Denny Hamlin Asserts the Truth Will Come Out in the Lawsuit Against NASCAR
The owner of the NASCAR racing team, Denny Hamlin, remains firm despite recent legal setbacks. Hamlin, a partner in 23XI Racing, has vowed that “everything will be exposed” in the trial scheduled for December as part of the federal antitrust lawsuit against the racing series. Last Thursday, a federal judge rejected the request of 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports to continue competing with their licenses while they fight against NASCAR in court. This means that their six cars will compete as open entries this weekend in Dover, next week in Indianapolis, and possibly for longer. The teams argue that this situation could put them at risk of bankruptcy.U.S. District Judge Kenneth Bell denied the teams’ request for a temporary restraining order. However, he left open the possibility of reconsidering his decision if circumstances change in the next two weeks. After this weekend, the affected cars may need to qualify by speed if 41 entries are registered, a possibility now that starting spots have opened up. The trial is scheduled for December 1st, but the two teams are fighting to be recognized as license holders for the current season, which has 16 races remaining. A license guarantees one of the 40 grid positions each week, as well as a base amount of money paid weekly.If you want answers, you want to understand why all this is happening, on December 1st you will have the answers you seek. Everything will be exposed.
Denny Hamlin
23XI, co-owned by NBA legend Michael Jordan, and FRM filed their federal lawsuit against NASCAR last year after being the only two organizations out of 15 to reject NASCAR’s license extension offer. Jordan and FRM owner Bob Jenkins obtained a court order to recognize 23XI and FRM as license holders for the season, but the decision was overturned on appeal earlier this month, sending the case back to Bell.
Hamlin, a three-time Daytona 500 winner and Joe Gibbs Racing driver, co-owner of 23XI with Jordan, said they were prepared to send Tyler Reddick, Bubba Wallace, and Riley Herbst to the track each week as open teams. They were seeking the restraining order on Monday, alleging that through discovery they learned that NASCAR planned to immediately begin the process of selling the six licenses, which would put “the plaintiffs in irreparable danger of not recovering their licenses and going bankrupt.” Hamlin stated that none of the setbacks have made him doubt the decision to file the lawsuit. Reddick, who has a clause that allows him to become a free agent if the team loses its license, declined to comment on Saturday about all questions related to his future and the lawsuit. Hamlin also declined to comment on Reddick’s future with 23XI Racing. Reddick, one of the four remaining drivers in the [$1 million In-season Challenge](https://apnews.com/article/nascar-dover-logano-682b457dbdfb617e06bf487614a8c358) of NASCAR, was last year’s regular season champion and competed for the Cup Series championship in the season finale. But none of the six drivers affected by the court decision are assured of this year’s playoffs. It won’t be a problem to get into the grid this weekend at Dover, as less than the maximum 40 cars have been entered. But if 41 cars showed up anywhere this season, someone slow would be sent home, meaning loss of income and a missed opportunity to earn points in the standings. Front Row Motorsports driver Zane Smith stated that his approach hasn’t changed. Smith, currently ranked 24th in the standings, said he supports Jenkins in his legal dispute that has affected the stock car racing series for months.
