CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A federal judge urged NASCAR and the two Cup Series teams suing the stock-car sanctioning body to settle their increasingly acrimonious legal fight that spilled over into tense arguments during a hearing Tuesday.
U.S. District Judge Kenneth Bell of the Western District of North Carolina grilled both NASCAR and suing teams 23XI Racing (which is co-owned by Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin, retired NBA star Michael Jordan and Curtis Polk, the basketball great’s longtime business partner) and Front Row Motorsports (which is owned by entrepreneur Bob Jenkins) on what they hoped to accomplish if the lawsuit continues. A trial is scheduled for December if a settlement is not reached before then.
“It’s hard to picture a winner if this goes to the mat — or to the flag — in this case,” Bell said. “It scares me to death to think about what all this is costing.”
Front Row Motorsports is owned by entrepreneur Bob Jenkins and has three full-time Ford entries — Noah Gragson in the No. 4, Todd Gilliland in the No. 34 and Zane Smith in the No. 38 — while 23XI Racing, which is co-owned by Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin, retired NBA star Michael Jordan and Curtis Polk, the basketball great’s longtime business partner, has three full-time Toyota entries: Bubba Wallace in the No. 23, Riley Herbst in the No. 35 and Tyler Reddick in the No. 45.
These were the only two organizations in the top-tier Cup Series that refused to sign a nonnegotiable offer last September on a new agreement for charters, which are NASCAR’s equivalent of a franchise in other professional sports leagues. Each charter guarantees entry to the lucrative Cup Series races and a stable revenue stream. Thirteen other organizations — most of them with multiple cars — signed the agreements last fall, although some felt they had little choice.
Tuesday’s hearing, which lasted nearly two hours, was about the teams’ request to toss out NASCAR’s countersuit, which accuses Polk of “willfully” violating antitrust laws by orchestrating anticompetitive collective conduct in negotiations. NASCAR said it learned in discovery that Polk in messages among the 15 teams tried to form a “cartel”-type operation that would include threats of boycotting races and a refusal to individually negotiate.
One of NASCAR’s attorneys even cited a Benjamin Franklin quote Polk allegedly sent to the 15 organizations that read: “We must all hang together, or most assuredly we shall all hang separately.”
Jeffrey Kessler, an attorney representing the teams, was angered by the revelation in open court, contending it is privileged information only revealed in discovery. Kessler also argued none of NASCAR’s claims in the countersuit prove anything illegal was done by Polk or the Race Team Alliance during the charter negotiation process.
“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,” Kessler said outside court. “It makes absolutely no sense. It’s not going to help them deflect from the monopolizing they have done in this market and the harm they have inflicted.”
He added that “the attacks” on Polk were “false, unfounded and frankly beneath the dignity of my adversary to even make those type of comments, which he should know better about.”
NASCAR attorneys said Polk improperly tried to pressure all 15 teams that comprise the RTA to stand together collectively in negotiations and encouraged boycotting qualifying races for the 2024 Daytona 500. NASCAR, they said, took the threat seriously because the teams had previously boycotted a scheduled meeting with series executives.
“NASCAR knew the next step was they could boycott a race, which was a threat they had to take seriously,” attorney Lawrence Buterman said on behalf of NASCAR.
In other comments made outside the courtroom, Kessler said the two teams are open to settlement talks, but he noted NASCAR has said it will not renegotiate the charters.
NASCAR’s attorneys declined to comment after the hearing.
Bell did not indicate when he’d rule, other than saying he would decide quickly.
Some of the arguments Tuesday centered on Jonathan Marshall, the executive director of the RTA. NASCAR has demanded text messages and emails from Marshall and said it has received roughly 100 texts and more than 55,000 pages of emails.
NASCAR wants all texts between Marshall and 55 people from 2020 through 2024 that contain specific search terms. Attorneys for the RTA said that covers more than 3,000 texts, some of which are privileged, and some that have been “deleted to save storage or he didn’t need them anymore.”
That issue is set to be heard during a hearing next Tuesday before Bell.
Meanwhile, Kessler said he would file an appeal by the end of the week after a three-judge federal appellate panel last week vacated a preliminary injunction granted last December by Bell that required NASCAR to recognize 23XI and Front Row as chartered teams while the court fight is being resolved.
Kessler wants the issue heard by the full appellate court. The injunction has no bearing on the merits of the case. The earliest NASCAR can treat the teams as unchartered is one week after the deadline to appeal, provided there is no pending appeal or whenever the appeals process has been exhausted.
There are 36 chartered cars for the 40-car field each week. If 23XI and Front Row are not recognized as chartered, their six cars would have to compete as “open” teams, which means they’d have to qualify on speed each week to make the race and they would receive a fraction of the money guaranteed for chartered teams.
Spire driver penalized by team
Spire Motorsports has issued a $50,000 fine to Carson Hocevar, the driver of its No. 77 Chevrolet entry for the Cup Series, for derogatory comments he made about Mexico City on a livestream last weekend as NASCAR made a stop there.
Hocevar walked back the comments Sunday night after the Cup Series race with an apology, and the 22-year-old Michigan native admitted it was the first time he’d ever been outside the United States and believed all the negative things he’d read and heard about Mexico City.
“I am embarrassed by my comments,” he posted in a lengthy apology.
Spire also ordered Hocevar to attend training for cultural sensitivity and bias awareness.
He said the $50,000 fine will be donated in equal portions to three organizations that serve Mexican communities: Cruz Roja Mexicana (Mexican Red Cross); Un Kilo de Ayuda, a nonprofit combating childhood malnutrition and supporting early childhood development in rural communities; and Fondo Unido México (United Way Mexico), which funds local nongovernmental organizations that improve education, health, and housing in 22 Mexican states.
“These actions are consistent with Spire Motorsports’ core value of RESPECT, which is something we proudly display on every race car, team uniform, trackside hauler, and digital channel,” the team said in a released statement. “Respect is not a slogan. It is a daily expectation that we ‘walk the walk’ in how we speak, compete, and serve the communities that welcome our sport.
“Carson Hocevar’s recent comments made during the livestream fell short of that standard. They did not represent the views of Spire Motorsports, our partners, or NASCAR. He has acknowledged his mistake publicly, and his prompt, sincere apology demonstrated personal accountability. We now take this additional step to underscore that words carry weight, and respect must be lived out loud.”
Hocevar was the 2024 Cup Series rookie of the year but is still seeking his first win on the top-tier circuit. He has a pair of runner-up finishes this season — at Atlanta Motor Speedway in February and at Nashville Superspeedway earlier this month — but has been outside the top 20 in 10 of 16 points races.
Spire said it informed NASCAR of Hocevar’s penalties and that it satisfied the sanctioning body’s requirements.
“Together we remain committed to showcasing NASCAR’s global growth, celebrating the passionate Mexican fanbase we experienced firsthand last weekend, and ensuring every member of our organization treats hosts, competitors, and communities with dignity,” Spire’s statement read. “We look forward to turning the page by racing hard, representing our partners, and living our values on and off the track.”
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