CHARLOTTE, N.C. – 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports, the two teams suing NASCAR, asked a judge to dismiss the counterclaim filed by the sanctioning body on Wednesday.
In a 20-page document filed with the district court in North Carolina, both teams opposed NASCAR’s request to amend its original counterclaim. They argued that the need to modify the counterclaim demonstrates the weakness of NASCAR’s arguments, describing it as an attempt to divert attention from its own illegal monopolistic actions.
NASCAR’s countersuit focused on Curtis Polk, Michael Jordan’s longtime business manager. Jordan co-owns 23XI Racing.
The legal battle began after more than two years of negotiations over NASCAR’s new franchise agreements. The 30-page document alleges that Polk deliberately violated antitrust laws by orchestrating anticompetitive collective conduct in relation to the most recent agreements.
23XI and Front Row were the only two organizations out of a total of 15 that refused to sign the new agreements, which were presented to the teams last September in a “take it or leave it” offer just 48 hours before the start of the NASCAR playoffs.
The charters were fought over by the teams before the 2016 season and have been extended twice. The latest extension is for seven years to coincide with the current media rights agreement and guarantee 36 of the 40 starting spots in each week’s race to the teams that own the charters, in addition to other financial incentives. 23XI and Front Row refused to sign and sued, alleging that NASCAR and the France family, which owns the racing series, are a monopoly.
NASCAR has already lost a round in court, where the two teams were recognized as franchise organizations for the 2025 season, while the legal dispute proceeds through the courts. NASCAR has also appealed a judge’s rejection of its request to dismiss the case.
