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.

Advertisement

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.

Advertisement

“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.

___

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.

Sign up to our NASCAR newsletter here.

“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.

Recommended Articles:

The NASCAR antitrust trial involving 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports (FRM) has become one of the most significant storylines of the 2025 season. A week into the trial, both sides have revealed unpleasant information about each other, but the disclosures have seemingly hurt NASCAR more than the teams.

With both sides going all out in the legal battle, ethical boundaries have been repeatedly stretched. In the most recent update, Judge Kenneth D. Bell intervened when the confidentiality of Richard Childress was compromised, and he called out NASCAR for its actions.

Why Did Richard Childress Testify Against NASCAR?

As more figures testified in the courtroom, so did Childress. In leaked emails and conversations that went viral in the weeks leading up to the trial, Childress was one of the figures whose reputation suffered a blow due to derogatory remarks made by NASCAR executives.

So naturally, when Childress stepped up for his testimony, the team owner did not hesitate to speak bluntly about the governing body’s actions. Childress declared that teams were forced to sign the charter, given the circumstances under which the agreement was presented.

He even highlighted that if he were in a better financial position, he would have chosen not to sign the charter agreement. NASCAR argued that since 13 teams signed the deal, it was done with mutual understanding. However, with the testimony of Heather Gibbs and Childress, that narrative was no longer airtight for the sanctioning body.

Following this, NASCAR attorney Christopher Yates brought up the ownership structure of Richard Childress Racing, noting that Childress only owned 60% of the team. He then interrogated Childress about the role of Bobby Hillin Jr. as a direct or indirect owner.

Childress responded by stating that information about that subject was confidential, and NASCAR’s reference to it in the courtroom was a violation of privacy and the NDA agreement.

How Did Judge Bell Respond to the Privacy Violation?

When Judge Bell dismissed the jury, the plaintiffs demanded a judgment from the court over the governing body’s violation of the NDA. They also sought custody of the documents from the defendants.

According to courtroom data revealed by Matt Weaver of Motorsport.com, Judge Bell told NASCAR’s defense, “Mr. Childress certainly thought it shouldn’t have been in their possession.”

ALSO READ: Courtroom Drama Peaks as Judge Bell’s Sharp Sarcasm Silences NASCAR’s Complaint Against 23XI

Yates responded by noting that their reason behind the actions was to impeach Childress for making false claims against the governing body. However, Judge Bell was far from convinced by Yates’ explanation, insisting that his reasons still did not justify the act. He ordered both parties to work together on the matter and devise an appropriate solution.

Although the court has asked both NASCAR and the teams to cooperate on a solution, given the current state of affairs, it will be interesting to see how they resolve their differences on this matter.