Key Legal Victory in the Legal Battle Between NASCAR and Racing Teams
A federal judge issued a significant decision on Tuesday, favoring two racing teams, one of which is owned by Michael Jordan, in the antitrust dispute against NASCAR filed by 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports. Judge Kenneth Bell’s ruling represents a crucial step forward in the legal case that has kept the motorsport community on tenterhooks.Judge Bell ruled in favor of 23XI, owned by Jordan and Denny Hamlin, three-time Daytona 500 winner, and Front Row, owned by Bob Jenkins, in an argument over the definition of the market for “premier stock car racing.” Bell determined that NASCAR controls the market and that NASCAR’s argument that teams can compete in other series is moot. The teams argued that the relevant market for top-tier stock car racing teams is where “the NASCAR Cup Series is currently the only buyer.” This statement was supported by the expert opinion of Dr. Daniel Rascher, who concluded that “top-tier stock car racing” is a distinct form of auto racing, and other types of motorsports such as Formula 1 and IndyCar, as well as all lower levels of stock car racing, are not an equivalent substitute for NASCAR. In a counterclaim, NASCAR alleged that the teams illegally conspired by joining together to negotiate new franchise agreements. However, Bell determined that NASCAR “deliberately, clearly, and unequivocally” alleged that the relevant market is “the market for the entry of cars in NASCAR Cup Series races in the United States and anywhere else a Cup Series race is held.” “The same transaction, the sale and purchase of top-tier stock car racing services, cannot be a different relevant market depending solely on which party is complaining,” Bell wrote. “Simply put, NASCAR made a strategic decision in asserting its counterclaim and must now live with the consequences.” The lawsuit was filed a year ago by 23XI Racing and Front Row Racing, who were the only two organizations out of 15 that did not sign extensions to the new franchise agreements. The new franchise agreements were presented to the teams at the start of the 2024 playoffs with a deadline for them to sign. This followed more than two years of tense negotiations over the franchises, which are the core of NASCAR’s business model, as they guarantee revenue and access to weekly races. 23XI and Front Row would probably go bankrupt without them and are running this season without a franchise, which entails a significant reduction in prize money. Other organizations have asked for an agreement to move forward, but mediation sessions and private negotiations have not worked. The trial is scheduled for December 1st.NASCAR is “doing everything possible” to resolve the federal antitrust lawsuit.
Steve Phelps, NASCAR Commissioner
NASCAR, in its own statement, highlighted the commitment it has demonstrated in building NASCAR as the premier motorsports series in the United States since its founding in 1948. Commissioner Phelps did the same last week, reading from a statement that lasted more than six minutes; he defended the France family, based in Florida, which founded and controls NASCAR and most of the tracks that the series uses for events. “NASCAR hopes to demonstrate that it became the leading motorsport in the United States through hard work, risk-taking, and many significant investments over the past 77 years,” NASCAR said in a statement. “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 will address it at trial and in the Fourth Circuit if necessary. NASCAR believes in the franchise system and will continue to defend it from the efforts of 23XI and Front Row to assert that the franchise system itself is anticompetitive.”We are very pleased with the Court’s decision today, which ruled in our favor. Not only does it deny NASCAR’s motion for summary judgment, but it also grants our motion for partial summary judgment, determining that NASCAR has monopoly power in a properly defined market.
Jeffrey Kessler, attorney for 23XI and Front Row
Most of the organizations that did sign the new franchise agreements last year filed statements with the court in support of the franchise system and asking for a settlement in the case. All teams want the franchises to be permanent, something NASCAR did not concede during negotiations for the current agreement.
If an agreement isn’t reached before the trial and NASCAR loses, the entire franchise system risks being dismantled or revised. Teams are frustrated by that threat, and it is understood that NASCAR has since agreed to make the franchises permanent and the sticking point in the settlement talks is the amount of money that 23XI and Front Row are demanding in damages and legal fees.
Teams are concerned that the entire NASCAR framework could be destroyed by a loss and are aggravated by the fact that it would be due to the monetary demands made by 23XI and Front Row. Last week, Bell issued another victory for 23XI and Front Row when he dismissed NASCAR’s counterclaim against Curtis Polk, Jordan’s longtime business manager and one of the owners of 23XI.
