Boy, oh, boy, Thursday’s hearing for a motion of preliminary injunction for 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports, which, if granted, would allow both teams to resume racing as quasi “Chartered” teams for the remainder of the 2025 season while awaiting a December trial in the teams’ antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR, was packed full of wild and unpredictable turns.
Heading into Thursday’s proceedings, NASCAR revealed that it has a potential team owner, which remains redacted in court filings, that is looking to obtain one of the Charters that were forfeited by the two race teams when they didn’t sign the NASCAR Charter Agreement prior to the 2025 season.
23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports have publicly stated that if the Charters they are currently fighting for through the courts are sold out from under them, they will be forced to cease operations after the 2025 season.
While both sides, NASCAR and the teams, had potentially damaging internal conversations, among their leadership groups, revealed in Thursday’s court proceedings, the conversations between NASCAR executives could likely deal the sanctioning body a death blow in this legal battle.
However, who knows what further evidence will be saved for the December trial on both sides.
The Gloves Come Off
Jeffrey Kessler, the lead attorney for 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports, presented internal NASCAR documents pertaining to the Charter Agreement negotiations, including messages between NASCAR executives. Among the items found in discovery was an “Amanda” chart, which, according to Kessler, weighed out each provision in the agreement as a win or a loss for NASCAR or the teams. In a May 2024 text message thread, Steve Phelps, NASCAR commissioner, says the chart resulted in zero wins for the teams.
As the negotiations between the teams and NASCAR, which took place from 2022 to 2024, reached a stalemate, Kessler says NASCAR issued a take it or leave it offer, which was an original draft of the Charter Agreement, dubbed by NASCAR’s Steve O’Donnell as an offer that would get NASCAR close to a “comfortable 1996 f—- the teams, dictatorship, Motorsport, redneck, Southern, tiny sport.”
The messages between Phelps and O’Donnell, where the two NASCAR executives agreed that the teams weren’t getting enough in the negotiations, came after a meeting that Lesa Kennedy-France said, others within the company felt was “productive.”
NASCAR alleged that Curtis Polk, a co-owner of the 23XI Racing team, led a shadow committee among the teams within the Race Team Alliance in an effort to stall the Charter Agreement negotiations with NASCAR to force a more favorable agreement for the teams.
According to NASCAR, Polk wrote that it was a myth that the teams had no leverage in the negotiations and that 16 teams together are stronger than NASCAR.
Ultimately, when Kessler alleges that NASCAR issued the “take it or leave it” offer prior to the event at Atlanta Motor Speedway in 2024, Christopher Yates, NASCAR’s lead attorney, questions that if the agreement was so unfair, why did the other teams feel the need to sign it?
NASCAR also showed a text conversation between NASCAR executive Scott Prime and Spire Motorsports co-owner Jeff Dickerson, where Dickerson said, “It’s seriously fair, all kidding aside,” in reference to the Charter agreement, which went into effect in 2025.
Revealed on Thursday were also some private text conversations between Polk and Michael Jordan as the news came that other teams began to sign the Charter Agreement, instead of holding the line alongside 23XI and Front Row Motorsports.
“Gibbs signed?” Jordan messaged Polk, to which Polk responded, “Yep. Sounds like he got thrown a bone at the 11th hour that is going to be documented in a side letter, but I don’t know what that issue is,”
Jordan responded, “f—ers!!!!”
When it was revealed that the remainder of the teams other than 23XI and Front Row Motorsports had signed the deal, Jordan texted Polk, saying, “I think people understand our fight. Good things will come from this. Teams are going to regret not supporting us. Pussies!!!!!!!!”
Moving along, Kessler also shared internal documents and chats within the NASCAR executives, which showed that NASCAR felt it could suffer a similar fate that the PGA Tour did with a rival league — LIV Golf — forming. As a result, NASCAR seemingly came up with a step-by-step system to avoid a competing stock car racing series from taking its place.
Among the bullet points in the internal NASCAR document was to create their own intellectual property race car (Next Gen), which could not be transferred or used in any other racing series.
The next step was to reach exclusivity contracts with race tracks owned by NASCAR, as well as tracks owned by Speedway Motorsports, and Indianapolis Motor Speedway, which is owned by NASCAR team owner Roger Penske.
Kessler explained in court that this evidence alone is enough proof to show that NASCAR was operating in a monopolistic way.
That claim was refuted by Yates, who said that NASCAR has never attempted to keep a competing series from being successful. And that, with no other big-league stock car racing series as an option, currently, there is no way to prove that NASCAR would operate as a monopoly if there were a competing series.
During this rebuttal, Judge Bell stopped Yates and explained that the argument from Kessler and the race teams is that NASCAR has taken steps to prevent a rival series from being created altogether.
Near the end of the intense back and forth, Judge Bell warned both sides that during the jury trial in December, he would not let both parties spar back and forth as he did on Thursday, but he let the proceedings play out as they did, because it was entertaining. He also warned that with the large amount of documents that contained redactions in the filing that both sides may want to seriously consider settling the case before trial, so whatever information they don’t want out there remains sealed.
Bell also warned the attorneys that if they do intend to take this to the bitter end in trial, they should remember to craft their battles for December with the mindset that a jury from Charlotte, North Carolina, will be in charge of concluding which side wins the case.
The judge will reveal his decision next week on the motion for preliminary injunction, which will determine whether 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports can operate as Chartered entries until the December trial.
Kessler was over the moon with how Thursday’s court case went.
Statements after today’s hearing from Jeffrey Kessler (23XI/FRM attorney) and Michael Jordan: pic.twitter.com/0dInrjOcX9
— Toby Christie (@Toby_Christie) August 28, 2025
“We’re delighted that we got our day in court today before Judge Bell,” Kessler said on the steps of the courthouse after Thursday’s hearing. “I think the documents, NASCAR’s own documents, speak for themselves. I think you finally got to see them, and you can see what this case is about. I think NASCAR’s argument against those documents speaks for themselves as well. But we’re very, very happy to have had this opportunity, and we look forward to Judge Bell ruling on this motion next week.”
Michael Jordan explained that he will go down with the ship if he has to, he’s in this fight for the long haul as he wants to make the sport better for the 75% of team owners, who unlike himself, haven’t been able to turn a profit from running in the NASCAR Cup Series.
“Look, I’ve been a fan of the game for a long period of time. And you know, the first thought is the process. I’ve always said that I want to fight for the betterment of the sport. Even though they tried to point out that we make some money, we’ve had a successful business, that’s not the point,” Jordan explained. “The point is, is that the sport itself needs to continue to change for the betterment of the fans, as well as for NASCAR, too, if they understand. I look forward to going down with the fire. If I have to fight this to the end for the betterment of the sport, I will do it.”
The legal team representing NASCAR did not offer any comment following Thursday’s hearing.
While both sides could agree to settle prior to the December 1 court date, buckle up, fans, it looks like this legal heavyweight fight could actually go the distance.
