differently? Yeah, absolutely, and that’s really all there is to it.”

An incident on the track and a separate one on pit road.@SteveLetarte and the TNT crew take a closer look. pic.twitter.com/lyWsYKExfW

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) July 13, 2025

After reviewing the incident, NASCAR officials determined that Gibbs did nothing wrong and that the No. 6 team should’ve given Gibbs more room to enter his own pit stall. NASCAR considers the incident closed, though a NASCAR spokesperson said officials would review this week the skirmish between the two teams to see if any penalties would be assessed.

“The rule is the rule, and the 54 (car) in that instance has the right of way, and the pit crew members just have to be aware enough to know that and not run into traffic unless you have to,” JGR competition director Chris Gabehart said. “(McClurkin) has the right to be standing out there, but the 54 has got to get in his box first. And it’s one of those tough rules. I don’t really fault anybody on it. It just takes a lot of give-and-take in that situation. And unfortunately, they got into him.”

Incidents between pit crews are a rarity in NASCAR, though occasionally there are flare-ups in a high-pressure environment where teams are racing to get their driver on and off pit road as quickly as possible. This is in addition to the danger created by five-member pit crews jumping over the wall as cars pass by — pit road speed at Sonoma is 40 mph — which only heightens emotions when there is a perceived safety risk.

“Scrapping, man,” Gabehart said. “Everybody’s excited. That’s racing and part of it.”

(Photo of Ty Gibbs in Sunday’s race: Chris Williams / Sonoma Raceway / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

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 are 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.

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.”

Later Monday, Rick Ware Racing and Legacy Motor Club had a scheduled court date in North Carolina 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.

Originally Published: July 14, 2025 at 10:48 AM CDT

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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23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports filed documents in U.S. District Court Monday seeking a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction to maintain their charter status days before they are scheduled to lose it.

The teams, in court documents, state losing their charter status would cause “irreparable harm” and that NASCAR has “signaled its intention to immediately move or sell (their) charters to other entities — putting (23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports) in irreparable jeopardy of never getting their charters back and going out of business.”

District Court Judge Kenneth D. Bell has ordered NASCAR to deliver its response to the court by 5 p.m. ET Wednesday.

NASCAR issued a statement Monday morning:

“It is unfortunate that instead of respecting the clear rulings of the Fourth Circuit, 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports are now burdening the District Court with a third motion for another unnecessary and inappropriate preliminary injunction.

“As both the Fourth Circuit and the District Court suggested, NASCAR has made multiple requests to 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports 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.

“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.”

Jeffrey Kessler, lead attorney for 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports stated Monday: “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.

“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.”

Monday’s filing comes after a three-judge panel of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals vacated a preliminary injunction in June that allowed 23XI Racing, co-owned by Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin, and Front Row Motorsports, owned by Bob Jenkins, to receive the benefits of a charter team — primarily financial — even though they did not sign the charter agreement last year.

Teams have 14 days to petition the court for a rehearing.

The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals denied a request for a rehearing July 9, meaning 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports could be classified as open teams ahead of Sunday’s race at Dover Motor Speedway.

The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals denied a request for rehearing, meaning 23XI and Front Row could be classified as open teams ahead of the July 20 Dover race.

The teams filed their request Monday for an oral argument on their request for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction in U.S. District Court in Charlotte, North Carolina.

The two teams stated in court documents that they “bring this new motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction to protect the status quo and prevent the irreparable harm that will result if (they) lose their charter rights or are forced to unwind their charter purchases before trial (Dec. 1).

“While the Fourth Circuit has vacated the prior preliminary injunction, and the mandate is scheduled to be issued on July 16, the Fourth Circuit’s decision was based on the narrow holding that NASCAR’s release in the 2025 Charter Agreement is not, standing alone, exclusionary conduct in violation of Section 2 of the Sherman Act. The Fourth Circuit expressly did not consider NASCAR’s other exclusionary acts that … clearly establish that (23XI and Front Row) are likely to prevail at trial.”

In the court filing from 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports, the teams state: “Since the Fourth Circuit’s decision, NASCAR has signaled its intention to immediately move to sell or issue Plaintiffs’ charters to other entities—putting Plaintiffs in irreparable jeopardy of never getting their charters back and going out of business.

“As the Court has already found, it is not economically viable for a team to participate in the Cup Series on a long-term basis racing under an “open” agreement. Moreover, if Plaintiffs are forced to relinquish their charters before trial, they once again will face the prospect of losing key sponsors and star drivers, who will have the right to terminate their contracts and have already signaled their intention to pursue driving opportunities with other teams (should Plaintiffs lose their charter rights).”

A recent decision by a federal appellant panel could lead to 23XI Racing becoming an open team in the next few weeks.

The teams request that the court issue a temporary restraining order and then a preliminary injunction that allows 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports to continue racing with the charter status for the rest of the season.

23XI Racing employs drivers Tyler Reddick, Bubba Wallace and Riley Herbst. Front Row Motorsports’ drivers are Todd Gilliland, Noah Gragson and Zane Smith.

In the court filing, the teams stated: “Since the Fourth Circuit decision vacating the injunction, drivers for Plaintiffs have already expressed their concerns about the continued ability of the teams to compete without charters.”

23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports also stated in court documents their concerns about losing charters.

In court documents, the two teams stated: “Moreover, if Plaintiffs lose their charter rights now, they may never be able to get them back.

“After the Fourth Circuit’s decision vacating the preliminary injunction, NASCAR’s counsel sent a letter to Plaintiffs on June 25, 2025, stating that NASCAR intended to “immediately undertake a process” to sell or unwind the 23XI and Front Row charters that Plaintiffs purchased from Stewart-Haas Racing. … NASCAR stated that it is “aware of interest from multiple prospective buyers for Charters.

“These potential buyers would also be a threat to obtain Plaintiffs’ other charter rights if Plaintiffs are forced to relinquish them, putting Plaintiffs’ entire future business at risk—as they cannot race as open teams on a long-term basis.”

23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports each purchased one charter from Stewart-Haas Racing last year.