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DARLINGTON, SOUTH CAROLINA – AUGUST 31: Michael Jordan, NBA Hall of Famer and co-owner of 23XI Racing looks on during the NASCAR Cup Series Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway on August 31, 2025 in Darlington, South Carolina. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

The NASCAR antitrust settlement reached on December 11, 2025, ended a legal battle that pulled the sport into federal court and forced a closer look at its business model. The lawsuit was filed by 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports. The dispute centered on NASCAR’s charter system and the level of control the sanctioning body holds over Cup Series teams.

A key ruling confirmed NASCAR has “monopoly/monopsony power” in the market for premier stock car racing services. That decision narrowed the case and helped push both sides toward a settlement that changes charter ownership, revenue sharing, and team rights across the Cup Series.

Court ruling that reshaped the case

The lawsuit followed failed charter negotiations in September 2024. NASCAR presented teams with a 112-page charter agreement and gave them one day to sign. The deal guaranteed race entry and revenue but did not offer permanent charters. While most teams signed, 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports refused and chose to sue. Both teams competed for much of the 2025 season without charters.

On November 4, U.S. District Judge Kenneth Bell issued a summary judgment under Section 2 of the Sherman Act. He ruled that NASCAR does possess “monopoly/monopsony power in the relevant market” for premier stock car racing services. This ruling removed the need to argue whether NASCAR controlled the market and shifted the case to whether that control was used in an illegal way.

Judge Bell also rejected NASCAR’s argument that teams could easily move to other racing series. In his written “In opposing Plaintiffs’ relevant market, NASCAR now contends that the same motorsports that could not supply racing teams to the Cup Series are suddenly readily available substitutes for the Cup Series teams, like Plaintiffs, to sell their services. Not only is it illogical, but there is no record evidence that racing teams in various motorsports can only move from NASCAR to another motorsport but not vice-versa, Bell said.”

The trial began on December 1. After nine days of testimony, settlement talks accelerated. Judge Bell later spoke directly to the jury, saying, “I wish we could’ve done this a few months ago. I believe this is great for NASCAR. Great for the future of NASCAR. Great for the teams and ultimately great for the fans.”

Evidence and testimony during the trial

During the trial, teams presented internal NASCAR communications and testimony related to charter talks. Team owners described the final offer as “take-it-or-leave-it” and said it did not meet key demands, especially the push for permanent charters.

Michael Jordan, co-owner of 23XI Racing, said the lawsuit focused on the long-term health of the sport. “The lawsuit was about making sure NASCAR evolves in a way that supports everyone: teams, drivers, partners, employees, and fans, Jordan said.”

Denny Hamlin, Jordan’s partner at 23XI, explained why the team accepted the risks of going to court. “Racing is all I’ve ever known, and this sport shaped who I am. Hamlin said, That’s why we were willing to shoulder the challenges that came with taking this stand.”

What teams gain from the NASCAR antitrust settlement

The settlement applies to all 36 Cup Series teams. The most important change is the creation of permanent, or “evergreen,” charters. These charters cannot be taken away as long as teams meet standard conditions, giving owners long-term security.

Teams will also receive new revenue. For the first time, teams will get a share of NASCAR’s international media rights income. They will also receive one-third of revenue from new business deals that use the team’s intellectual property, including merchandise.

Governance rules also change. A reinstated five-strike rule allows teams to block rule changes that would cost at least $500,000 per car. Financial terms were not disclosed, but the settlement includes compensation for 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports after racing without charters in 2025.

Dogli Wilberforce is a sports writer who covers NASCAR, Formula 1 and IndyCar Series for Heavy Sports. With bylines at Total Apex Sports and Last Word on Sports, Wilberforce has built a reputation for delivering timely, engaging coverage that blends sharp analysis with accessible storytelling. Wilberforce has covered everything from major football transfers to fight-night drama, bringing readers the insight and context behind the headlines. More about Dogli Wilberforce

Before the 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports v. NASCAR antitrust lawsuit was settled during the trial, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and sister/business partner Kelley Earnhardt-Miller took to their podcast studio to discuss some of their thoughts at the time.

One of those topics was the revelation that NASCAR felt threatened by a certain degree by the Superstar Racing Experience and even reacted to it by ‘locking down’ tracks with extensive sanctioning agreements.

Its top executives even made clear how frustrated they felt by SRX both within documents uncovered by the discovery process but also during testimony during the trial itself.

Earnhardt, talking on the Dale Jr. Download expressed surprise that NASCAR felt so strongly about SRX.

“I gotta be honest, this shocked me,” Earnhardt said on Tuesday’s Dale Jr. Download. “I want to say that I’m a big fan, and I think I’m a good friend with Ray Evernham. When he started talking about SRX and what he wanted to do, in his mind, he wanted to re-create IROC. The initial idea of SRX as a series that would go into these local markets, and you would bring out these retired guys and some unique personalities, different forms of racing and offer up a car to the local hero. The original idea of SRX, in my mind, was a good idea. I will say, though, I wasn’t interested in it, personally. Out of the gate, I just didn’t have the bandwidth to get into it. I wasn’t a fan; I didn’t really watch too much of it. … No offense to anybody out there that was SRX fans or anybody that worked in the series… but I wasn’t into it.

“To hear that they were even remotely the least bit threatened is so surprising to me because they’re this giant that’s NASCAR and SRX is just this little thing. They were like 12 cars just barely getting by financially. They’re tearing up so much shit, they had no idea they were gonna tear up so much shit. In the end, they couldn’t make the money work. SRX went away because it’s expensive to operate and the viewership numbers didn’t justify the TV contract and the TV contract couldn’t afford the series, so it just financially didn’t really work.”

During the trial, now NASCAR president Steve O’Donnell explained why he said he wanted the legal department from the Sanctioning Body to look at NASCAR. He said it looked more and more like NASCAR when Cup Series drivers and their sponsors started to compete in the mid-week summer short and dirt track series.

However, O’Donnell also testified that legal said there wasn’t nothing to take action against.

Regardless, Earnhardt just didn’t understand why this was even a topic of consideration.

“I am surprised by the some of the comments I read from O’Donnell and a couple people of, ‘Man we gotta put an end to this or we gotta go take a look at this.’ Why are we worried? I don’t care [about the ratings], people were gonna be curious. … I’m not alarmed by that. … I was really surprised by that,” Earnhardt said. “I never saw, no disrespect, but I never would’ve worried or considered SRX a problem.

“I would’ve looked at what they were doing… why do people like it and can we work together? It was interesting because it did morph. You had drivers like Denny, Chase, and Blaney, but Chase goes over there to race with his dad, have a little fun. Blaney with his dad. They were getting paid to go out there and do it for a little bit of money.”

Wilkesboro and Bowman Gray

Earnhardt directly was even pulled into the internal NASCAR debate as Phelps, O’Donnell and SVP of Strategy Scott Prime concluded the Sanctioning Body needed to schedule races at North Wilkesboro and Bowman Gray Stadium before SRX had a chance to do it with the retired superstar.

From the aforementioned June 2022 text message exchange between the three:

O’Donnell: Wait until (Dale) Jr. says he is running an event. Matter of time. They will go to North Wilkesboro with Jr. if we are not careful. We need to be the first back.
Prime: Agreed – North Wilkesboro and Bowman Gray next year with Jr and friends if we don’t make moves
O’Donnell: How about this for All Star – make it a combo – Bowman and Wilkes Fri/Sun
Prime: Sick! And flip it for 2024. We’ve got moves to make. Just need to sell them through. Should be a good working session Thursday

Wilkesboro and Bowman Gray eventually were added to the Cup Series schedule in 2023 and 2025 respectively.

However, Earnhardt said the former is to the credit of Speedway Motorsports CEO Marcus Smith and the state of North Carolina’s Build Back Better fund contribution.

“Listen, there is a lot of stuff about NASCAR in all of this that I don’t know,” Earnhardt said. “I don’t know everything about how they run things, and I certainly didn’t know how they felt about some things, and how these text messages have unveiled some things. But I’ll tell you what I do know, is that North Wilkesboro came back because of Marcus Smith … NASCAR, you know, they didn’t play any role. Now, they have to go, when Marcus comes up and says, ‘Man, I’ve got this track back together, I want to put it on the schedule.’ They’ve gotta go, ‘Okay, good.’

“But, look, NASCAR never was going, ‘Guys, we gotta get Wilkesboro going.’ This isn’t a knock to them, you know, this isn’t a knock to them, they shouldn’t take this as an insult, but Wilkesboro is back because of everybody else. The government, our local government, and the town, a lot of volunteers. Fucking, 20 years of volunteers, people just like even keeping the grass mowed for 20 years. All of those reasons, the fact that they kept the track in somewhat reasonable shape, to even be considered to be brought back. Those people should be commended. You know, we can go on about this.”

Earnhardt-Miller also said her brother deserved credit for getting CARS Tour involved and his driving in a race that drew 20,000 fans even before NASCAR and SMI scheduled the All-Star Race.

He wouldn’t accept it, but it’s objectively true that his star power contributed to the success of an event dubbed ‘Race Track Revival.’

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NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr. has an eye for talent; Look no further than his O’Reilly’s Auto Parts Series Team JR Motorsports’ four driver championships as proof of that.

The current NASCAR field contains a plethora of talent of all ages and backgrounds, some of whom are arguably underappreciated by fans and perhaps even the paddock alike. Some may also be overrated, but that’s a different story entirely.

Quizzed on the current field, and which drivers he believes don’t get the recognition they deserve, Earnhardt Jr singled out a veteran of the sport, who had to wait until he was well into his 30s to get his shot in the Cup Series. It came after Earnhardt Jr shared a grim prediction for a star who ‘overachieved’ in 2025.

Former JRM driver and current Wood Brothers Racing star, Josh Berry, has only driven full-time in the Cup Series for two seasons, with the first being with the now-defunct Stewart-Haas Racing. Prior to 2024, he had only made 12 appearances for Hendrick Motorsports, Legacy Motor Club, and Spire Motorsports between 2021 and 2023.

This past season, Berry set a new benchmark for himself, reaching the Playoffs and winning his first race, the Pennzoil 400, at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, while also cracking the top five two further times and the top 10 on another five occasions.

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“I don’t know how people feel about Josh Berry now. I still feel like his talent is not as appreciated as I think [it should be],” Earnhardt said on his ‘Dale Jr. Download’ podcast. “He’s won now. He’s driving for the Wood Brothers. He’s established. He’s good to go, right. But I still feel that people don’t really know how good he is.”

The 51-year-old went on to note that he feels the same about Berrry as he did back in the day about Martin Truex Jr. Earnhardt recalled how early in Truex’s career, which saw him drive for his late dad’s team, Dale Earnhardt, Inc., followed by Michael Waltrip Racing, he approached his then boss, Rick Hendrick, and suggested Hendrick Motorsports “consider Truex.”

“And they were like, ‘Really?’ And that’s as far as it went,” Earnhardt recalled. “And then he got in the [Furniture Row Racing] 78 car and won a championship in a bunch of races with (crew chief) Cole [Pearn]. But I knew Truex had that ability, and he was super talented. Just a really great race car. I feel the same way about Josh. I think Josh is incredibly good.”

Truex ultimately ran full-time between 2006 and 2024, picking up 34 wins, 291 top 10 finishes, and the 2017 Cup Series crown with FRR.

Whether or not there is still time in Berry’s career to clinch that first Cup Series title and a “bunch” more wins remains to be seen. That being said, set to return behind the wheel of the No. 21 WBR Ford next season, he will at the very least be looking to improve upon his 16th-place driver standings finish when the new season begins in a matter of months, starting with the Daytona 500.

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Kyle Larson ferociously came out of a late restart during the 2025 NACAR Cup Series championship in Phoenix to claim a second-overall crown. 

Now, the Hendrick Motorsports driver is planning on heading to Australia to defend his High Limit Racing series title from a year ago in a flex of the NASCAR star’s racing versatility.

Speaking on The Drivers’ Project podcast, Larson played the humble card when speaking about his Australian experience after being asked if he could excel in any racing competition.

“I wouldn’t agree with that because like, I go to Australia,” he said. “The only time I’ve had success in Australia now is when I brought Trevor [Bayne] with me, who’s probably has Paul [Dumbrell’s] notebook.

“When I’ve gone to Australia any other time, I’ve been terrible, like really bad… Like, yeah, I had my moments of being really fast or being competitive, but I also had way more nights of not being competitive.”

Larson will head back to the land down under alongside 10 under American drivers in a lucrative $110,000 AUD race, the most expensive in Australian history.

The 33-year-old has 32 career wins in the NASCAR Cup Series to go along with his two season-long triumphs. In the newly remodeled NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, Larson boasts 17 wins.

He has four wins in the Craftsman Truck Series, a competition he continues to compete in as he hunts for a weekend triple (he came close last year). Larson also has a handful of wins in the ARCA Menards Series.

“I think I’ve just been sure I’ve got talent,” he added. “Sure, you know, I can a lot of times carry a car, but I think as the sport has gotten tougher, like I’ve definitely realized you have to have a good team in place… being a Hendrick Motorsports, like anybody can be fast there.”

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In the past, Larson has been compared to four-time F1 champion Max Verstappen. “I know in my mind I am better than him as an all-around driver,” the NASCAR man said, not playing the humble card.