CHARLOTTE, N.C. — After filing a joint lawsuit against NASCAR and CEO Jim France last week, 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports have levied a preliminary injunction in the case, which (if granted) would allow both teams to keep racing as chartered teams next season as the case continues.
In a joint statement, 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports said, “The 23XI and Front Row Motorsports teams are fully committed to competing in next year’s Cup Series. Today’s procedural filing is the next step in advancing our case against NASCAR and their monopolistic practices, while protecting our drivers, race teams, and sponsors by establishing our legal right to run in 2025.”
In September, 23XI and Front Row refused to sign NASCAR’s charter agreement.
According to the statement, “The teams also filed a motion for expedited discovery, asking the court to give the teams’ legal counsel immediate access to documents and files from NASCAR executives Jim France, Lesa France Kennedy, Ben Kennedy, Steve O’Donnell, Steve Phelps and Scott Prime. Key components of discovery that 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports are seeking include:
• Documents discussing the mandatory release provision in the 2025 charter agreement;
• Documents discussing NASCAR’s decision to end negotiating with the Team Negotiating Committee and only negotiate with individual racing teams for the 2025 charter agreement; and
• Documents discussing NASCAR’s decision to present to the teams a take-it-or-leave-it final proposal for the 2025 charter agreement.
“NASCAR’s dominant control over racing is not because of its superior skill or business acumen, but rather its history of exclusionary acts and restrictive agreements that have stifled competition through its monopoly power,” said Jeffrey Kessler, Winston & Strawn LLP Partner and Co-Executive Chairman, and lead counsel for 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports.
“We believe our expedited discovery requests of NASCAR and the France family will shed light on their anticompetitive practices and support a preliminary injunction ruling that 23XI and Front Row Motorsports have a legally protected right to race next year while our antitrust case proceeds in Court.”
The motion also seeks documents and files surrounding NASCAR’s exclusive or restrictive contracts with independently owned race tracks that have hosted Cup Series races since 2016, NASCAR’s acquisitions of the International Speedway Corporation (ISC) and Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) and the charter agreement provisions that restrict teams from competing in non-NASCAR events and from using Next Gen parts and cars in non-NASCAR events.
Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick drive Toyotas for 23XI, which is owned by Cup Series driver Denny Hamlin and basketball hall of famer Michael Jordan, while Front Row Motorsports, which is owned by Bob Jenkins, fields Fords for Todd Gilliland and Michael McDowell.