NASCAR Teams Must Share Financial Data With NASCAR, Judge Rules

NASCAR has argued it can’t effectively defend itself against accusations by 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports that the association doesn’t fairly share industry revenues with teams unless it knows how much revenue teams actually generate.

On Wednesday, a federal district agreed. 

U.S. District Judge Kenneth D. Bell ordered Joe Gibbs Racing, Hendrick Motorsports, Spire Motorsports IV, Trackhouse Racing, Penske Motorsports, Richard Childress Racing Enterprises, Wood Brothers Racing, RFK Racing, Legacy Motor Club, Hyak Motorsports, Rick Ware Racing and Haas Factory Team to turn over documents that will provide financial insights to NASCAR. These teams aren’t suing NASCAR and aren’t parties to the antitrust litigation, but they do possess evidence that is relevant to the legal claims and defenses.

Bell ruled that as soon as reasonably practicable, these teams must provide annual top-line financial data to an account they and NASCAR select. This data will include total revenue, total costs and net profits/losses, and should be offered on an anonymized, average per-car basis for each year since 2014. Bell also emphasized that teams must reveal sponsorship income—which NASCAR insists is a “major component of the industry revenue” at issue and which is separate from revenue teams receive from NASCAR in charters—in calculating total revenue. 

Bell has ordered NASCAR and the teams to jointly select an independent accounting firm by this Friday at noon local time. If they can’t agree, Bell says each must suggest one name to him by Friday at noon. 

The accountant will be tasked with confidentially sharing information with NASCAR but is barred from providing an individual team’s information to other teams. Along those lines, Bell specified the accountant must use a spreadsheet that includes a “Highly Confidential Attorneys Eyes Only” designation and lists the per-car annual averages for each team “without identifying the team associated with each set of numbers.”

The teams have refused to voluntarily turn over their financial data. They have mainly cited privacy concerns, with sponsorship information potentially comprising trade secrets and other categories of documents that businesses normally prefer to keep confidential. Bell reasoned that his order, which limits the necessary disclosures and includes anonymized features, protects “the legitimate interests of the non-party teams.”

NASCAR will be on the hook for the accountant’s costs, but the teams, Bell wrote, “must bear their own expenses, including attorneys’ fees.”

Penske Motorsports is owned by Roger Penske and is not related to Penske Media, the parent company of Sportico.