NASCAR and Teams Return to Court in Bitter Legal Battle
The legal dispute between NASCAR and two of its teams has escalated to new levels after mediation negotiations failed, resuming in the courts with a hearing that revealed the deep division between the parties. The session, which included reactions of disbelief from 23XI Racing owner Michael Jordan, anticipates an imminent trial.The lawsuit, filed a year ago by 23XI Racing, co-owned by Jordan and Denny Hamlin, winner of three Daytona 500s, along with Front Row Racing, owned by Bob Jenkins, focuses on NASCAR’s franchise agreements. These agreements guarantee revenue and access to weekly races, and without them, both teams claim they could be forced to shut down their operations. Despite calls from other teams to reach an agreement and move forward in the race series, three mediation sessions yielded no results. The trial is scheduled for December 1st. NASCAR seeks to have the lawsuit dismissed, while the hearing focused on the series’ efforts to limit the scope of the damages that the two teams are claiming. NASCAR accused 23XI and FRM of manipulating other teams, alleging “classic cartel” behavior. During the hearing, NASCAR tried to argue that teams are free to compete in IndyCar and F1, however, the difficulty of entering F1 and the significant difference in IndyCar revenue compared to the stock car racing series were noted.Today’s hearing confirmed the facts of NASCAR’s monopolistic practices and showed them for what they are: vindictive bullies who prefer to focus on personal attacks and distract from the facts. My clients have never been more united and committed to ensuring a fair and competitive sport for all teams, partners, drivers, and fans. We are going to trial to hold NASCAR accountable.
Jeffrey Kessler, Representative of the Teams
The situation is complicated by NASCAR’s statements, which were not well received by Jordan and Hamlin, who expressed their disagreement with the organization’s claims. The original franchise agreements, in effect from 2016 to 2020, were automatically renewed until December 31, 2024. 23XI and FRM initially obtained a preliminary injunction to be recognized as franchise teams, but this was overturned. Kessler argued that the damages in the case should be calculated from the 2021 season, due to the exclusion clauses that, according to him, prevent NASCAR teams from competing in other motorsport series that resemble stock car racing. NASCAR admitted the existence of at least one exclusion clause in the 2021 franchise agreement. Judge Kenneth Bell scheduled two hearing dates in November, two weeks after Hamlin competes for the Cup Series title in Phoenix.Experts found that the prize money and television audiences (of IndyCar) were too low to make them a minor league team. Michael Jordan, if you put a gun to his head and told him he had to join IndyCar, it better be a pretty big gun.
Kessler, Arguing
