After a week of deliberation, a federal judge has denied a request for a preliminary injunction by 23XI Racing, the team co-owned by Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin, and Front Row Motorsports, a team owned by Bob Jenkins, in the ongoing antitrust lawsuit between the race teams and NASCAR.
If granted, the preliminary injunction would have allowed the teams, which field six cars in the NASCAR Cup Series, to resume being considered “Chartered” teams until the conclusion of the Antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR, which is scheduled to begin on December 1.
According to the ruling from U.S. District Judge Kenneth D. Bell, there is no irreparable harm for the teams not receiving the preliminary injunction.
Bell came to this conclusion due to several factors.
NASCAR has adjusted the rules, which will ensure that all six 23XI/Front Row cars will make the field for every NASCAR Cup Series race for the duration of the 2025 season.
“First, NASCAR has changed its ‘Open’ racing rules in a way that guarantees that Plaintiffs will be able to fully participate in each of the remaining Cup Series races. While noting that NASCAR’s ability and willingness to make this ‘rule change’ during the season reflects its full, private control over which teams can race in the Cup Series, the result is that Plaintiffs will be able to race until the end of the season so they will suffer no harm in that regard,” Judge Bell explained.
Additionally, in a filing sent to the court following last week’s contentious hearing, NASCAR agreed that it would not sell or convey the Charters that 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports acquired from Stewart-Haas Racing last year, and that NASCAR will leave six Charters for the teams pending the December trial.
NASCAR has had an interested party in one of the Stewart-Haas Racing Charters, which was one of the main factors that led to the preliminary injunction filing by the teams.
Now, if NASCAR is to award a Charter to the interested party, it will come from Charters 37 through 40, which NASCAR has had stashed away to dispense at its discretion.
With the concessions from NASCAR, Judge Bell believes that the “status quo” has been preserved.
If the teams ultimately win the lawsuit in December, they stand to be compensated with damages, including the loss of Charter payouts as well as damages involving the potential loss of drivers or sponsors as a result of not being regarded as “Chartered” teams.
23XI Racing has stated that Tyler Reddick and Monster Energy have a provision in their respective deals with the team that allows them to break their contracts if the team is not a Chartered organization.
Reddick, who finished runner-up in last weekend’s Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, is one of the 16 drivers currently battling for the NASCAR Cup Series championship in the Playoffs.
If either the driver, sponsor, or both announce their intent to leave the team between the end of this season and the trial, it will certainly make for an interesting wrinkle in the case for the teams. It will also be interesting to see what level of restitution the court would deem fit for the loss of the driver and/or sponsor if the teams win the trial.
Judge Bell, who has expressed his thoughts that NASCAR and the teams should do everything in their power to settle the case before the December trial, continued to opine in his latest ruling that the outcome of the antitrust lawsuit could forever change the landscape of the sport of NASCAR.
“The uncertainty about what the 2026 season will look like unfortunately exists not just for the Parties, but for the other teams, drivers, crews, sponsors, broadcasters and, most regrettably, the fans,” Bell said.
In addition to Reddick, 23XI Racing also has Bubba Wallace, the driver of its No. 23 entry, among the Playoff field. Front Row Motorsports did not secure Playoff berths with any of its three cars this season.
