CHARLOTTE, N.C. – NASCAR has requested a judicial settlement conference in federal court regarding the antitrust lawsuit filed by 23XI Racing, owned by Michael Jordan, and Front Row Motorsports. The teams, in a presentation later on Monday night, expressed their desire to continue working with mediator Jeffrey Mishkin. Mishkin, former executive vice president and general counsel of the NBA, has been negotiating between the parties during this year.
The teams argued that Mishkin “has significant experience in complex antitrust disputes related to sports and has acted as an arbitrator or mediator for the Court of Arbitration for Sport, the America’s Cup, FIFA and the NFL, among others”. Furthermore, the teams maintain that “starting over” with a new mediator is “less likely, not more likely, to lead to a resolution”. These opposing motions come as NASCAR seeks a summary judgment to dismiss the case before the start of the trial, scheduled for December 1. The hearing on that motion is scheduled for October 21. The issue at hand is the protection of the franchise system, which is fundamental to NASCAR’s business model and the central point of the legal dispute. This system guarantees owners places in the competition and a base amount of income each year, which, according to NASCAR, has generated more than $1.5 billion in value for its teams since 2016. A year ago, 13 of the 15 teams re-signed, believing that more than two years of negotiations would not lead to a better agreement. 23XI, co-owned by Jordan and three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin, and Front Row Motorsports, owned by businessman Bob Jenkins, went to court.Mr. Mishkin has invested a great deal of time in learning about this case and meeting with the parties.
23XI and Front Row
For months, the other 13 teams have privately complained that the lawsuit is creating uncertainty about the future of NASCAR. Mishkin has failed to make progress toward a settlement and NASCAR now wants a federal judge, other than U.S. District Judge Kenneth Bell, who is presiding over the case, to hear from both sides and advise on a resolution.
NASCAR hopes, through a judicial conciliation conference, to bring in a judge who can help direct the conversations and offer information on how a jury might interpret NASCAR’s complex antitrust case. All parties have declared they are open to an agreement, including Jordan, who also added after a hearing in August that he was willing to go to trial if necessary.I hope to go all the way. If I have to fight until the end, for the good of the sport, I will. We have always been open to an agreement. We always have been. We have never ruled it out.
Michael Jordan
