NASCAR will file an appeal of the preliminary injunction that was granted to 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports earlier this week by Judge Kenneth D. Bell.
The teams were granted the injunction on Wednesday, which will allow them both to proceed with their two previously held charters, while also allowing them to complete the acquisition process on a third charter from Stewart-Haas Racing.
Meanwhile, NASCAR is also asking the court for a pair of things: an emergency motion for the partial stay of the injunction, pending the results of the appeal, and for the teams to post an injunction bond.
The sanctioning body claims that they are likely to succeed upon appeal, but without the partial stay, would be suffering irreparable harm. At the same time, NASCAR says, no harm would be done to the teams.
NASCAR believes that they haven’t been allowed to address the issues with the charter transfers that would have to be made and that those issues weren’t included in the complaint made by the two organizations.
In their motion, the sanctioning body connects the “irreparable harm” to the transferring of the Stewart-Haas Racing charters, saying that it would “force NASCAR into a seven to 14-year contractual relationship” with 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports.
The teams haven’t met “multiple” of the required conditions for the Charter assignments, according to NASCAR, and the sanctioning body further argues that it would be difficult, if not impossible, to undo said transfers.
Thus, they believe the partial stay is “crucial to prevent the consequences of an erroneous injunction from becoming irreversible.”
That partial stay would address the irreparable harm allegations made by 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports, which has to do with the driver and sponsor contracts they hold, but wouldn’t force NASCAR to extend the benefits of the charter agreement to teams that did not sign it.
In their original filing, NASCAR claims that this must be ruled on an emergency basis, since both teams have indicated that the charter purchases with Stewart-Haas Racing have to be closed by December 20.
In response to NASCAR’s emergent timeline, the Judge says he will rule on the issue on Monday (December 23), and that if the sales haven’t yet been completed, they cannot close until said ruling is made.
