This morning, as the jury came into the federal courtroom in Charlotte, North Carolina, they were told to go into recess for one hour. NASCAR, 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports have now agreed on a settlement to end this trial and this antitrust lawsuit.

The arguments in the antitrust trial were supposed to wrap up on Friday. Closing arguments likely would have taken place on Monday. However, this morning, the two legal teams came to Judge Kenneth Bell, and soon after, the jury was asked to leave for a one-hour recess.

After speaking with the judge, the attorneys for the teams and NASCAR have agreed on a settlement. Talk about timing. Had this settlement not happened today, this trial would have gone to the jury. At that point, it would be out of NASCAR’s hands. Many fans are breathing a huge sigh of relief.

Jeffrey Kessler, attorney for 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports, informed the court that “the parties have positively settled this matter.” This lawsuit will soon be over.

We won’t know the details for a while. However, you would have to assume that 23XI and Front Row are going to get their charters back and likely other concessions. Did the letter from Johnny Morris of Bass Pro Shops help move this along? It feels like it may have.

Just yesterday, attorney Christopher Yates was talking about potentially bringing up an appeal regarding the exclusion of a witness. Today, NASCAR’s legal team walks in ready to settle the case. That’s the way things go in big-time law sometimes.

NASCAR settlement: Did Richard Childress do this?

It is very interesting the timing of Richard Childress’ testimony, followed by the Johnny Morris letter, and now we’re here. NASCAR and the teams have a settlement. That is something that seemed impossible over the last 12+ months of litigation.

With literally hours remaining in this trial, just today, Friday, and maybe some on Monday, it is last-minute. So, I think it is valid to ask ourselves, what role did Childress and Morris play in getting this settlement done?

Kessler told the court that all terms have been agreed upon. I’m not sure if that means there are large concessions from NASCAR or just enough to settle this case and save the France family from any further issues. In terms of public opinion, they had no chance of winning in that courtroom.

The NASCAR settlement will be a relief to many. Kessler seems to believe it will be beneficial for all. However, that remains to be seen. When we get the details, NASCAR could still look different in 2026.

The NASCAR antitrust lawsuit has officially ended after attorney Jeffrey Kessler announced that the parties have reached a positive settlement nine days into the trial.

Judge Bell said he was very happy with the settlement and claimed that both parties did the “right thing” after a long legal battle. “This is going to be great for the entity NASCAR, the industry NASCAR, the teams, the drivers, and as you have so often said yourselves, ultimately the fans,” Bell said.

NASCAR has been involved in a legal battle with 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports since October 2024, when the teams filed a lawsuit, alleging that NASCAR uses monopoly powers to restrict race team revenues and independence. Both teams believe that the current model doesn’t allow teams to reach their full potential, while NASCAR chairman Jim France had no plans to scrap the active process.

While the details of the agreement have not yet been disclosed, handshakes and hugs were exchanged among all participants. France even hugged NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin, co-owner of 23XI, and Kessler also stressed that the future of the industry is bright.

Kessler told the court on Thursday: “I’m pleased to say the parties have positively settled this matter in a way that will benefit the industry going forward.” The primary focus of the lawsuit was on the charter system, but a lot more has been uncovered during the nine-day trial.

The primary focus of the lawsuit was on the charter system, but a lot more has been uncovered during the nine-day trial.

Both 23XI and FRM believed that NASCAR’s charter system was unfair, claiming that revenue wasn’t appropriately distributed among race teams. The charter system was implemented in 2016, following concerns raised by race team owners.

The costs involved in seating a driver full-time and running a NASCAR team are substantial, and securing new investors was a challenge. NASCAR decided to launch the charter system, allowing teams that signed to have a guaranteed starting spot and a share of prize money from every Cup Series event.

However, the charters are not permanent and are instead negotiated on a contract-by-contract basis. This is where 23XI and FRM grew tired of NASCAR, and they refused to sign a new charter agreement ahead of the 2025 season.

Both teams contested the share of the revenue distribution, especially after NASCAR secured a new $7.7 billion media rights deal. A permanent charter was also requested, but both 23XI and FRM posted losses, with the majority of revenue coming from sponsorships. 

While the fine details have been disputed, the lawsuit also accused NASCAR of using monopoly powers to ensure its model is not rivaled. With no main contender in the NASCAR Cup Series, the power is in the hands of the company; however, 23XI and FRM decided to take a stance with the lawsuit.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — NASCAR reached a settlement Thursday of the bruising antitrust lawsuit filed against the stock car series by two of its race teams, including one co-owned by NBA great Michael Jordan.

“Today’s a good day,” Jordan said as he waited in the gallery for attorneys to announce the deal. Details were not immediately released.

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The settlement came on the ninth day of the trial before U.S. District Judge Kenneth Bell, who set aside motions hearing for an hour-long sidebar. Jeffrey Kessler, attorney for 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports, emerged from a conference room at the end of the hour to inform a court clerk “we’re ready.” Kessler then led Jordan and 23XI co-owner Denny Hamlin, as well as Front Row owner Bob Jenkins, to another room for more talks.

23XI and Front Row filed their lawsuit last year after refusing to sign agreements on the new charter offers NASCAR presented in September 2024. Teams had until end of day to sign the 112-page document, which guarantees access to top-level Cup Series races and a revenue stream, and 13 of 15 organizations reluctantly agreed. Jordan and Jenkins sued instead and raced most of the 2025 season uncharted.

Both teams said a loss in the case would have put them out of business.

Bell told the jury that sometmes parties at trial have to see how the evidence unfolds to come to the wisdom of a settlement.

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“I wish we could’ve done this a few months ago,” Bell said in court. “I believe this is great for NASCAR. Great for the future of NASCAR. Great for the entity of NASCAR. Great for the teams and ultimately great for the fans.”

All teams felt the previous revenue-sharing agreement was unfair and two-plus years of bitter negotiations led to NASCAR’s final offer, which was described by the teams as “take-it-or-leave it.” The teams believed the new agreement lacked all four of their key demands, most importantly the charters becoming permanent instead of renewable.

The settlement followed eight days of testimony in which the Florida-based France family, the founders and private owners of NASCAR, were shown to be inflexible in making the charters permanent.

When the defense began its case Wednesday it seemed focused more on mitigating damages than proving it did not act anticompetitively.

An economist earlier testified 23XI and Front Row were owed over $300 million in damages.

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

Dale Earnhardt Jr. dived into the nitty-gritty of NASCAR’s civil war between the sanctioning body and Cup Series teams 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports before issuing a stark warning about the future of stock car racing. Earnhardt Jr., 51, remains one of NASCAR’s most respected figures, having served as a former driver, broadcaster, and team owner of JR Motorsports.

The ongoing antitrust trial between NASCAR, NBA legend Michael Jordan’s 23XI, and FRM has pulled back the curtain and exposed some ugly truths about the state of the sport, risking causing irreparable harm to the product. The two parties have spent over a year engaging in mud-slinging before the lawsuit went to trial in North Carolina at the start of the month, where the plaintiffs, 23XI and FRM, accuse NASCAR of monopolistic practices stemming from the fallout of their charter agreement last year.

Earnhardt Jr. does not have a horse in the race, but he is watching keenly and has warned both sides to be careful about the potential post-trial fallout. On Tuesday’s episode of his Dale Jr. Download podcast, Earnhardt Jr. expressed concern that 23XI and FRM may be seeking to force NASCAR to sell its racetracks, and suggested that it would be a terrible idea for the sport.

One of the suggestions is that NASCAR maintained its monopoly of premier stock car racing by preventing potential competitors from obtaining tracks, teams, and cars. However, Earnhardt Jr. says that NASCAR not owning its fair share of tracks runs the risk of the sport having its roots ripped out. Unless a settlement is reached between both parties that reflects favorably on the future of stock car racing.

“It’s kind of got to be a be careful what you wish for kind of thing because No. 1, no one’s building racetracks. Building a racetrack today is not a financial success. Running a racetrack today is not a lucrative operation,” Earnhardt said.

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“No one is clamoring to go out there and build any type of racetrack, big or small. … No one’s in the business of owning racetracks. Nobody’s gonna be standing on the steps waiting for those tracks to go to the highest bidder.

“If NASCAR and Marcus don’t own these racetracks, who does? They’re gonna turn into development, they’re gonna be turned into Amazon centers — they won’t be racetracks. What will happen is in 10 years, we’ll be racing on a bunch of street courses and road courses, no s—.

“So, everybody kind of be careful around that because as unique as it is, we need NASCAR to own the tracks they own because it’s really a lost or dying sort of business model.”

NASCAR’s TRACK OWNERSHIP

It’s unclear whether the plaintiffs will actually push for NASCAR to sell its tracks as part of a favorable outcome in their trial. Dale Jr. hopes that isn’t the case.

“There’s been a point made about NASCAR owning the racetracks. I don’t know that 23XI wants NASCAR to sell their tracks. I’m hoping that’s not really what they’re asking,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “I think they’re using that against NASCAR because NASCAR did tell some other people, like Marcus Smith and so forth, ‘You’re gonna have to sign an exclusivity deal because we don’t want anyone else running a race before we come into town.’

“That’s not unusual in any other sports and arenas and so forth. But I think there’s been something made about NASCAR owning the racetracks, and the way they’ve restricted use of those facilities is helping the argument of 23XI.”

After an eight-day legal battle in a federal courtroom in Charlotte, North Carolina, the case of NASCAR v. 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports has officially reached a settlement.

The settlement process got started immediately upon arriving at the courthouse on Thursday (December 11), when Judge Bell called for a surprise one-hour recess in the court, telling the jury that sacrificing an hour of their time this morning could result in the salvaging of several hours.

After about 90 minutes of deliberation, Jeffrey Kessler returned to the courtroom and informed Judge Bell that both sides had reached a settlement agreement.

This agreement comes just one day after the Plaintiffs (23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports) rested their case to the jury after calling more than a dozen different witnesses. On Wednesday, NASCAR got the opportunity to start calling its witnesses and did so with John Probst.

23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports had the burden of proof in this antitrust trial, and thus had to demonstrate to the jury that NASCAR was using their status as a monopsony to dampen the deal for NASCAR Cup Series teams in the 2025 Charter Agreement.

A potential catalyst for this settlement? A late-night submission from Johnny Morris, owner of long-time NASCAR sponsor Bass Pro Shops, who stood behind Richard Childress (and against NASCAR) after the sanctioning body had text messages from its executives come out in discovery in which they called Childress a “stupid redneck” and said he needed to be “taken out back and flogged”.

During a small speech to the courtroom on Thursday about the settlement, Judge Bell said that this would be better for the sport moving forward. While all of the points of the settlement agreement have been agreed on, both sides still need time to write it out and present it to the judge.

Barring any small procedural hiccups or holdups in the settlement process or any red tape, the NASCAR antitrust trial should finally wrap up on Thursday after eight days, and not continue any further.

With NASCAR, 23XI Racing, and Front Row Motorsports working to get all of the points of the settlement written out and presented to Judge Bell, nothing has yet been confirmed on the points of the settlement. However, as they become available from those in the courtroom, they will be added to the top of this story as an update.

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Major NASCAR sponsor Bass Pro Shops sent a scorching letter addressed to NASCAR and the France family following commissioner Steve Phelps’ “shockingly offensive” insults aimed at longtime team owner Richard Childress. NASCAR is in the midst of Week 2 of its antitrust trial with plaintiffs 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports, as the two Cup Series teams accuse the sanctioning body of monopolistic practices.

NBA legend Michael Jordan’s 23XI and FRM launched an antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR last year after being the only two Cup Series teams to refuse to sign up to the sanctioning body’s charter agreement. Over the course of a year-long legal battle, several twists occurred, including the granting of a preliminary injunction in December 2024, which allowed 23XI and FRM to race as chartered teams in 2025.

However, that injunction was overturned on appeal in June this year, forcing the two NASCAR outfits to race as “open” teams for the remainder of the season. 23XI and FRM were no longer guaranteed entry into every remaining race in the 2025 campaign, and they also incurred revenue hits, such as reduced payouts. They were also excluded from receiving a share of the TV revenue.

Still, 23XI and FRM stayed on the offensive against NASCAR, with Jordan’s business partner, Joe Gibbs Racing star Denny Hamlin, issuing a bullish message last summer ahead of a then-pending trial. “All will be exposed,” Hamlin said. Failed settlement talks also took place, and the case went to trial in North Carolina, starting on the 1st of this month, with Jordan ever present.

A jury of six will decide the outcome of the case, with significant implications for both parties. However, NASCAR was dealt a blow through text messages unsealed during discovery, in which Phelps sent “shockingly offensive” insults about longtime team owner Childress, who has been active in NASCAR since the 1960s.

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Childress was a longtime Cup driver, competing in 285 races across a 12-year career in the 1960s and 1970s. He started his team in 1969, which he still operates in the sport to this day. As a team owner, he won six titles with the late, Great Dale Earnhardt Sr. — but was referred to as an “idiot,” and “stupid redneck.”

NASCAR chief Phelps also claimed Childress “needs to be taken out back and flogged,” and also said, “If he’s that angry (and apparently he is), sign your charter extension and sell. He’s not smart, is a dinosaur, and a malcontent. He’s worth a couple hundred million dollars — every dollar associated with nascar in some fashion. Total a**-clown.”

The insults aimed at Childress greatly upset a longtime NASCAR sponsor, Bass Pro Shops, which sent a scorching letter to the sanctioning body and its owners, the France Family. Johnny Morris, the founder, majority owner, and CEO of Bass Pro Shops, put Phelps and Co. on blast for disrespecting Childress in a brutal slamdown. Bass Pro Shops, along with backing RCR and the No. 3 of Austin Dillon, is also a partner of Chase Briscoe and Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 19 Cup team. They also have several other endeavors within the sport, and the iconic American brand has been deeply involved in NASCAR for nearly three decades.

Bass Pro Shop founder’s entire letter

“I’ve been a NASCAR fan since I was 7 years old when I started going to races at the fairgrounds speedway in my hometown, Springfield, MO with my Grandpa Will, who was a lineman for the Frisco Railroad. We-watched Willie Crane, Mark Martin, Ken Schrader, the Wallace brothers and others try to beat our local hero, Larry Phillips,” Morris started.

“In the years that followed, our company, Bass Pro Shops, has become a proud sponsor of NASCAR, a sport that resonates deeply not only with our own Outfitters, but with our core customer base — America’s 180 million outdoor enthusiasts and 60 million hunters and anglers.

“I speak up today on behalf of the wonderful people in our company who consider it an honor and a great source of pride to have sponsored NASCAR and our friend Richard Childress and his grandson Austin Dillon, for a very long time.

“Since Dale Eanhardt Sr. and Richard Childress welcomed us to the sport 28 years ago, Richard has become a special friend in life. He’s a great leader, a fierce competitor and a passionate advocate for outdoor enthusiasts, and conservationists, he is a true American patriot. Most of all, to us, Richard is a long time admired and respected member of our Bass Pro Shops family! As I write this today, way too many of my fellow teammates, our valued customers, our independent dealers and respected members of the conservation and military communities… are outraged by how Richard and his family have been treated by some senior NASCAR leaders.

“We are extremely upset by the recent disclosure of shockingly offensive and false criticisms of Richard by the Commissioner of NASCAR Steve Phelps. For the Commissioner and his allies, to attack one of the pillars of the sport is incredibly irresponsible and a disservice to everyone involved in NASCAR and its partners, sponsors and fans.

“What Mr. Phelps may or may not be aware of is the fact that in attacking Richard Childress, the racing legend, he is also attacking one of the most respected leaders in America’s conservation community. The commissioner has repeatedly labeled Richard as ‘an idiot,’ a ‘dinosaur,’ ‘a stupid redneck’ and a ‘clown.’

“The fact is Richard Childress has done as much to build and promote NASCAR as anyone in the history of the sport! The commissioner, in all his rant, has only managed to bring discredit to himself and the sport.

“Many of our teammates have validly expressed concern that the commissioner’s recently revealed contempt for Richard Childress makes it abundantly clear that he and his lieutenants are not capable of being fair and objective when it comes to impartially enforcing the rules and regulations that govern the sport, including the objective assessment of fines and penalties. This is a threat to the very integrity of the sport.

“We can’t help but wonder what would happen if Major League Baseball brought in a new commissioner and he or she trash talked one of the true legends who built the game like Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Ted Williams, Mickey Mantle or Babe Ruth? Such blatant disrespect would probably not sit well with the fans – such a commissioner most likely wouldn’t, or shouldn’t, keep his or her job for very long!

“We write this letter with genuine respect for the family who gave birth to the great All-American sporting tradition of NASCAR. The France Family has always celebrated the beginning of every race with faith and prayer and saluted patriotism, with the singing of the national anthem, and remaining steadfast in going above and beyond to honor our veterans and active-duty military. They have built a sport celebrated by hardworking American families.

“It is painful for all fans to watch the current conflict and division occurring within the sport we love. We hope the France family and team owners will reflect carefully on the damage that’s being done to NASCAR in the ongoing dispute and dig deep and strive hard for compromise. We’re cheering for a prompt and fair resolution that creates a positive path to a happy and long-term future for the founding family, team owners and most importantly, the fans.

“One thing is for certain, as the leaders of NASCAR seek to grow the sport and attract new generations of fans, they must never turn their back on, or abandon, the true pioneers and especially fans who form the foundation of the sport we love.”