23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports lost their charters heading into the antitrust trial against NASCAR. Michael Jordan had to see his team, 23XI, participate as open teams in the final months of the season.

NASCAR representatives probably thought they had the upper hand in court. But when the trial began, 23XI used NASCAR’s own strategy against them and walked away with everything they’d been fighting for. It can be argued that NASCAR underestimated Jordan’s impact in the courtroom, and the result was always headed this way.

Why was Michael Jordan Destined to Beat NASCAR?

During the trial, Jordan openly voiced his confidence in winning. “I would have settled if I thought a settlement was worthwhile,” NASCAR reporter Adam Stern quoted the basketball superstar at that time.

Back in September 2024, NASCAR pulled what they thought was a power move. After two years of tense negotiations with racing teams, they dropped a final offer with essentially no time to consider it.

Sign by the end of the day or lose your charter. No discussion. No negotiation. Take it or leave it. There were grievances, of course, but only two teams chose to show it, while the others put pen to paper.

It was a risky move for the teams not to sign the charter. Without a charter, a team makes less than $5 million a season. With one, they’re guaranteed a spot in every race and a decent revenue stream.

Still, 23XI and FRM dared to take that risk and challenged NASCAR on court. They accused NASCAR of running an illegal monopoly.

Here’s the thing, NASCAR didn’t seem to understand: Jordan came from a world where this kind of stuff doesn’t fly. In the NBA, teams and the league share revenue roughly 50-50. Players have unions.

Jordan testified that NASCAR’s revenue split was worse than any business he’d ever been part of. He’d just sold his stake in the Charlotte Hornets for $3 billion, making a $2.6 billion profit.

He understood franchise value. He understood fair deals. And he wasn’t scared of a fight.
More importantly, Jordan had something the other NASCAR owners didn’t: he wasn’t trapped.

Rick Hendrick, Roger Penske, Joe Gibbs – these guys have spent their entire lives in NASCAR. They’re NASCAR people through and through. They weren’t going to burn bridges with the France family, who’ve run the sport since 1948.

Jordan? He’s been in NASCAR since 2021. He loves racing, sure, but he doesn’t have decades of history making him nervous about challenging the bosses.

Standing on the courthouse steps after the settlement, Jordan and Jim France acted like old friends. They discussed compromise and what is best for the sport. Very diplomatic.

But make no mistake about what happened here: NASCAR bet they could bully Michael Jordan the same way they’d been bullying team owners for decades, and they were utterly wrong.

Jordan is one of the most competitive people who has ever lived. He’s got millions to spend on lawyers. He came from a sport where franchise values have skyrocketed because leagues treat their teams like actual partners, rather than servants. And he had absolutely zero reason to back down.

NASCAR, meanwhile, was in a nightmare scenario. Every day of the trial exposed more dirty laundry. Their own documents portrayed them as monopolistic bullies. Their chairman looked inflexible and out of touch.

Eventually, NASCAR realized it had no choice but to cave in. Jordan delivered another masterstroke in court — not on the hardwood, but in the legal arena this time.

Joey Logano is one of the most intense competitors in the NASCAR Cup Series field. He seldom backs down from a fight and always pays back for the mistakes that have been committed against him. This trait isn’t limited to the race tracks on the NASCAR calendar alone. Even at home, when he is racing against his children for fun, he maintains the same commitment.

Logano’s eldest son, Hudson Joseph, is eight years old now. The two race in the track that Logano has put together in their home, and get quite competitive at it. Speaking on Donut Podcasts earlier this year, the three-time Cup Series champion detailed how he doesn’t take things lightly when little Hudson tests his patience during their races.

He said, “We have a couple of go-karts at the house, and I built a racetrack at the house. That’s like the first thing you do as a race car driver. You build a racetrack at your house. So, now he’s getting pretty quick. We can compete pretty quick. He’s 100 lbs lighter than me, you know? He gets out of the corner a lot faster.”

“But now, he’s like starting to get a little rough, and he’ll knock me out of the way a little bit. I’m like, ‘You son of b****’. And it pisses me off. The switch goes off. Eventually, I got to dump him. I got to spin him out. I just have to. He hit me. I got to show him it’s not okay.”‘

He continued to admit that it is a lot of fun racing his son around the house.

Will Hudson follow his father into motorsports?

Only a number of NASCAR legends have been fortunate enough to see their children carry on the family legacy behind the wheel of a race car. In current times, Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick are seeing their children achieve big results in grassroots-level races. Following them, Logano’s children, Hudson, in particular, might soon get involved with professional racing as well.

The boy looks up to his father already and splits his time between racing cars and playing basketball. Asked if one of the children might follow in his footsteps, the Team Penske driver provided an honest answer.

It went, “I don’t know if any of them will, to be honest with you. Maybe. I’m not gonna force them, I know that. I’m just gonna let them live their life. They see what dad does, and if they want to race, great. I know some good avenues to help.”

With his other two kids, Jameson and Amelia, not appearing to have caught the racing bug, his hopes lie completely in Hudson for now.

The tires on race cars today are part of mobile research labs as companies like Pirelli, Michelin and Continental test compounds under extreme conditions.

“We use the term track the street. There’s no tougher place to test your products than on the track,” Matthew Cabe, president and CEO of Michelin North America told Newsweek.

During a race, tires are exposed to the extremes of physics. “We believe that endurance racing is the place where you get the most out of that test in a in a short amount of time. You go out for 24 hours in Daytona, you go out for ten hours in Petite [Le Mans], and they are pushing the limits through all of those sessions. What we get is a real laboratory-type opportunity to see what [Michelin] can do,” Cabe said.

Customers are generally not going to drive their vehicle for a full day at a time, nor will they be driving 200 mph regularly, powered by engines designed to maximize power output over fuel efficiency.

The CEO explained: “Your average consumer is not going to drive at full capacity for 24 hours. Especially in [the] IMSA [motorsports performance driving series], we’re driving vehicles that are not so far away from the [ones] drive[n] on the road. Obviously, they’re way more powerful. Obviously, they’re able to push harder. But, the dynamics of those vehicles are not dissimilar to what we drive in every day.”

Not just that, but Michelin can change up its tire compounds to adapt to the results of the on-track action, getting new compounds to the track in a matter of weeks and months.

“We have the opportunity, in the next race, to be able to come back and to try something new and, to continue to innovate,” Cabe said. “We collaborate with all of the manufacturers there and real time and stress test ourselves really quickly.”

All those laps also result in Michelin having a test bed for the products of tomorrow, including those that contain increased levels of sustainable materials. The company is working across its upstream, operations and downstream product channels to deliver on short- and long-term sustainability goals.

Many electric vehicles were developed by automakers under similar sustainability goals. Hand-in-hand, Michelin worked to develop tires to take on the types of strain those models put on their rubber, which is different than what is presented by traditional internal combustion engined vehicles.

“We’ve been working with tires for with electric vehicles for quite a long time. Some of the challenges that come along with electric vehicles: the weight and incredible torque,” Cabe explained. “It’s interesting. You get high torque so it causes additional wear.”

Michelin isn’t developing tires just for electric vehicles. Their tires must be able to withstand the rigors of the vehicle they’re affixed to, regardless of powertrain. 

“When we make a product, we want to make sure that it’s capable of not just delivering on one of those aspects that a consumer’s looking for in a product, but really delivering [capability in a meaningful way],” he said.

Michelin does not want its customers to feel as if they are compromising on any factor by choosing their tires, not on longevity, rolling resistance or handling in wet conditions.

Arby’s has officially switched NASCAR teams for the 2026 season, leaving Rick Ware Racing to join powerhouse JR Motorsports (JRM). As part of the agreement, Arby’s will serve as a primary sponsor for eight races across three JRM drivers while also expanding its presence beyond the racetrack through Dirty Mo Media and Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Arby’s Joins JR Motorsports as Multi-Year NASCAR Sponsor Starting in 2026

JR Motorsports has announced a multi-year partnership with Arby’s, bringing the fast-food brand to the forefront of its NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series program beginning in 2026.

A NASCAR journalist on X confirmed the move, “NEWS: @Arbys is joining @JRMotorsports as an eight-race primary sponsor for drivers Carson Kvapil, Sammy Smith and Justin Allgaier during the 2026 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series campaign.”

#NASCAR… Arby’s will sponsor Carson Kvapil at Atlanta, Rockingham, Texas, and Chicago.

The company will jump aboard Sammy Smith’s No. 8 at Talladega, San Diego, and the ROVAL.

Justin Allgaier will carry the colors of Arby’s at Darlington. https://t.co/rk7QI8X7Z5

— Joseph Srigley (@joe_srigley) December 16, 2025

As part of the deal, Arby’s will serve as the primary sponsor for eight Xfinity Series races in 2026, split across three JRM drivers, namely Carson Kvapil, Sammy Smith, and Justin Allgaier. Kvapil will carry Arby’s branding at Atlanta, Rockingham, Texas, and Chicago. Smith’s No. 8 Chevrolet will feature the brand at Talladega, San Diego, and the Charlotte ROVAL, while veteran Allgaier will run fast food giant’s logos at Darlington.

Beyond those races, Arby’s will also be featured as a season-long associate sponsor on Allgaier’s No. 7 Chevrolet, cementing a consistent year-long partnership with JRM. The partnership doesn’t end at race weekends. The company has also signed a personal services agreement with JRM co-owner and NASCAR Hall of Famer Earnhardt, one of the sport’s most influential voices.

The new partnership is expected to play a central role in Arby’s fan engagement strategy, leveraging Earnhardt’s credibility and platforms to expand its reach within the NASCAR community.

MORE: NASCAR’s Evergreen Charter Victory May Have Just Created a Bigger Problem for the Sport

“It’s an exciting opportunity to have Arby’s partner up with our companies,” said Earnhardt. “Arby’s is very aggressive with their activation and we pride ourselves on being a tremendous asset when it comes to offering a variety of unique marketing platforms, so I’m looking forward to how we can work together to continue to grow their business.”

For JRM, the agreement adds another major brand to their already strong sponsorship portfolio. It also reinforces the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series team’s position as one of the sport’s most lucrative organizations for long-term visibility.

For Arby’s, the deal signals a strategic investment in stock car racing, combining competitive on-track performance, star power, and social media engagement to deepen its connection with racing fans across the 2026 season and beyond.

Hendrick Motorsports purchased a significant plot of land after team owner Rick Hendrick revealed that his overall business generated $1 billion in one year alone.

According to Cabarrus County real estate records obtained by the Charlotte Business Journal, an entity affiliated with Hendrick Motorsports purchased a 20.2-acre site at 7001 Bruton Smith Blvd. for $14.2 million last month. The land was bought from Charlotte Motor Speedway LLC — which is tied to Speedway Motorsports — and is located less than one mile from the front entrance of the historic track.

This is hardly the only major land purchase that Hendrick — who provided his two cents once NASCAR and Michael Jordan’s 23XI reached a settlement in their year-long antitrust lawsuit — has overseen in recent years. Back in 2023, Hendrick Motorsports purchased another 82 acres from Charlotte Motor Speedway for approximately $22.6 million. The property sits adjacent to the organization’s campus and the Hendrick Auto Mall.

Speaking to the Charlotte Business Journal, a Hendrick spokesperson shared that there are “no specific plans for the property” acquired in the most recent $14.2 million acquisition at this time.

The latest acquisition comes on the heels of a telling court admission about the substantial losses Hendrick Motorsports has suffered while competing in the Cup Series. In a letter directed to NASCAR CEO Jim France from April 2024, Hendrick conceded that teams had “reached a breaking point” regarding the 2024 charter agreement.

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“You and I have become good friends. I have tremendous respect for you and truly value our personal relationship. In turn, I understand you must prioritize business and the best interests of your company, your family and your employees,” Hendrick wrote.

“But for the sake of transparency, I want to share my dismay at the state of these negotiations and the ineffective process we’ve endured over the last two years. Both sides have wasted a tremendous amount of time and resources, and we find ourselves at an unnecessary impasse.”

Even though Hendrick Motorsports secured two Cup Series titles over a five-year span, Hendrick claimed that the team still suffered a total loss of $20 million due to the existing model, which was “unsustainable for teams and cannot continue without substantive, fundamental change.”

In order to keep the team afloat, Hendrick noted that “Hendrick Automotive Group did $1 billion in business with Hendrick Motorsports sponsors in 2023, including: Ally: 22,000 loan originations ($951 million in retail paper), UniFirst: 24,000 uniforms leased ($4 million), Axalta: 33,000 gallons of Axalta paint used ($8.5 million purchased), Valvoline: 887,000 gallons of oil poured, NAPA: 1.2 million parts purchased ($9 million).”

Less than two weeks after heading to trial in a Charlotte courthouse, NASCAR reached a resolution that will provide all teams with “evergreen” or “permanent” charters. In addition, all 15 Cup Series teams will receive a percentage of international revenue for the first time and a third of new business deals regarding Intellectual Property (IP). The three-strike rule will also be increased to five strikes, thereby providing teams with more decision-making power.

The dust has finally settled on the 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports versus NASCAR antitrust lawsuit after a settlement was reached after 13 days of testimonies and cross-examinations in Charlotte, North Carolina.

But while the courtroom may have emptied and the boiling point sentiment surrounding NASCAR may have tempered, it seems 23XI co-owner and Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin remains a little heated about how his side was portrayed by Dale Earnhardt’s former crew chief, Larry McReynolds, prior to what proved to be a chippy trial.

The fallout of the trial has seen Dale Earnhardt Jr. discover exactly what it means for him entering the Cup Series, while it has also left NASCAR in an awkward Richard Childress situation. 

The trial revealed messages exchanged during negotiations regarding a new charter agreement, signed in 2024 by all parties except 23XI and FRM. This agreement was at the heart of the trial, with the two teams alleging “monopolistic” practices from NASCAR.

During the course of the pre-trial discovery phase, as well as the trial itself, NASCAR executives were not painted in the best of light. NASCAR commissioner Steve Phelps was found to have labeled Richard Childress, team owner and Hall of Famer, an “idiot” and a “stupid redneck” who “needs to be taken out back and flogged.” Naturally, this prompted threats from the 80-year-old of a lawsuit in response.

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NASCAR president Steve O’Donnell also didn’t come out of the trial smelling of roses, having sent a message at one point reading simply “F— the teams,” while CEO Jim France is said with a degree of ambivilence to have told team owner and Hall of Famer Joe Gibbs of the final charter agreement deadline, “If I wake up and I have 20 charters, I have 20. If I have 30, I have 30.”

Ultimately, the two sides reached a settlement agreement on December 11, with a joint statement explaining, “As a condition of the settlement agreement, NASCAR will issue an amendment to existing charter holders detailing the updated terms for signature, which will include a form of ‘evergreen’ charters, subject to mutual agreement. The financial terms of the settlement are confidential and will not be released.”

But while the trial may be over, Hamlin is still grasping hold of receipts from when they originally filed the lawsuit in October 2024, believing former crew chief turned SiriusXM NASCAR Radio host McReynolds should apologize for comments made over a year ago.

“Good Morning! At 11am/ET this morning Join @BradGillie & @LarryMac28 for “On Track” on @SiriusXMNASCAR Channel 90! Dylan Cappello with @Team_FRM joins us,” McReynolds posted on social media on Tuesday, to which Hamlin replied, “Good morning. Now that the case is settled and the evidence is out will you or anyone on channel 90 be issuing an apology for what you all said about 23XI/FRM when the lawsuit was filed?”

He then went on to add, “I believe it was ‘how dare them for trying to come in and change the sport. 23XI hasn’t been around long enough and FRM wasn’t good enough’. Also how about ‘I dont know what their problem is, 13 other teams signed it’. Just to name a few examples.”

One fan asked Hamlin why he felt an apology was necessary if McReynolds truly believed what he was saying at the time, asking, “Isn’t that the point of a talk show? It may have been not what people wanted to hear but its his right to say what he thinks right or wrong. So why is an apology required?”

To which Hamlin responded, “Well because I believe that once the actual facts and documents were released it was contradictory to the narrative that was being pushed.

“Larry is a very hard working analyst. Hopefully he took the time to analyze the situation post settlement and revise his thoughts.”

It remains to be seen if or how McReynolds will respond to Hamlin’s comments.