NASCAR antitrust suit: What 23XI Racing, FRM are fighting for

A trial that could very well change NASCAR forever is beginning this week.

And it’s going down in Charlotte.

The antitrust trial that pits the sanctioning body of NASCAR against two of its Cup Series teams — the Michael Jordan-co-owned 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports — will begin Monday morning at the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina in Uptown Charlotte.

At the conclusion of the 21-day trial, presided over by Judge Kenneth Bell, a jury will be asked to facilitate answers to several NASCAR questions, including the massive one that the teams asserted in October 2024 when they initially filed their lawsuit:

Is NASCAR a monopoly?

And if it is, another question comes to the fore:

What does that mean for the future of the largest motorsport series in America?

To get you prepared for the legal proceedings this week and throughout the month of December, here are six questions you should know.

Who are the parties in this trial?

The defendant in this antitrust trial is NASCAR, the sanctioning body of the stock car racing enterprise that was established in 1948. It was founded by William France Sr., and the racing series has been owned by the France family thereafter. The current CEO is William France’s grandson, Jim France; the commissioner is Steve Phelps and the president is Steve O’Donnell.

The plaintiffs are two teams that race in NASCAR’s premier series called the Cup Series. The team you’ve probably read a lot about is 23XI Racing, the one co-owned by Cup driver superstar Denny Hamlin and sports icon Michael Jordan. Also involved on the plaintiff side is Front Row Motorsports, owned by entrepreneur Bob Jenkins.

Drivers for 23XI Racing are Tyler Reddick, Bubba Wallace and Riley Herbst; FRM drivers are Todd Gilliland, Noah Gragson and Zane Smith.

How did this NASCAR-23XI Racing lawsuit begin?

The lawsuit was officially filed in October 2024. The antitrust lawsuit stated, in so many words, that the governing body of NASCAR is a monopoly. The two teams sued NASCAR after they declined to sign the charter agreement that NASCAR brought to teams in September. (More on the charter system below.)

In the original lawsuit, the teams claimed that NASCAR and CEO Jim France have used “anti-competitive and exclusionary practices” to “enrich themselves at the expense of premier stock car racing teams.” The ways NASCAR is enriching themselves, according to the lawsuit, includes the fact that NASCAR owns a majority of the country’s big racetrack it uses; that NASCAR mandates its teams purchase cars and parts from NASCAR-approved suppliers; among other ways.

What are the plaintiff Cup Series teams fighting for?

As aforementioned, this all started with the teams declining to sign the 2025 charter agreement. 23XI and Front Row Motorsports were the only two of the 15 Cup teams to not sign it, though there were reports at the time that some Cup teams felt pressured to sign the agreement.

In any case, this all comes back to charter negotiations.

For the past several years, the Cup Series teams and NASCAR have been clashing over negotiations of the 2025 charter agreement. It was meant to be an update of the 2016 agreement.

Under the 2016 deal, Cup race teams operated like franchises in other professional sports did, a departure of how it used to be. Think of how the New York Yankees belong to Major League Baseball. The Charlotte Hornets to the NBA. And so on. NASCAR’s charter system guaranteed entry into each race and a portion of the purse — a plan that was meant to deliver stability and long-term value to existing team owners, which, in theory, would lead to more investment from said team owners to make the enterprise more competitive and generally better.

However, many teams claimed as early as two-and-a-half years ago that the economic model in NASCAR is “broken.” Sponsorships constituted too much of the team’s revenue; the teams needed more money in the media rights deal, and other revenues. The charter agreement addressed some of those concerns — the teams now get approximately 50% of the media revenue to the teams, a substantial increase from the previous deal.

But the big thing that the teams were fighting for: “Evergreen” charters — or “permanent” charters that would automatically renew every seven years at the owner’s discretion. The France family did not budge on this aspect in the charter negotiations, and for 23XI and FRM, that was not suitable.

What is NASCAR fighting for?

NASCAR, simply, is fighting for the current model of the business.

NASCAR representatives have stated several times over that their Cup-team adversaries are using this litigation as a business negotiation tactic. NASCAR has also stated that it is ironic the sanctioning body is being put in a position to protect the charter agreement in place — because the charter agreement was originally brought forth by the teams in 2016.

What is at stake?

Not to be sensational, but it’s true: The future of America’s largest motorsport series is at stake.

If NASCAR wins, the charter system might remain, but it’s likely 23XI Racing and its most famous owner, Jordan, would exit the series entirely. If the teams win, the jury would likely be tasked with determining the monetary damages to chartered teams, and then a judge would determine how to break up a NASCAR monopoly — which would require a reimagining of the sport and its business model.

What will happen once a verdict is levied?

The trial is set to take 21 days. But appeals on both sides, whatever the outcome, are expected. And that would mean litigation deep into 2026 and perhaps later.

Both sides are also capable of settling at any time — even during and after the trial if the appeals process is ongoing. But according to a source, it’s unlikely that the sides will settle during the trial. Efforts to settle in the months leading up to trial were unsuccessful.

This story was originally published December 1, 2025 at 5:30 AM.