NASCAR has issued a stern response to 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports after the two organizations re-filed their Motion for a Preliminary Injunction earlier this week.
In the sanctioning body’s response to the re-filing, NASCAR claims that the teams and their lead attorney, Jeffrey Kessler, held the filing of the new motion to just before the holiday.
“Plantiffs’ motion to expedite should be denied. Plaintiffs tactically delayed filing their new motion for a preliminary injunction for over a week, intentionally dropping it on NASCAR and the Court on the eve of the Thanksgiving holiday after first posting about it on social media many hours before filing,” NASCAR attorney Chris Yates stated in the sanctioning body’s opposition filing.
The re-filing of the motion came on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, which NASCAR states only gives their legal team 10 calendar days to review and respond to the motion, which they say. “…fails to provide for sufficient time to review and investigate, particularly given the Thanksgiving holiday weekend and the fact that Defendants are working to prepare an answer and responsive briefing that are due on December 2.”
With their filings, the teams requested a response from NASCAR on the matter by Friday, December 6. However, Judge Frank D. Whitney sided with NASCAR’s request to move the deadline to December 9. The organizations will be allowed to reply to NASCAR’s response by Noon on Thursday, December 12. It is at that point, that the Court will set dates for oral arguments.
This process has been ongoing for the last two months, beginning with the initial filing of a Request for A Preliminary Injunction that was made in October.
That motion was denied without prejudice on November 8.
The teams then filed for an appeal on November 15, but the sanctioning body then elected to remove a clause from the “Open” Team Agreement, which would have prevented Open Teams from filing an antitrust lawsuit.
As it stands, both 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports will be allowed to compete as Open Entries in the NASCAR Cup Series in 2025. However, whether they will be able to run as Chartered Entries under the 2025 Charter Agreement is still unknown, and depends on the results of the injunction.
