CHARLOTTE, N.C. — On Wednesday morning, 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports jointly filed an antitrust lawsuit in the Western District of North Carolina against NASCAR and its CEO Jim France.
According to a press release, the two teams believe NASCAR and its leadership have used “anti-competitive practices to prevent fair competition in the sport.”
In a joint statement, 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports said, “We share a passion for racing, the thrill of competition and winning. Off the race track, we share a belief that change is necessary for the sport we love. Together, we brought this antitrust case so that racing can thrive and become a more competitive and fair sport in ways that will benefit teams, drivers, sponsors, and, most importantly, fans.”
Statement from 23XI and Front Row Motorsports ownership. Read more here https://t.co/zvseR0i7bP pic.twitter.com/2HGtyawX6k
— 23XI Racing (@23XIRacing) October 2, 2024
The official release continues, stating: “NASCAR and the France family operate without transparency, have stifled competition, and control the sport of stock car racing in ways that unfairly benefit them at the expense of team owners, drivers, sponsors, partners, and fans, through the following anti-competitive practices:
• Buying a majority of the premier race tracks that are exclusive to NASCAR races;
• Imposing exclusivity deals on NASCAR-sanctioned racetracks;
• Acquiring Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA), the only notable stock car racing series competitor;
• Preventing teams from participating in any other stock car races, while also retaining ownership over Next Gen parts and cars; and
• Forcing teams to buy their parts from single-source suppliers chosen by NASCAR.
The release argued there isn’t another professional sport in North America that is “run by a single family that enriches themselves through these kinds of unchecked monopolistic practices.”
The lawsuit comes weeks following 23XI and Front Row’s refusal to sign the updated 2025 charter agreement because of “unfair terms.”
“After more than two years of attempted negotiations over the 2025 agreements, during which NASCAR continually stonewalled and refused to engage constructively, we concluded that litigation was the only way to address the anti-competitive practices of NASCAR and the France family,” the release said.
In the coming days, 23XI and Front Row will “file a preliminary injunction to enable our teams to race in the next calendar year under the 2025 charter agreement, while continuing to pursue our antitrust litigation.”
The filing will seek discovery from both NASCAR and Jim France related to their exclusionary practices and intent to insulate themselves from competition. 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports will seek treble damages for the anti-competitive terms that teams have been subject to under the 2016 charter agreement.
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.