A Western District of North Carolina judge has once again sided with 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports in their ongoing antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR, a case that alleges the sanctioning body operates as an illegal monopoly over stock car racing in the United States.
On Tuesday, Judge Kenneth D. Bell issued a ruling granting the teams’ motion for partial summary judgment on two key points: the definition of the relevant marketplace and whether NASCAR holds monopsony power within it. The court agreed with the teams’ argument that the relevant market is specifically “stock car racing,” not the broader motorsports landscape that includes Formula 1 and IndyCar, as NASCAR had contended. NASCAR had argued that the teams could theoretically race elsewhere, but Judge Bell found that no other comparable stock car racing series exists in the U.S.
In his written opinion, Judge Bell noted that even NASCAR’s own filings previously defined the Cup Series as the sport’s only premier stock car division, undermining its argument that the plaintiffs’ market definition was too narrow. “NASCAR wants to (but cannot) have it differently on each side of the same coin, heads we win, tails you lose,” the judge wrote. He added that testimony from both sides, including NASCAR executives such as Steve Phelps and expert witnesses Dr. Hubbard and Dr. Murphy, confirmed that NASCAR effectively controls 100% of the top-tier stock car market, a dominance that has persisted for decades.
The court also denied NASCAR’s own summary judgment request, which had sought dismissal of the case based on statute of limitations, alleged flaws in the teams’ damages claims, and lack of standing. This follows an earlier decision in which the judge dismissed NASCAR’s counterclaim against 23XI Racing, Front Row Motorsports, and 23XI co-owner Curtis Polk. With this latest ruling, the case is now set to proceed to trial in December, unless a settlement is reached beforehand.
In a statement following the ruling, NASCAR reaffirmed its position, saying it plans to “prove that it became the leading motorsport in the United States through hard work, risk-taking, and investment over the past 77 years.” The sanctioning body called the decision “legally flawed” but vowed to defend the charter system, which it says is being unfairly portrayed as anticompetitive.
“NASCAR looks forward to proving that it became the leading motorsport in the United States through hard work, risk-taking, and many significant investments over the past 77 years,” the statement from NASCAR read. “The antitrust laws encourage this—and NASCAR has done nothing anticompetitive in building the sport from the ground up since 1948. While we respect the Court’s decision, we believe it is legally flawed and we will address it at trial and in the Fourth Circuit if necessary. NASCAR believes in the charter system and will continue to defend it from 23XI and Front Row’s efforts to claim that the charter system itself is anticompetitive.”
Meanwhile, Jeffrey Kessler, lead attorney for the two race teams, called the ruling a significant victory.
“We are very pleased with the Court’s decision today, ruling in our favor,” Kessler said. “Not only does it deny NASCAR’s motion for summary judgment, but it also grants our partial summary judgment motion, finding that NASCAR has monopoly power in a properly defined market. This means that the trial can now be focused on whether NASCAR has maintained that power through anticompetitive acts and used that power to harm teams. We’re prepared to present our case to the jury and are focused on obtaining a verdict that benefits all of the teams, partners, drivers, and the fans.”
Tuesday’s victory for the race teams follows another substantial victory a week ago, where Judge Bell dismissed NASCAR’s countersuit against 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports.
Currently, the 23XI Racing, Front Row Motorsports vs NASCAR antitrust lawsuit trial is slated to begin on December 1.
